Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Bills took a hard hit in Week 5 in both the standings and the injury report, as they suffered a 25-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars overseas in London.
England has not treated the Bills very well in the past, and this experience was no different.
Let’s break the loss down:
Passing offense: B
It was not a bad game statistically, as Allen was trying to do all he could to will the team down the field. From play concepts to player usage, it was another game where there was minimal contribution outside of Allen and Stefon Diggs until the fourth quarter.
Gabe Davis got into a groove late to help the Bills claw back into the game, while Deonte Harty had a big gain that helped get Davis a chance for another big gain on the next play.
However, the Bills had some harsh drops on third down on three different drives that led to punts. The supporting cast needs to be better, a line we seem to blurt out more times than we would like.
Also, every time the Bills use Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid, they’re never attacking the seam like both have shown they are capable of doing. That is also one of Kincaid’s strengths.
In addition, stop using the athletic tight end like Reggie Gilliam, please.
Rushing offense: F
Awful.
Offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey continues shoving James Cook up the middle with sprint draws.
Only 29 rushing yards as a team. 14 of which for your quarterback.
Next.
Passing defense: C
Down Tre’Davious White and Christian Benford in the secondary, down defensive linemen Greg Rousseau and DaQuan Jones, and also linebacker Matt Milano, this defense tried doing what they can. The injuries that piled up were a nightmare for a talented group.
Kaiir Elam looked like a player that didn’t suit up in the first four games, targeted often and mercilessly. Elam needs to be better to not only get more snaps, but keep a future roster spot.
Dane Jackson was victimized early on before Jacksonville started picking on Elam. To be fair, Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley was picking on anyone he was lined up against, including a back-breaker on a third down against veteran safety Micah Hyde that kept their drive alive and extended their lead.
A stop would have given the Bills a chance to win the game with ample time left on the clock.
However, not all is doom and gloom here.
A.J. Epenesa put a stamp on this unit as an impactful rotational piece. The fourth-year pass rusher put up a critical strip-sack to end the first half, along with three pass deflections.
Leonard Floyd casually put up two more sacks, and Ed Oliver is still a beast.
There is still hope, but now the defense might not be that unit the team can depend on week-in and week-out.
Rushing defense: D
Week 5 marked the first real moment where the potentially suspect run defense was marked as a problem.
Jacksonville’s Travis Etienne gashed the Bills for 136 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, averaging a solid 5.2 yards per-carry in the process. Without Rousseau or Shaq Lawson available to establish the edge for the Bills on defense, Jacksonville did whatever they wanted on the ground, including some reverses.
Losing Milano and Jones for the year makes an already suspect run defense worse, and the team needs to hope Rousseau and Lawson can return quickly.
The Bills will also need a step up from the likes of defensive tackles Tim Settle and Poona Ford, the latter of whom will be active in the lineup now as valued depth.
As for losing Milano, the next man up is rookie Dorian Williams.
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Special teams: B
The Bills struggled in a lot of areas, but special teams was not one of them. It was another one of those games where special teams didn’t see a lot of impact on either side, and not a lot of chances to do so.
Tyler Bass only had two extra points, while Sam Martin was busy, but never had a bad punt, not even a touchback. He even pinned two punts inside the Jaguars' 20-yard line.
Coaching: D
One week after a masterclass job against the Miami Dolphins, there are questions aplenty for this game with the coaching staff.
Head coach Sean McDermott’s team and defense had to deal with a bevy of injuries already heading in. We heard about the sports science team and how it would most benefit the Bills to get there later in the week.
That decision went under the microscope during the game, as Buffalo looked sluggish out of the gates and then saw more injuries pile up on the team, particularly on defense. Jacksonville, already in London after playing there last week, looked fresher and more acclimated, while the Bills looked like a team playing at 9:30 a.m. ET, and not as well adjusted to the time.
That sloppy play led to one of the least penalized teams in the league getting flagged 11 times for 109 yards.
Defensively, the game plan couldn’t be better.
Dealing with the absurd number of injuries, the Bills defense could only do so much. It only got worse when Jones and Milano both left the game with, likely, season-ending injuries. With a lack of interior pass rush that Jones was helping provide, the Bills blitzed more often than usual.
As for the offense, the Bills sputtered for three quarters.
Dorsey’s love for the shotgun sprint draws continues to hurt this offense. Cook had minus-4 yards rushing on the day as a result.
Knox and Kincaid have yet to gash a team with a Cover-2 buster play up the seam. Both players have an average yards-per-catch of 6.8 and 6.9, respectively. Dorsey needs to use his tight ends more effectively, simple as that. Especially when the Bills invested money and draft capital into these two players.
The lack of creativity seems to happen at the worst times with this offense, and on this day in London, it was their undoing.
What's next:
The Bills (3-2) don’t have much time to recover and tend to their wounds, as they host the struggling New York Giants (1-4) on "Sunday Night Football" in Orchard Park. It will be the first home prime-time game of the season at Highmark Stadium.
Kickoff is slated for 8:20 p.m. ET with pregame coverage starting at 3 p.m. ET on the official voice of the Bills - WGR Sports Radio 550.
