Nobody can blame the passing game for Buffalo's loss on Sunday.
Despite being eliminated from playoff contention, the team put forth their best performance of the season through the air. Tyrod Taylor had over 300 yards in a game for the first time in his career, and the Bills set a franchise record for most yards in a game with 589 yards.
Nobody was as consistent in the passing game as Charles Clay, hauling in eight catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns.
He also made two of the most important catches in the game.
Clay caught his first touchdown in the red zone down 28-14 in the third quarter. The tight end caught the pass short of the end zone, but shrugged off hits from two Miami defenders to walk into the end zone standing up.
However, Clay's biggest catch in a Bills uniform came on 4th-and-seven in the fourth quarter. With the Bills down to their last chance to take the lead, Clay had to go down to the turf to catch a sharp throw from Taylor in the front of the end zone. After being reviewed the play was upheld, and the Bills had their first lead of the afternoon.
"That was actually our third time running that play and we were able to hit Clay on all three of them," Taylor said. "Just a matchup versus the safety, cover one. You can't ask for a better picture than that. He was confident, he knew the ball was coming to him, and he went out there and won his matchup."
He also has touchdowns in three consecutive games, which is his longest streak since 2013. It is the longest streak for a Buffalo tight end since Scott Chandler in 2011.
"Big Charles dominated in all phases," Robert Woods said. "We needed him to come up big. You never know what play or moment is going to be yours, and this game Charles Clay came up big. He took the hit (on his first touchdown), still stayed up and got six. Those are the type of plays big playmakers make. We love to have him on our team."
Clay continued to thrive against a tired Miami secondary in overtime, making two catches for 27 yards. The former Dolphin was confident with who he was lined up against, and made sure his quarterback knew.
"Anytime Clay comes to the sideline and says, 'Hey I can beat whoever they put over top of me,' you have to feel comfortable and confident about that as a quarterback," Taylor said. "Those are the things I like to hear."
It was only Clay's second multi-touchdown performance of his career, and his first since 2013.
**Watkins has a big performance too
**Complementing Clay's success in the passing game was Sammy Watkins. Watkins was a deep play threat for the Bills, hauling in 54 and 38-yard catches en route to a 154-yard performance. Those were his most receiving yards since Week 12 of last season.
Watkins caught the game's first touchdown on that 38-yard catch on a phenomenal throw by Taylor to hit him in stride running towards the back of the end zone.
Sunday was the 10th time that Watkins' has gone over 100 yards in a game in his career, becoming only the seventh Bills receiver to achieve that feat in franchise history.
Offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn was creative in play calling all game, even dialing up a flea-flicker with the Bills marching down the field with under two minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Taylor connected with Robert Woods for a gain of 34 on the play to put the Bills at Miami's eight-yard line.
For the offense, it was only the fourth time that they've had Clay, Watkins and Woods in the lineup at the same time all season. It changed the entire game plan, allowing the Bills to expand the play book, and enjoy the success they had against Miami's defense all game.
"We knew going into this game that we could take advantage of a lot of matchups, especially on the back end and we were able to do that," Taylor said. "We were able to make some of those explosive plays that we haven't made that much this year and I think it just shows when you have all your weapons on the field at one time how explosive we can be."
