Orchard Park, NY (WGR 550) - The Bills game on Sunday was a perfect example of what a team loss looks like.
You may have heard me say and write a lot that this is a team that can dig down and come up with a big play when it needs it. Against Philadelphia, the defense could never get a stop and the offense could never answer after a big play.
The Eagles are not a team that runs the football very well, yet they ran for 218 yards on 41 carries. That included three kneel-downs by Carson Wentz at the end of the game. The Bills defense gave up 5.3 yards per-carry and a 65-yard touchdown from rookie Miles Sanders, who came up the middle and broke it to the outside.
It was a miserable day outside with stiff, gusty winds along with rain, yet the Bills defense gave up 371 yards and could rarely get off the field. When they needed to stiffen and get a stop, they gave up touchdowns.
Let's use the example of being down 24-13 with pretty much the whole fourth quarter to play. On 3rd-and-5, they gave up a 13-yard run to Wentz up the middle. On 3rd-and-10, they gave up a 10-yard run to Wentz up the middle. On 3rd-and-7, they gave up an 18-yard pass from Wentz to tight end Zach Ertz. Jordan Howard ran it in from three yards out to make it 31-13 Eagles.
Buffalo was still in the game, yet it gave up a 14-play, 83-yard drive that took 8:17 off the clock.
Both the defensive line and the offensive lines were thrown all over the field. The Eagles were supposed to be fragile after getting blasted last week by the Cowboys and stabbing each other in the backs in the media, but they were anything but.
In the third quarter, the Bills scored to trail by four. The response? A six-play, 68-yard drive to fall behind again, 24-13.
The touchdown by the Bills was a Josh Allen 28-yard pass to Devin Singletary. There was 9:36 left in the third quarter. After that, Allen went 3-of-13 for nine yards and was sacked twice.
Allen had a fumble that gave the Eagles the ball on the Bills' 24-yard line and another one early that he recovered himself.
The Eagles' coaches seemed to understand the conditions they were playing in, while the Bills' coaches seemed to not care. Philadelphia ran the ball 41 times and threw it 24 times. Buffalo ran the ball 20 times and averaged 4.9 yards per-carry and threw the ball 34 times. The Eagles out-gained the Bills in total yards, 371-253.
Lee Smith can really help this offense with his run blocking, but his penalties are starting to become a weekly nuisance. On Sunday, he had a false start and a holding penalty that erased a 10-yard Singletary run.
The Bills defense woke up against Miami in the second half, but did give up 21 points to one of the worst teams in football. This week, they got gorged and gave up 31 points to a struggling, wounded team.
Now, of course, there's no need to panic. Buffalo is still a 5-2 team and are still in great position in the AFC. I think they just need to take this week to get their focus back on both sides of the football.
