Bills Safety 100% Focused on Shutting Down Colts RB Jonathan Taylor

jordan poyer, jonathan taylor

Getty Buffalo Bills safety Jordan Poyer (L) has been studying tape on Colts' running back Jonathan Taylor (R).

After a dominant 45-17 victory over the New York Jets, the Buffalo Bills are looking to keep that winning momentum going against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 11. In order to beat the Colts (5-5), a team on a serious hot streak, Buffalo’s defense must figure out a way to stop running back Jonathan Taylor.

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Taylor, who’s racked up at least 100 yards from scrimmage in each of the Colts’ last seven games, is not as easy back to stop. The 22-year-old Wisconsin alum leads the league in rushing (937), and ranks second in the NFL in yards per carry (5.8), per Bills Wire.

Allen also does more than just run the ball. He’s third on the team in receptions (29) and receiving yards (303). He’s also second in rushing touchdowns (9). Therefore, it’s easy to see why the Bills defense is zoned in on stopping Allen, especially safety Jordan Poyer, who’s clearly been studying his tape all week.

Poyer believes that Allen is a superior back to the Tennessee Titans star believed to be the No. 1 rusher in the NFL.

“Derrick Henry’s a big, big guy,” said Poyer. “Not saying that Jonathan Taylor isn’t, but Jonathan Taylor is a little bit faster. I think a little bit more center of gravity. I’d say he breaks a lot of tackles not that Derrick Henry doesn’t. They do some things similar, but Jonathan Taylor’s still a very good running back and like I said, we’re going to have to play well.”


Unfortunately, the Bills Defense Will Not Be at Full-Strength Against the Colts


Slowing Taylor down will be crucial to the Bills’ success in Week 11, so it’s incredibly unfortunate that much of their defensive line, ranked No. 1 in the league, won’t be at full strength.

As of Friday, November 19, defensive tackle Star Lotulelei is expected to miss Sunday’s game due to Covid/reserve, while linebacker Matt Milano continues to deal with a shoulder injury.

The jury is still out on linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, who didn’t practice on Thursday but was limited on Friday. However, Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier is confident his players can do the job with veterans Poyer and Micah Hyde leading the pack.

“They’re very smart players as well who have a lot of pride and are very committed to getting better,” said Frazier. “And when you’ve got guys that are good athletes that have that type of commitment, you have a chance to see a maturation over time. And as they have become comfortable with this system, they’re to the point now where they could stand up and really teach some of the principles of what we want to do on defense.”

“They know the defense that way,” Frazier continued. “And that’s part of being together for the last five years, and they feed off each other. And they really give quarterbacks a hard time sometimes with their looks.”


The Result of Bills Vs. Colts Could Shake Up the AFC Postseason

The last time the Bills faced the Colts was during the playoffs last season. On January 9, Buffalo narrowly beat Indianapolis 27-24 to win the AFC East Wild Card matchup. However, the Bills could’ve lost late in the fourth quarter when Colts’ then-quarterback Phillip Rivers threw a Hail Mary pass in hopes of a game-winning catch, but it was thankfully deflected by Hyde.

Bleacher Report‘s Maurice Moton wrote on November 17 that despite the Colts being +6000 odds to win Super Bowl 56, quarterback Carson Wentz’s bounce back, he’s thrown 17 touchdowns and just three interceptions, along with the inimitable force of running back Jonathon Allen, they could usurp the AFC competition.

“The Colts have won four of their last five games,” Moton wrote. “They don’t have a victory against an opponent with a winning record, but that could soon change with the Buffalo Bills (Week 11) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Week 12) coming up on the schedule. If Indianapolis knocks off one of the two division leaders, we would have to look at this team as a serious contender.”

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