A look at where the [FONT=verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Buffalo Bills[/FONT] rank in the AFC East stat check:
POINTS SCORED
Patriots: tied-14th (22.0)
Bills: tied-19th (20.7)
Jets: tied-19th (20.7)
Dolphins: tied-24th (19.3)
Quick-hit thought: Not a whole lot of offense in this division. The Bills slipped considerably from last week, when they ranked sixth by scoring 26 points per game. The sample size is still small, so we'll continue to see swings each week in this category.
POINTS AGAINST
Patriots: tied-4th (16.3)
Bills: 8th (17.3)
Jets: tied-20th (24)
Dolphins: 29th (27.7)
Quick-hit thought: The Bills ranked sixth last week so this represents only a slight drop. It could have been worse for the Bills' defense, which was able to hold the [FONT=verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif]San Diego Chargers[/FONT] to two field goals in two second-quarter red zone trips.
THIRD-DOWN OFFENSE
Jets: 12th (19-of-44, 43.2 percent)
Patriots: 21st (19-of-49, 38.8 percent)
Bills: 24th (15-of-41, 36.6 percent)
Dolphins: 25th (16-of-44, 36.4 percent)
Quick-hit thought: Although rookie [FONT=verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Sammy Watkins[/FONT] said the Bills "sucked" on third down against the Chargers, this actually represents a slight improvement from last week, when they had a 33.3 percent rate for the season. The division hasn't fared well in general on third downs but the Bills still need to do better.
THIRD-DOWN DEFENSE
Bills: 8th (15-of-41, 36.6 percent)
Dolphins: 11th (19-of-48, 39.6 percent)
Jets: 15th (17-of-41, 41.5 percent)
Patriots: 20th (16-of-37, 43.2 percent)
Quick-hit thought: This is only a one percentage-point drop from last week. Again, it could have been worse the way the Chargers were moving the ball at times Sunday. They finished 38 percent on third downs and were 2-for-5 in the first half. That's a win for the defense.
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL
Patriots: tied-1st (plus-6, 8 takeaways, 2 giveaways)
Bills: tied-3rd (plus-4, 5 takeaways, 1 giveaway)
Dolphins: tied-18th (minus-1, 4 takeaways, 5 giveaways)
Jets: tied-29th (minus-4, 2 takeaways, 6 giveaways)
Quick-hit thought: This was one of the main factors in the Bills' first two wins and it went unchanged this week. There were no turnovers for either side.
RED ZONE OFFENSE (based on TD percentage)
Patriots: tied-17th (5-of-10, 50 percent)
Dolphins: tied-17th (5-of-10, 50 percent)
Jets: tied-30th (4-of-12, 33.3 percent)
Bills: tied-30th (4-of-12, 33.3 percent)
Quick-hit thought: This is still a major problem area. The Bills didn't get into the red zone enough against the Chargers, making only two trips (scoring one touchdown). Against the Dolphins a week earlier, they made six trips and scored just one touchdown.
RED ZONE DEFENSE (based on TD percentage)
Patriots: tied-2nd (3-of-9, 33.3 percent)
Dolphins: tied-15th (6-of-11, 54.5 percent)
Bills: tied-17th (5-of-9, 55.6 percent)
Jets: tied-23rd (5-of-8, 62.5 percent)
Quick-hit thought: The Chargers scored on a pair of [FONT=verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Eddie Royal[/FONT] touchdowns but the Bills actually improved on the season for this category. They allowed a 60 percent rate entering Week 3.
POINTS SCORED
Patriots: tied-14th (22.0)
Bills: tied-19th (20.7)
Jets: tied-19th (20.7)
Dolphins: tied-24th (19.3)
Quick-hit thought: Not a whole lot of offense in this division. The Bills slipped considerably from last week, when they ranked sixth by scoring 26 points per game. The sample size is still small, so we'll continue to see swings each week in this category.
POINTS AGAINST
Patriots: tied-4th (16.3)
Bills: 8th (17.3)
Jets: tied-20th (24)
Dolphins: 29th (27.7)
Quick-hit thought: The Bills ranked sixth last week so this represents only a slight drop. It could have been worse for the Bills' defense, which was able to hold the [FONT=verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif]San Diego Chargers[/FONT] to two field goals in two second-quarter red zone trips.
THIRD-DOWN OFFENSE
Jets: 12th (19-of-44, 43.2 percent)
Patriots: 21st (19-of-49, 38.8 percent)
Bills: 24th (15-of-41, 36.6 percent)
Dolphins: 25th (16-of-44, 36.4 percent)
Quick-hit thought: Although rookie [FONT=verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Sammy Watkins[/FONT] said the Bills "sucked" on third down against the Chargers, this actually represents a slight improvement from last week, when they had a 33.3 percent rate for the season. The division hasn't fared well in general on third downs but the Bills still need to do better.
THIRD-DOWN DEFENSE
Bills: 8th (15-of-41, 36.6 percent)
Dolphins: 11th (19-of-48, 39.6 percent)
Jets: 15th (17-of-41, 41.5 percent)
Patriots: 20th (16-of-37, 43.2 percent)
Quick-hit thought: This is only a one percentage-point drop from last week. Again, it could have been worse the way the Chargers were moving the ball at times Sunday. They finished 38 percent on third downs and were 2-for-5 in the first half. That's a win for the defense.
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL
Patriots: tied-1st (plus-6, 8 takeaways, 2 giveaways)
Bills: tied-3rd (plus-4, 5 takeaways, 1 giveaway)
Dolphins: tied-18th (minus-1, 4 takeaways, 5 giveaways)
Jets: tied-29th (minus-4, 2 takeaways, 6 giveaways)
Quick-hit thought: This was one of the main factors in the Bills' first two wins and it went unchanged this week. There were no turnovers for either side.
RED ZONE OFFENSE (based on TD percentage)
Patriots: tied-17th (5-of-10, 50 percent)
Dolphins: tied-17th (5-of-10, 50 percent)
Jets: tied-30th (4-of-12, 33.3 percent)
Bills: tied-30th (4-of-12, 33.3 percent)
Quick-hit thought: This is still a major problem area. The Bills didn't get into the red zone enough against the Chargers, making only two trips (scoring one touchdown). Against the Dolphins a week earlier, they made six trips and scored just one touchdown.
RED ZONE DEFENSE (based on TD percentage)
Patriots: tied-2nd (3-of-9, 33.3 percent)
Dolphins: tied-15th (6-of-11, 54.5 percent)
Bills: tied-17th (5-of-9, 55.6 percent)
Jets: tied-23rd (5-of-8, 62.5 percent)
Quick-hit thought: The Chargers scored on a pair of [FONT=verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Eddie Royal[/FONT] touchdowns but the Bills actually improved on the season for this category. They allowed a 60 percent rate entering Week 3.
