Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Bills collapsed in Week 1 of the 2023 season in epic fashion to the New York Jets, falling 22-16 in overtime at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
How did each facet of the game perform in such a disappointing loss to start the new year? Let's break it down:
Pass offense: F
Stefon Diggs is still him. Dalton Kinkaid looks like a fun new addition. The Jets gave up plenty of underneath stuff. A 70% completion rate.
None of it matters.
Josh Allen craters this grade, and it is totally deserved.
Allen made three boneheaded throws to bury the team in the opener, with each one becoming more nonsensical than the last. Allen’s desire for the pop-off play hurt his team in, what was basically, a closeout situation. The defense was holding serve, and the situation at hand required patience and management, but the sixth-year passer decided to get greedy and reckless.
Neither of those deep shots warranted serious consideration, while the third pick saw Diggs and Kincaid both schemed open very well on a 3rd-and-2 that would have allowed Buffalo to stay in control in the fourth quarter.
Allen knows the loss was on him, and said as much after the game. While his patience between the lines seemed to wear thin, the fans may start to grow impatient if there are legitimate strides going backwards from the franchise passer.
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Run offense: D
This is where offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey can get more blame.
It seemed like all night, the Bills were using James Cook the wrong way.
Cook seems to be at his best when able to bounce plays outside by design. However, the constant sprint draw play with Cook being eaten up in the box seemed to linger toward insanity - doing the same thing and expecting a different result.
Eventually, the Bills used Latavius Murray in a punishing role, but he and Damien Harris were barely around all evening.
Pass defense: B
Not all was a disaster for the Bills in, what was, a disastrous result. Welcome to the gem of the night, the Bills pass defense.
While it is a bad look to have Zach Wilson throw a touchdown pass, Tre’Davious White could not have defended that play any better. Garrett Wilson decided it was his turn to go for Catch of the Year candidate against the Bills (a rather odd moment to be consistently on the wrong end of).
Pressure was good all night, tormenting a Jets offensive line that allowed Aaron Rodgers to get injured on his fourth play with the Jets. On three of those plays, Rodgers was hit or pressured.
The pass rush did not relent, despite missing Von Miller.
However, once again, this team cannot defend screens consistently and got gashed by them.
Run defense: C+
The Bills run defense helped the Wilson-led Jets stay in the game for most of the night.
Breece Hall’s first two carries put him over 100 yards on the day, with the team giving up a total of 172 yards rushing in the game. While new addition Dalvin Cook was bottled up, Hall was electric.
There is a void at middle linebacker that the front office did nothing about, and it haunted them in Week 1.
Special teams: D+
A walkoff punt return for a touchdown is always going to leave a sour taste in the mouth and in the grade. There was another Sam Martin punt that was nearly blocked earlier in the game as well.
Tyler Bass was solid when called upon, and even added some drama to an already tense moment for his game-tying 50-yard field goal. Despite the doink, the ball looked good from the moment it left his foot.
The Bills' return game didn’t really get many chances to shine, so can’t really evaluate that side of their game.
Coaching: F
From being unable to correct the aggressiveness of your quarterback, to calling another freakin’ shotgun sprint draw that hasn’t been working all game on 2nd-and-15 in overtime, to not going for it on 4th-and-2 in Jets territory when you’re in control to start the game, to playing off coverage against a Jets quarterback who struggles with pressure.
Those are a lot of moments you can look back on unfavorably for the coaching staff.
It all stems from the coaching staff. This team has a tendency to shrink in the biggest moments, and this loss is no different.
Under head coach Sean McDermott, the Bills are 1-5 in overtime, with 2017 seeing their only win, which was the snow game against the Indianapolis Colts.
The Bills were lucky to even get to overtime, as that collapse was one that should not have even happened.
What's next:
The Bills will have a short week before they host the Las Vegas Raiders at Highmark Stadium on Sunday. Kickoff in Orchard Park is slated for 1 p.m. ET on the official voice of the Bills - WGR Sports Radio 550.
