In what was a sloppy game that featured seven total interceptions and four fumbles (1 lost), the Buffalo Bills were able to eke out a home win against the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens. Here are the grades for the Bills' performance in all phases of the game.
Quarterback: D
E.J. Manuel's decision-making looked spotty again, and his fourth quarter interception deep inside Baltimore territory cost the team at least three points. Manuel was somewhat loose with the football today, and also lost a fumble on a second quarter sack. There will be growing pains with a rookie quarterback, but Manuel should be able to learn from his struggles against a still-scrappy Baltimore defense.
Running backs: B-
All three of Buffalo's halfbacks saw playing time today, and did a very good job of taking what they could against a very stingy Baltimore run defense. Fred Jackson did fumble twice in the game, but thankfully Buffalo was able to recover both. The injury to starter C.J. Spiller is a concern going forward, as is his surprisingly low per-carry average on the season. The second part of that could be due to the odd play-calling tendencies of coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.
Receivers: C-
The Ravens secondary did a tremendous job of locking down Stevie Johnson, who was held to one catch (which actually lost a yard). Robert Woods was the star of the show today, reeling in a 42-yard touchdown in the second quarter, and nearly coming up with another score in the fourth were it not for a great play by Jimmy Smith. T.J. Graham and Scott Chandler both had respectable games in what was a very run-heavy gameplan this week.
Offensive Line: C
The line was able to hold it's own against Baltimore's front seven against the run, and while Buffalo's 3.7 yards per carry wasn't spectacular, it was over 4.0 prior to Manuel taking five kneel-downs to end the game. In total, Buffalo was able to amass 203 yards on the ground, which is quite a sum no matter how many times a team runs the football. The pass rush was able to get to Manuel early, and he never looked fully settled in afterwards, but the team did do a decent job of holding Baltimore's pass rushers to two sacks.
Defensive line: B
Marcell Dareus notched two sacks, Mario Williams added one, and the front was able to get fairly consistent pressure on Joe Flacco. While Baltimore's equally questionable play-calling saw them only call two runs the entire second half, the line did a good job of eating up blockers while surrendering just 24 yards on nine carries.
Linebackers: A
The only two linebackers who saw consistent playing time were Manny Lawson and rookie Kiko Alonso. Lawson was able to register a sack in the third quarter, while Alonso was able to add two interceptions, including a diving pick in the last minute of the game that just about sealed the win for the Bills. Pass coverage was also respectable throughout the game, as they were able to hold Dallas Clark and Ed Dickson to six catches and 46 yards total. Lawson in particular did a good job of setting the edge against the run as well.
Secondary: B
While Torrey Smith was able to haul in a 72-yard catch, the banged-up secondary actually did a reasonably good job of limiting Baltimore through the air, holding the Ravens to 6.9 yards per attempt. Safety Aaron Williams actually slid over to his old cornerback role due to the injuries to Stephon Gilmore and Leodis McKelvin, and registered two of Buffalo's five interceptions on the day. Jim Leonhard also recorded an interception. Not a bad performance considering the team was missing an All-Pro safety and their top three cornerbacks.
Special teams: B+
Dan Carpenter made all three of his field goal attempts (27.27,22) and had half of his six kickoffs go for touchbacks. Shawn Powell had three punts that went inside the 20, but also had one go through the end zone for a touchback. The coverage units gave up a couple of decent returns (34 yard kick return, 17 yard punt return), but were otherwise solid, as Marcus Easley notched four special teams tackles.
Coaching: C+
While I've been less than impressed with Nathaniel Hackett's play-design and calls, he was smart to try and run the ball against the Ravens, as his offensive line had surrendered eight sacks against the Jets last game. Mike Pettine did a very good job of dialing up blitzes at the right times, which kept the Ravens a bit off-balance at points throughout the game.
Final Grade: B
While the ball security was questionable, this was a big win for a young team and it's coaching staff. Even though the Ravens aren't the same team that won the Super Bowl last season, there are encouraging signs, particularly in the play of the defense. Once the team starts getting some key players like All-Pro safety Jairus Byrd and promising second-year cornerback Stephon Gilmore back from injury, the pass rush could produce even more consistently. While the season is now just one-quarter over, being at .500 with a win over the playoff-minded Ravens is a good way to head into their Thursday night matchup against the Cleveland Browns.
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