Buffalo Rumblings
No Victory Monday celebrations this week, as the Buffalo Bills fell to the Miami Dolphins, 30-13, at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Buffalo fell to 6-3 and now finds itself dangerously close to losing the division to the New England Patriots. Sunday’s loss marks just the second time in 16 tries that quarterback Josh Allen lost to the Dolphins.
At least the excuses card can be pulled, as Buffalo entered Sunday’s tilt down multiple starters, particularly defensive backs Christian Benford and Taron Johnson, as well as edge rusher A.J. Epenesa and linebacker Shaq Thompson. Perhaps the Bills banked on a “scheduled win” and played it safe with these four players, but that certainly backfired if it was the case.
D.Dawkins T 68 (100%)
D.Edwards G 68 (100%)
O.Torrence G 68 (100%)
S.Brown T 68 (100%)
C.McGovern G 68 (100%)
J.Allen QB 65 (96%)
D.Knox TE 46 (68%)
K.Shakir WR 45 (66%)
K.Coleman WR 42 (62%)
J.Cook RB 34 (50%)
J.Hawes TE 29 (43%)
Ty.Johnson RB 27 (40%)
E.Moore WR 25 (37%)
T.Shavers WR 24 (35%)
C.Samuel WR 24 (35%)
R.Gilliam FB 18 (26%)
D.Kincaid TE 18 (26%)
R.Davis RB 7 (10%)
M.Trubisky QB 3 (4%)
A.Anderson T 1 (1%)
Allen (96%) and the offense were flat-out bad. The Bills’ first six drives of the game went as follows: Three-and-out, turnover on downs, three-and-out, six-play, 60-yard drive resulting in a fumble, three-and-out, and three-and-out. That is unacceptable when 1) Allen is at the helm and 2) the Dolphins’ secondary was decimated with injuries and was incredibly vulnerable to a strong passing attack. The offensive line allowed three sacks and seven QB hits, and was flat-out missing easy blocks.
Even the running game and James Cook (50%) couldn’t get going. Cook finished with 13 carries for 53 yards, including five receptions for 24 yards. Notably, Ty Johnson (40%) logged just seven fewer snaps than Cook, most likely because of Cook’s momentum-killing fumble on Buffalo’s fourth drive of the game. Sunday marked the first week of the season in which the Bills failed to eclipse the 100-yard rushing mark as a team.
The recurring theme of the Bills’ wideouts not creating separation showed up yet again, and it’s extra embarrassing when you remember that Miami had multiple backups playing on defense on Sunday. Allen was forced to create magic outside of the pocket in nearly every long-yardage situation. Wide receiver Khalil Shakir (66%) out-snapped Keon Coleman (62%) for the first time all season, leading all Bills’ pass catchers in targets, receptions, and yards. 11 different Bills’ players hauled in at least one reception, with Coleman and tight end Jackson Hawes (43%) each finding the back of the end zone.
Allen’s favorite target, tight end Dalton Kincaid (26%), played just 18 snaps as he picked up a hamstring injury and was unable to return to the game. Kincaid caught 2-of-3 targets for 37 yards, with his lone drop coming right before halftime when...
