It's only been seven games, but the offense underwent a lot of change this past offseason. Change in scheme, change in offensive coordinator, change in quarterback and at a host of other positions. So what have we learned about Buffalo's offense through the first seven games? Here are some of the more important revelations.
1 – Tyrod Taylor can take over a gameWe've only seen him play five games, but his most recent performance proved that Tyrod Taylor is capable of taking over a game to lift his team to victory. When everything was going wrong on offense back in Week 5 at Tennessee, Taylor willed his team to a one-point win converting a 3rd-and-23, throwing a 46-yard bomb, making a one-handed catch in a goal-to-go situation and throwing a game-winning touchdown pass on the same drive.
It's a shame a knee injury slowed the quarterback's momentum, but he's expected back after the bye week.
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2 - The Bills can have a difference maker at tight end **Bills fans old enough to know the history understand why there was a commonly held belief that Buffalo would never have a true playmaker at the tight end position. The team has had capable players there, but never true game breakers… until now.
Charles Clay in seven games has shown that he can be a difference maker in the passing game. If he can maintain his current pace, his 78 catches and 800 receiving yards would not only be personal single-season bests, but would shatter the franchise mark for the tight end position.
3 – Points from distance prove easyIn no way is Buffalo a poor scoring team when it comes to executing in the red zone. The Bills rank a respectable 13th in the league in red zone touchdown efficiency at an even 60 percent. It's just that scoring from distance has come a bit easier so far this season.
From Percy Harvin's 51-yard touchdown catch in Week 1 to EJ Manuel's 58-yard bomb to Marcus Easley in London, Buffalo has turned big plays into points. That's why the Bills lead the league in points scored outside the red zone with a total of 92 through seven games. That's more than half of the team's points this season (52.2%).
4 – Run game on the reboundBuffalo's run game was pretty productive through the first three weeks of the season, then hit a road block in the form of the league's number two run defense in the Giants in Week 4. They were also without top rusher LeSean McCoy for that game, and proceeded to lose Karlos Williams to a concussion.
With McCoy finally approaching 100 percent health Buffalo's run game is on the rebound. Since the Week 4 loss to the Giants, the Bills are averaging 4.5 yards per carry and have the sixth-highest percentage of carries that have gone for 10 yards or more (14%).
Currently ranked 11th in the NFL, Buffalo's run game is miles better than they were last season when they ranked a disappointing 25th in the league.
5 – Drops not a part of receiver vocabularyThe talent in Buffalo's receiving corps is well documented. The group is largely responsible for the previous listing above. The Bills wideouts have also had a major hand in the team's top five catch rate. Through seven games Buffalo has the fifth-lowest drop rate in the NFL.
Only four percent of the catchable passes thrown at Bills receiving targets have been dropped. So out of 155 catchable balls thrown through the team's first seven games only six have been dropped.
