Stunning. Absolutely stunning.
Even though the Buffalo Bills offense only played one good half the previous week against the Miami Dolphins in Orchard Park, I fully expected the unit to come back with a big game against one of the worst defenses in the National Football League. However, the Bills offense was just awful in so many different ways during a stunning 9-6 upset loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Have I mentioned how stunning it was? Okay, I’ll find some other words.
Over their first seven games of the season, the Jaguars had given up an average of 29 points per-game.
The Bills scored six points on Sunday. The previous season-low for points by a Jaguars opponent was 20 by Miami, which will should not be confused for a real NFL offense.
The point total by the Bills was their lowest since scoring six in a loss to the New England Patriots in the middle of Josh Allen’s rookie season in 2018. Allen didn't even play that game because he was injured at the time. And I’m not counting the 2019 finale when starters didn’t play a full game.
Jacksonville’s defense gave up 21 touchdowns over the first seven games. The Bills never got into the end zone.
The Jaguars had just two takeaways for the entire season. They had three in this game. Opposing quarterbacks had been picked off just two times in 227 pass attempts. Allen was picked off twice on 47 throws.
I guess you get the point by now.
The offensive line, down two starters due to injuries, was a train wreck.
They struggled in pass protection, and rarely gave Allen a clean pocket from which to operate. The line had problems even when the Jaguars would only rush four. The blitzes were an even bigger problem, as was the case during the first half against Miami one week earlier. The run blocking was atrocious, with backs getting hit behind the line of scrimmage.
There were some key penalties against the front-five and on a day when the offense had such a small margin for error. Those negative plays really hurt.
Allen gets some of the blame too, even though he was under near constant duress. He had a couple of critical turnovers in the second half.
Facing a 3rd-and-3 at the Jaguars' 25-yard line with the game tied at 6-6 in the third quarter, Allen was trying to get a pass to Cole Beasley, but the Jaguars' defensive back jumped in front of the Bills receiver and took away a chance for, at least, three points.
Trailing 9-6 in the fourth quarter, the Bills were driving once again. On 3rd-and-2 at the Jacksonville 37-yard line, Allen faked a hand off to Devin Singletary and decided to run the ball himself. Allen was quickly hit and he coughed up the football. So much for a potential game-tying field goal or, perhaps, a go-ahead touchdown.
The Bills had three other possessions in the second half and all of them broke down for different reasons.
Allen had another interception on one of those crazy throws he made earlier in his career when he was trying to do too much. Allen was about to be sacked and just let loose with a pass. It was a very bad decision for the Bills quarterback, who should have just eaten the football.
Jacksonville ended up starting their drive at the Bills' 30-yard line and would produce, what turned out to be, the game-winning field goal.
The Bills actually had three more drives after the Jaguars took the 9-6 lead.
One ended with the Allen fumble.
Another died because of a penalty on the offensive line. The Bills were going for it on 4th-and-2 at the Jaguars' 43-yard line when Ike Boettger was called for a false start. Sean McDermott then pulled the offense off the field and decided to punt.
On the Bills' final possession, they moved the ball to the Jacksonville 43-yard line before shooting themselves in the foot. Gabriel Davis was open on, what should have been, a first down pass inside the Jaguars' 30-yard line. However, he couldn’t hang on to a throw that appeared to be a little low. On the very next play, right tackle Daryl Williams looked really slow to react and was beaten badly on a sack. A last gasp 4th-and-15 pass fell incomplete and the shocking defeat was essentially completed.
If this isn’t enough to depress you, the Bills' running game stinks.
I mean, the runs by players not named Allen. Singletary and Zack Moss, who was knocked out of the game with a concussion, combined for just 22 yards on nine carries. It's time for the Bills to activate Matt Breida and see if his speed can provide a spark for the run game.
Allen has to do a better job at getting the ball to his best weapon, Stefon Diggs. He was targeted just three times in the entire first half and had two catches for 25 yards. Amazingly, Diggs didn’t have a single target in the third quarter.
That just can’t happen.
Then the Bills decided to throw to their top target, and Diggs had four catches for 60 yards on five targets in the fourth quarter. It still wasn’t enough, though.
The longest drive by the Bills offense was just 48 yards, and they managed to get inside the Jaguars' 20-yard line just one time out of their nine possessions.
The Bills have to figure out how to get the offense going again, and they need to do it fast. New England is in their rear view mirror, now just a half game back at 5-4.
Hopefully, rookie tackle Spencer Brown will be able to play in the next game against the New York Jets, because Williams shouldn’t be at right tackle. If Williams can go back to guard, then Cody Ford can go back to the bench. He sure looked like a guy who won’t be on the roster next season. The former second round pick who only got the start due to injuries was beaten numerous times in the game.
Hopefully a Jets team that has given up 130 points in their last three games will be the remedy for an ailing Bills offense.
