LONDON -- We have crossed the great ocean in order to track the movements of two NFL clubs -- the Bills and Jaguars -- primed to get it on this Sunday at Wembley.
While Jacksonville is aiming to get back on track and salvage coach Gus Bradley's third campaign, Buffalo's 3-3 start is an appropriate mark for a team that underwent a massive face-lift last offseason.
Soon after hiring Ryan, Buffalo emerged as one of free agency's most aggressive clubs, signing a batch of playmakers and swinging a blockbuster deal for franchise back LeSean McCoy.
Rex faithfully delivers headlines wherever he goes, but how do his Bills grade out after six games? Let's take a look:
The Good
1. Tyrod Taylor: Signed as a project under center to a two-year pact with $1.2 million in guarantees, Taylor landed high on Chris Wesseling's list of offseason bargains for all the right reasons. The former Ravens backup hit Buffalo without an NFL start on his resume, but Taylor has emerged as a productive fit for creative play-caller Greg Roman, who knows how to make the most of mobile passers. Taylor can do more than run, though, displaying a live arm and completing 70.1 percent of his passes. Much of his impressive handiwork has come with Sammy Watkins, Percy Harvin and McCoy battling injuries. Taylor is optimistic that a sprained MCL won't prevent him from facing the Jags.
3. Charles Clay: Only six tight ends have piled up more yardage than Clay, who has performed as advertised in a Roman-led attack that makes use of the position. Clay isn't Rob Gronkowski, but he piles up yards after the catch and sits behind only Martellus Bennett in receptions among tight ends. He didn't come cheap, but Clay leads the Bills in targets, has 20 more grabs than Sammy Watkins and sits atop all other Buffalo pass catchers with 54 yards per game.
4. Richie Incognito: Left for dead as an apocalyptic locker-room evil, Incognito has operated as a road-grading guard for a team that desperately needed help up front. Only Marshal Yanda and Zack Martin rank higher at the position, per PFF metrics, highlighting an acquisition that bears Ryan's fingerprints. The Bills coach has always had a soft-spot for written-off types, and -- love him or hate him -- Richie has returned his coach's faith with six straight solid outings.
The Bad
1. The pass rush:This must keep Rex twisting and turning all night long. After previous defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz led the Bills to an NFL-best 54 sacks last season, this year's squad ranks a dismal 24th in that category with a measly nine takedowns. What's especially troubling is that Mike Pettine, running a similar scheme to Rex, guided Buffalo to a franchise-record 57 sacks in 2013. Football Outsiders still grades the Bills as having the 10th-best D in the league, but Marcell Dareus and Mario Williams have openly questioned Ryan's game planning, blaming their lack of production on being asked to float into coverage instead of heat-seeking signal-callers. "If we're going to be dropping, we don't want to get questions about not getting sacks," Dareus told Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday. "That's just how it is."
2. Shady:It's not McCoy's fault that his hamstring was a mess, but Shady has yet to emerge as the starry centerpiece Bills fans salivated over after Buffalo sent linebacker Kiko Alonso to Philly for the workhorse runner. Trailing Taylor (6.0) and rookie Karlos Williams (5.4) in yards per carry, McCoy (3.9) has yet to cross the 100-yard barrier in a game all season. On the plus side, he looked great against the Titans. Getting him healthy for the stretch run could change the narrative around McCoy, who signed a deal with $26.05 million in guarantees in March.
3. On-field slop: No team in the AFC has suffered more big-name injuries (see: Watkins, Sammy). The physical ailments, though, don't outweigh a sloppy start to the year that has Buffalo easily outpacing the league with 62 penalties -- 12 more than the second-worst Texans. Opponents have gained a league-high 583 yards off Bills-based flags. Nobody else is within 130 yards of that ugly feat, a problem that has haunted Ryan's team weekly. Buffalo hopes to flip the script this Sunday against a Jags club with plenty of its own problems to figure out.
*Wake up and watch with the world. The NFL is live on Yahoo. For the first time ever, the NFL is streaming a live game on Yahoo. Bills vs. Jaguars live from London, Sunday, October 25th 9:30 a.m. ET. *
