Buffalo Bills: Wide receivers must step up down stretch

The Buffalo Bills passing game has been a mess all season. Most of the blame has to go to the quarterback play, but the wide receivers have to step up.

The Buffalo Bills rollercoaster 2017 season continues in Week 14 when they host the Indianapolis Colts. The 6-6 Bills are sitting one game out of a playoff spot. The playoffs seem like a pipe dream for Buffalo, considering they have to beat out the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers, who are a couple of the hottest teams in the NFL. Contrarily, the Bills have lost four of their last five games, and are struggling to gain any momentum on offense.

This offense has cycled through quarterbacks Tyrod Taylor and Nathan Peterman to little success over the past five weeks. Taylor was benched for Peterman in Week 11, which had disastrous results. Peterman threw five interceptions and was benched at halftime. Taylor was named the starter for Week 12, and has gone 1-1 since. However, he has struggled to move the ball consistently.

The quarterback play for the Bills has been mediocre, to say the least, all season. Both quarterbacks have struggled to move the ball consistently down field. The Bills currently rank 30th in the NFL in passing yards per game, only behind the Bears and Ravens. The quarterbacks cannot take all the blame, though, as the Bills wide receivers have been a big problem.

Kelvin Benjamin is the Bills leading receiver with 537 yards, good for 47th in the league. However, the majority of those yards came from before he was traded from the Panthers. The next leading receiver on the Bills is Deonte Thompson with 391 yards.

The Bills brought in receiver Jordan Matthews from the Eagles in a late offseason trade to try and bolster the passing game, which has failed miserably. Matthews was placed on season ending IR earlier this week, finishing the season with 25 catches for 282 yards and one touchdown. Matthews failed to get separation from the slot all season, and was often injured.

Zay Jones was selected by Buffalo in the second round of this years draft. Jones has struggled to adapt to the NFL, only catching 25 passes for 291 yards and two scores. He has showed promise recently and should be a solid contributor for this team in years to come, however, he has failed to step up this season.

Receivers Andre Holmes and Brandon Tate have combined for 176 yards and four touchdowns, which is unacceptable. Tight end Charles Clay has been the Bills only consistent pass catcher. The veteran tight end has been the Bills security blanket in the passing game all season, putting up 378 yards on 44 receptions, despite missing time due to injury.

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It looks like Benjamin is going to be a game-time decision for the Bills against the Colts. If he can’t go, one of the receivers on the Bills has to step up. This may be the perfect week for a receiver like Jones or Holmes to have a breakout game, as the Colts rank dead last in passing defense. One thing is for sure, if the Bills are going to make a playoff push, the receivers have to step up and help whoever is under center.