Getty Zack Moss tries to break a tackle against the Los Angeles Chargers.
In 2020, you never know what Buffalo Bills offense you’re going to get.
You could get the Bills team that comes out and attempts to throw the ball 50 times or you could get the Bills that are going to eat up the clock and try to run the football down your throat.
So far through the 2020 season, when one isn’t working the other one normally is and Sunday’s 27-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers was another example of that.
Between Josh Allen, Devin Singletary, Zack Moss, and Isaiah McKenzie the Bills ran the football 30 times for 172 yards and one touchdown, while averaging 5.7 yards per carry. The performance resembled the Bills matchup against the New England Patriots where they ran for 190 yards and three touchdowns in route to a 24-21 win.
“It’s not really any different from the Miami game or the Patriots game, look we’re a week to week team and balance is important if it’s working,” Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll said via a video conference call on Monday. “If one of them isn’t working then you better not have too much balance. You better do the other thing more. I thought the guys did a good job with what we worked on during the bye week.”
At times this year, the Bills have been completely one-sided on offense. Against the Seattle Seahawks, Allen attempted 38 passes and threw for 415 yards and three touchdowns while the entire team only ran 19 times for 34 yards.
A week before that, against the New England Patriots, the Bills ran the ball 38 times and Allen only attempted a season-low 18 passes. He attempted just 24 passes on Sunday against the Chargers.
At 8-3, the Bills have managed to have a sense of unpredictability this season but each week, the Bills have entered their matchups with an intentional gameplan.
“It was intentional,” Bills head coach Sean McDermott said during a video conference call on Monday. “As we said after the bye week we noticed a few things that we could do better and I give credit to the players and the staff a lot of credit. They were aware of it and they executed it yesterday in the key moments of the game.”
Heading into the Patriots matchup, Daboll said he and the team only practiced one or two passing plays on the Friday leading up to the game and they found success on the ground that game as well. Both Devin Singletary and Zack Moss ran for over 80 yards and Moss found the end zone twice.
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There’s Not Some Magic Potion You Take At Halftime
The Bills have shown that they have the ability to adjust to games as teams throw new things at them and they’ve done so on both sides of the ball.
After the New York Jets scored 10 points on them in the first half of their Week 7 matchup, the defense made adjustments, dialed up new blitzes, different coverages, and limited the Jets to just four yards in the second half.
On Sunday, the Bills were somewhat balanced throughout the game but ate up the clock in the second half with the running game. Allen eventually found the end zone for their lone rushing touchdown of the game.
Josh. Allen. 😤
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Although they’ve shown the ability to adjust, the Bills never have a plan set in place.
“You don’t go into halftime and switch 50 things, you’re doing that constantly throughout the game, you’re doing it after the first series, whether its a particular guy or a scheme change or something that you had in during the week, you’re constantly changing,” Daboll said. “Usually I have a plan when you go in in the third quarter but it’s not like there is some magical potion that you take at halftime. You’re doing that throughout the game.”
Adjustments the Bills have made have worked for the most part this season, but they have allowed 12 more touchdowns in the second half this season and have scored on the ground twice as much when it comes to the rushing game this season.
A Little Bit of Trickery
Over the past two years, Daboll has been a wizard when it comes to calling trick plays at the perfect time. On Sunday, he did it again when he called for a 20-yard Cole Beasley pass to Gabe Davis for their second touchdown of the game.
Tricky tricky. 😈
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Beasley was coming in motion from right to left and then wrapped back around Allen and Singletary in the backfield. Allen hit him with a swing pass and Beasley did the rest, catching it and hitting Davis in the end zone for the touchdown pass. It was the first pass attempt of his NFL career.
“My feet weren’t set right, it was a really ugly pass, but it got there, I’ll take it,” Beasley said after the game on Sunday.
Beasley’s touchdown pass isn’t the first successful trick play Daboll has called this season. Against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 10, wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie threw a pass to Allen for a touchdown. John Brown also threw two touchdown passes last season, one to Allen and one to Singletary.
Daboll said having success on those types of plays just comes down to finding the right time.
“You try to call it in a timely fashion when you think it has a chance to work and then you have to trust the players,” Daboll said on Monday. “You do it in practice, you work on them and keep them in. Then when the time is right you try and call them.”
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