1 - Kyle Williams stellar in Week 6 outing
At 35 years of age, logic would say that Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams is in the twilight of his career.
Somebody seemingly forgot to tell him this.
Williams added another chapter to his storied career in Buffalo's Week 6 loss to the Houston Texans. The former LSU Tiger finished the contest with three tackles, two sacks, and one forced fumble. Williams recorded one-and-one-half of his sacks on Houston's opening drive.
Williams, who contemplated retirement in the offseason, proved that age is only a number on Sunday. Bills coach Sean McDermott was pleased with the play of the entire defensive line on Sunday, a unit that totaled seven sacks.
"Yeah I thought the defensive line got pressure on the quarterback with the front four, which is good, especially (in the) second, third, fourth quarter," McDermott said. "That goal-line stand; that game could have maybe been sealed at that point. But to have the ball at the one (yard line) and for them to go backwards, Matt Milano made a huge play at the end there. You know, I thought the defense continues to improve and grow. We've got to make sure those other two phases continue to grow and develop, at critical positions in particular."
2 - Deshaun Watson breaks down Poyer, Alexander INTs
"Defense wins games" is an incredibly common phrase among sports fans. Although the Bills lost their Week 6 contest with the Texans, their defense played at an elite-level.
Buffalo limited Houston to just 216 net yards in the 20-13 loss. The unit got after Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson early and often, finishing the game with seven sacks. The group also forced a number of turnovers, taking the ball out of Watson's hands three times and recovering one of the fumbles.
The Bills' defense also picked off Watson on two separate occasions. The first came in the second quarter when safety Jordan Poyer intercepted a Watson lob in the end zone. The second came early in the second half when linebacker Lorenzo Alexander tipped a Watson pass at the line of scrimmage and came down with the ball himself.
Watson talked about the two interceptions after the conclusion of Sunday's game, conceding that Poyer and Alexander simply made outstanding plays.
"The first one was just trying to make a play," Watson said. "[Poyer] did a great job of recovering. Probably should have thrown it away and had points. The second one was a tipped ball, nothing I can really control. [Alexander] got his hand up in time and the ball was in the air, and that's that. They made a great play on both of those. You just move on from it. It happens."
3 - Micah Hyde: Ray-Ray McCloud will 'bounce back' on special teams
Ray-Ray McCloud had a tough Week 6 performance.
The rookie wideout, who primarily plays as a kick and punt returner, fumbled twice on Sunday. The first came on the very first play of the game when McCloud muffed the opening kickoff. Rookie safety Siran Neal recovered the ball.
McCloud's second fumble came midway through the first quarter when he fumbled a punt from Trevor Daniel. Houston linebacker Brennan Scarlett recovered the fumble in Buffalo territory.
McCloud was then taken off of return duty, as he was replaced by Micah Hyde on punts. The defensive back, who is familiar with returning punts from his days in Green Bay, knows that returning kicks in the NFL is not an easy task, and he's confident that the rookie will recover.
"It's tough. It's tough," Hyde said. "You know, it's different. And I'm not speaking on Ray-Ray (McCloud), I'm speaking in general, anybody around the league as a rookie – catching punts in this league is different. It's not like college. You're not going to sit back and they punt it and it's going to roll to you and you're able to make a play. No, the ball is up in the air for some time, and you've got to catch it, react, and try to make some plays. So, he'll grow into it.
"Everybody in this locker room has faith in Ray-Ray and what he can do in the punt return game. I just talked to him, and his confidence isn't shot, nothing like that. I can remember sometimes in my rookie year where guys had to talk to me and keep my head in it because it's hard, it's tough. It's not an easy position. It's probably one of the hardest positions on the football field, just because of how much responsibility on one play that you have to catch the ball. They put you back there for a reason; you've got to do it. So, he'll bounce back."
Entering Week 6, McCloud had returned three punts on the season, with an average return of 6.7 yards.
