By Matt Stuart | Published | No Comments
The Buffalo Bills have won the AFC East each of the last three seasons, or essentially since Patriots quarterback Tom Brady left for Tampa Bay. This season things are different. The Bills are 5-5, coming off a disappointing loss at home against the Denver Broncos. That loss puts the Bills a full two games behind the Miami Dolphins in the loss columns. The Bills also find themselves outside of the AFC playoff picture as a whole, as they are currently the tenth seed in a very crowded AFC wild card race.
The good news for the Bills is the they are just a half game out of the seventh and final playoff spot and the even better news is there are still eight weeks to go in the season. The Bills will look to rebound against the Jets this Sunday on a slightly short week. Speaking of the Jets, they are just a half game back of the Bills in third place, and already owning a win against the Bills in week one. The Jets could send the Bills into third place in the AFC East with a victory this Sunday.
The Bills know that they must turnaround their season and fast, because the Bills face a brutal three game stretch after the Jets game, in which they will face the Chiefs and the Eagles on the road, and then the Cowboys at home, following their bye week.
The Bills fired their offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, earlier in the day on Tuesday. That move is certainly a curious one to say the least. While play calling always seems to surface to the top of the frantic boil when teams to start lose winnable games, Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s turnovers are also a big reason that the Bills are sitting at 5-5.
Allen threw three costly interceptions on Monday night against the Denver Broncos, and Allen has had at least one interception in all but two games so far this season. Allen now leads the league in both fumbles lost (3) and interceptions (11). Turnovers have been a part of Allen’s game that has frequently brought him unwanted criticism, as Allen has led the league in that department each of the last three seasons. Allen has, in the past, been able to overcome his turnovers, because he has also been able to hit enough big plays in the passing game to counteract those mistakes. But the Bills offense has just not been able to come up with those types of big, momentum shifting plays like they have in years past.
The Bills offense overall this season is just not nearly as explosive as it was last season. Last season the Bills had seven games where they eclipsed thirty points, so far this season they have just two. Allen’s turnovers don’t completely account for the offensive downturn this season, but they certainly have played a large roll.
The big question now is will a resetting at the offensive play calling be enough to get the Bills back on track and make a push to get back in the playoff picture. The Bills will turn over offensive coordinating responsibilities to quarterbacks coach Joe Brady. Only time will tell is the move was the right move.
