(Photo: Fox19)
Since Tom Brady left the New England Patriots in 2020, the AFC East has been dominated by the Buffalo Bills. I remember that year, that was a breakout season for Josh Allen and they had acquired Stefon Diggs to form one of the best Quarterback/Receiver tandems in the league. Since then, the Bills have won the last three AFC. East division titles with an appearance in the AFC Championship game and have won four playoff games since 2020. Entering this season, Buffalo entered as the favorite to win the division once again. They’ve been considered a contender these last few years. After ten games, they’ve been so up and down and I’ve often referred to them as a weird football team. They dropped a game last night to the Denver Broncos due to careless turnovers and penalties galore. What exactly is going on with this football team?
First, I look at their offense. Josh has been labeled as one of the best Quarterbacks in the league and he’s that dual threat that can put all the pressure in the world on a defense with his ability to throw from the pocket or to gather those yards with his feet. That’s just it. I’ve said this for years and I will say it here again. The Bills in are far too dependent on the Quarterback to do everything for them. I’m talking about even when they have a sizable lead, the ball is still in Josh’s hands and if you know anything about basic football fundamentals, you run the ball and play keep away with a big lead. The Offensive Line hasn’t been the greatest either. Either Josh is being pressured in the pocket to where he can’t buy any time to make a throw or he’s scrambling for his life which could be the reason why he’s running so much. The other issue I have with them is their lack of a running game and that’s where coaching comes into the picture. I’ve been calling for the Bills to run the ball a bit more and they’ll do it from time to time, but then, they just turn back to Josh to play hero ball. The Offensive line isn’t getting the push up front to be physical in the trenches.
Next, the defense has been hampered by the injury bug. I understand teams deal with this frequently, but they lost Tre’Davious White tore his Achilles back in week four against the Dolphins and he’s their best cover corner. Then, they lose Matt Milano to a fractured leg and he’s gone for the year. Those are two key pieces for their defense. To replace White, they acquired Rasul Douglas from the Green Bay Packers. When I watch the Buffalo defense, I see some inconsistent play from them. After the offense scores, they will allow a defense to move the ball up and down the field on them and it’s almost as if they can’t get mean and punch a team in the mouth which is strange considering their Head Coach is a defensive minded guy. I remember them allowing the New England Patriots to score their highest amount of points this season on the Bills defense a few weeks back, so what’s that tell you?
After they lost to the Jets, I saw them reel off three wins in a row and I noticed more of an effort with attempting to run the ball. That game against the Washington Commanders in week three, they did it all on both sides of the ball and the following week against the Miami Dolphins, they had made a statement at the time and punched them in the mouth. Ever since that game in London against the Jacksonville Jaguars, they have not been the same. They played down to the New York Giants and the Patriots stunned them. I think they need to part ways with Sean McDermott at this point because they need a new face and a true offensive minded coach. I always say there’s a wave of coaches some years and look at the most recent Super Bowl winners. Bruce Arians, Andy Reid and Sean McVay are all offensive minded guys. Think about it. This team should not be 5-5 right now.
