Buffalo Bills: Top takeaways midway through the 2020 season

Up and down run game

After the Bills selected running back Zack Moss out of Utah, many predicted the Bills to have one of the more potent run games in the NFL. The opposite has since seen to be the case thus far.

With Moss’ addition to the Bills backfield alongside second-year back, Devin Singletary as well as T.J. Yeldon, it seemed that Brian Daboll would be able to carve through defensive lines. With only a collective 976 yards and four yards per carrying, it is safe to say those predictions have not been met.

There are two major factors that may have play a role in the lack of the Bills run game. Firstly is the transition the game has gone through in recent years transitioning from a run-first to a pass-first offense. Luckily for the Bills, they have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in Josh Allen who has been in the MVP conversation from his efforts. Throwing for 2,871 yards and 21 touchdowns, Allen’s offensive contributions are a big reason why the Bills are where they are in the standings.

The second factor is the plethora of injuries and substitutions the Bills have had to do weekly on the offensive line. To this date, the Bills have yet to play a 2020 regular-season game with the starting five up front they were going into the season with.

With injuries to Jon Feliciano occurring before the season even began, the injury bug never seemed to leave the offensive line alone. After taking its next victims in Brian Winters, Mitch Morse, and Cody Ford, the team has yet to have their playmakers up front fully healthy to run block.

This has had, arguably, the biggest impact on the lackluster performance of the run game as the lack of a healthy line has hindered the continuity of the unit week-to-week. The result of this is a bottom-15 rushing attack with cold months and playoffs fast approaching.