NFL 2016: Regular season grades for every team
By John Buhler
The 2016 Buffalo Bills were considered to be the base line for mediocrity in the NFL. Some weeks the Bills looked good and other weeks they were outclassed either in execution or from their former head coach Rex Ryan.
Buffalo hung around playoff contention in the AFC until losing at home in overtime to the arch rival Miami Dolphins in Week 16. After missing out on the AFC playoffs for the 17th straight season, Ryan was fired by the Pegula Family after a near-two-year experiment gone awry.
Overall, Buffalo had the talent to make the postseason, but Ryan became a running joke on the Bills sidelines. He and his brother defensive coordinator Rob Ryan held this team back from being a serious 10-6 playoff team in 2016. It wasn’t all bad for the Bills, if you really think about it.
The running game was solid with LeSean McCoy and Tyrod Taylor. Players all over this roster flourished at times this season. The biggest winner in Buffalo this year was former running backs coach Anthony Lynn. He was promoted Week 3 to offensive coordinator and Week 17 to interim head coach. Lynn’s rise up the coaching ranks might make him a serious candidate to replace Ryan in the long-term. This was the best Bills teams in a decade and the Ryan Brothers ruined it. Buffalo is very close, but no cigar.