Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills needed a complete performance last Thursday night if they were going to defeat a Houston Texans team with an excellent defense. Instead, their offense sputtered, and that Houston defense dominated the point of attack, sacking quarterback Josh Allen eight times on the way to a 23-19 victory. Buffalo’s defense, which allowed 20 points and 201 net yards in the first half, found a rhythm after intermission, allowing three points and 60 net yards in the second half.
Ultimately, that improvement was too little and too late for the Bills, who find themselves at 7-4 and in a tenuous postseason position. They are seventh in the AFC right now, and the New England Patriots appear poised to win the AFC East with a 10-2 record and a win in hand over the Bills. Buffalo needs to right the ship moving forward, but between the injuries they suffered in the loss to Houston and the schedule in general, it’s not going to be easy.
There were some bright spots in this one, even with the loss. Here’s how our five (or so) players to watch fared this week.
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RB James Cook III
On the surface, it was a good day for Cook, and he was once again the statistical bright spot on offense. He carried 17 times for 116 yards and a long first-quarter touchdown to punctuate the Bills’ first scoring drive of the game.
However, when you examine his numbers more closely, his day was really a few big plays with a whole lot of struggle in between. Aside from Cook’s 45-yard touchdown jaunt, he also added a 13-yard run in the second quarter and a 20-yard run in the fourth quarter. So, on those three carries, he totaled 78 yards and a touchdown. On his other 14 rushes, he totaled just 38 yards.
Was that due to predictability in play-calling? Was it due to infrequent carries that led him unable to gain rhythm? Was it just a stout Texans front stacking the box and daring Buffalo to beat them through the air to the outside?
One sequence in particular had all of those things, as offensive coordinator Joe Brady dialed up five consecutive Cook carries on a critical fourth-quarter drive. On 2nd & 8 from Buffalo’s 48, Cook carried for 20 yards. On the next play, he gained two yards. On the play after that, he gained five yards. Then, on third down, Brady dialed up another handoff. Cook gained one yard and tried to check out of the game. The staff sent him back out there, and on 4th & 1, the Bills tried a misdirection handoff to a clearly exhausted Cook, and the play was blown up in the backfield.
I loved the aggressiveness in going for it on fourth down with just over 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. I hated the play call. That was another example of a player being in a spot where he wasn’t set up for success,...
