Buffalo Bills: Offense, Not Injuries, Is Slowing the Team Down
At 4-2 the Buffalo Bills are very much still in the hunt for the AFC title. Even as the Miami Dolphins control the division, the Bills are only one game behind. Miami is blowing out opponents, while the Bills have struggled the past two games. There’s no need to count them out just yet, but is it time to be concerned for the Buffalo Bills?
Their matchup against the New York Giants tells the tale of their season so far. As the old saying goes “an ugly win is better than a pretty loss.” and an ugly win is exactly what we saw against the Buffalo Bills. As depleted as the Bills’ defense is, they still did enough of their job to not lose the football game. As beat up as they are, they didn’t allow a 100 yard rusher, held receivers to under 70 yards, recorded 3 sacks, and didn’t give up a touchdown.
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On the other hand, the offense was average at best. While every game won’t be record breaking, the offense hasn’t look as explosive as it has in year’s past. Josh Allen had an average game with 169 yards passing, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Stefon Diggs recorded 100 receiving yards and didn’t get into the endzone. After Diggs, only Gabe Davis had over 20 yards receiving, 21 to be exact. Their rush attack was a little better as James Cook rushed for 71 yards on 14 carries for 5.1 ypc, but also didn’t get into the endzone.
But there are two red flags potentially explaining why the Buffalo Bills offense isn’t as explosive. The biggest concern is, after an offseason of turmoil, it seems Josh Allen is forcing the football to Stefon Diggs to quiet his in-season frustrations and not spreading the football around as much.
The second, and much more important stat, is Josh Allen had 2 rushes for 11 yards against the Giants. It could be the Giants’ defense didn’t give them the looks they needed but the stats this season are more revealing.
Through 6 games this year, Josh Allen has 131 yards on 22 carries. Despite averaging 6 yards per carry, the Bills QB is just over 21 yards per game on the ground with 3 touchdowns. Now let’s go back to 2022. Last season, through 16 games, Allen finished second on the team with 124 attempts, 762 yards (the same 6 ypc) and 7 touchdowns. Other than the goal line touchdowns, his productivity on the ground has been cut in half in 2023.
How does that change their offense? Well, the Buffalo Bills might want Allen to stay in the pocket more and take less risks. However, Brian Daboll exposed defenses with Allen’s ability to run the football. If the passing lane isn’t there, tuck it and run. It’s a mentality that leads to fewer mistakes but it also keeps defenses honest.
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Teams can’t sit back on their heels and wait for Allen to throw the football. By rolling out the quarterback who eventually takes off, they have to be ready to rush the line of scrimmage. If defenders no longer have to do that, they can sit deeper in the secondary and cut off passing lanes to receivers.
For whatever reason, Ken Dorsey has the Buffalo Bills offense stuck in neutral by ignoring their ace up their sleeve. Allen might have taken huge strides when they acquired Stefon Diggs, but it was also paired with his ability to read defenses and run when necessary. One could argue that they have better running backs and don’t have to run with Allen. That’s also not true.
The threat of Josh Allen running the football is greater than the RBs. If Allen tucks the ball to run, defenders might release and cheat forward. Should he decide to throw it before he gets to the line of scrimmage it causes defenders to make a decision that will throw off their timing.
Buffalo needs to get their offense back on their explosive path if they want to overcome their losses on defense. A 14-9 win at home against a team that is 1-5 isn’t a confidence booster. Dorsey needs to step up and open up the playbook.
Rick ODonnell aka Caveman Rick has many years covering the Miami Dolphins, Sports, and all sorts of movies and television.
