Buffalo Bills: Timeline of offense under Brandon Beane

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - DECEMBER 23: Stefon Diggs #14 of the Minnesota Vikings warms up before the game against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium on December 23, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - DECEMBER 23: Stefon Diggs #14 of the Minnesota Vikings warms up before the game against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium on December 23, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) /
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FOXBORO, MA – DECEMBER 24: LeSean McCoy #25 of the Buffalo Bills carries the ball during the second quarter of a game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
FOXBORO, MA – DECEMBER 24: LeSean McCoy #25 of the Buffalo Bills carries the ball during the second quarter of a game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /

2017 Season

Beane came to the Bills in the offseason of 2017, as he came over from the Carolina Panthers where he served a number of positions within the organization, including assistant general manager.

In his first season with the Bills, Beane had very little weapons for then starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor.

The Bills relied heavily on the run game as they had a prime LeSean McCoy who racked up 1,138 yards on the ground, an additional 448 in the air and combining for eight touchdowns on the year.

On the outside, it was a different story.

With zero deep threat, the Bills offense sputtered all season long as they ranked 29th in the NFL with only 4,842 yards on the season, compared to the league-leading New England Patriots who accumulated 6,307 en route to another Super Bowl title.

That season, the Bills relied heavily on their ‘number one’ receiver Charles Clay. The tight end recorded 558 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the season.

When it came to actual wide receivers, the Bills depth chart was scattered with diminishing talent. Receivers Kelvin Benjamin, Zay Jones, Deonte Thompson and Jordan Matthews were less than ineffective as they all recorded sub-five hundred receiving seasons and all together only recorded 1,245 yards and five touchdowns.

Kelvin Benjamin’s performance was the worst of them all as the Bills acquired him from the Carolina Panthers for a 2018 third-round draft pick and a 2018 seventh-round draft pick, hoping to resurrect his career and see glimpses of his 2014 season. Instead, they got a Kelvin Benjamin who would routinely drop passes and seemed disinterested with the offense around him.

The Bills would scrounge together enough wins together after a win against the Miami Dolphins and a Cincinnati Bengals win against the Baltimore Ravens to reach the postseason for the first time since 1999. In their Wild Card game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Bills offense yet again struggled as they only scored three points, losing 10-3, ending their season.