No matter how you look at it, it’s clear that the Buffalo Bills offense stunk during their 9-6 loss in week nine against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Quarterback Josh Allen – while going a decent 31-for-47 on his pass attempts – could get nothing going deep, as he averaged just 5.62 yards per pass, which was his lowest number since week two. For the first time all season, Allen failed to throw a touchdown pass and for the first time, he was intercepted twice.
Unsurprisingly, his quarterback rating of 62.7 for the contest was easily his worst of the fall so far, and the analysis site Football Outsiders said Allen’s performance was the worst by any NFL quarterback all season. Obviously, it was far from just Allen who underperformed against the Jags, who only had one win coming into week nine.
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The offensive line was dominated by Jacksonville’s Josh Allen and company, as the Buffalo signal-caller was sacked a season-high four times for a whopping 35 yards. While No. 17 had a good day running the ball himself – rushing five times for 50 yards – the Bills’ pair of primary running backs continued to struggle, as Devin Singletary ran six times for a pitiful 16 yards and Zack Moss rushed three times for six yards, before departing with a concussion.
Cole Beasley racked up eight receptions, but they stunningly went for just 33 yards, and Stefon Diggs and Emmanuel Sanders went for an underwhelming six catches for 85 yards and four grabs for 65 yards in the loss. They’re not horrible numbers, but against supposedly one of the worst teams in the league, Bills Mafia was expecting a lot more.
Daboll: ‘We Need to Do a Better Job and It Starts With Me’
GettyBuffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll before the team’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 12, 2021.
Earlier this week, Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll spoke about the team’s recent offensive struggles and had a harsh self-assessment of his performance on the sidelines.
“It’s an area that we’re working hard to improve,” Daboll said regarding the run game, per Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News. “Positive plays in that area have been tough to find here as of late and we need to do a better job and it starts with me. … We probably had far too many second-and-long or third-and-long situations, whether that be from the run or the pass. And, again, I’ll take ownership of that.”
Skurski noted that some of the recent offensive line struggles are largely due to injuries, as both left guard Jon Feliciano and right tackle Spencer Brown missed the Jacksonville game. Feliciano is set to miss at least two more games with a strained calf, while Brown has missed the last two contests with a back ailment and his status is up in the air.
Fortunately for the Bills, their week 10 opponent – the New York Jets – have been much more susceptible against the run than against the pass. In week nine, the Jets were gashed by Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines of the Indianapolis Colts, who combined for 276 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Where Do the Bills Rank Offensively Entering Week 10?
GettyBuffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen during the team’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on November 7, 2021.
It almost seems like through their first eight games, the Bills offense can be divided into three parts. In the season-opening loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers and a 35-0 blanking of the Miami Dolphins in week two, while they combined for 51 points, Allen had his struggles.
The MVP candidate appeared to hit his stride over the next four games, as the Bills blasted through the Washington Football Team 43-21, the Houston Texans 40-0, and the Kansas City Chiefs 38-20, before falling to the Tennesse Titans in a 34-31 thriller. Again, despite a win against the Dolphins in week eight, the Bills followed it up with a bomb against the Jaguars and have scored under 30 the last two games.
So where does the Bills offense currently stand compared to the rest of the NFL? They’re eighth in total yards per game at 390.1, seventh in passing yards per game at 270.4 and 11th in rushing at 119.8.
Despite the embarrassing loss to the Jaguars where they failed to reach the end zone, the Bills are still fourth in the NFL in points per game at 29.4. Trailing only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (32.5), Arizona Cardinals (30.8) and Dallas Cowboys (30.1), the Bills are in pretty good company.
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Bills Coach on Offensive Struggles: ‘I’ll Take Ownership of That’