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Buffalo Bills: 3 Horrible stats that defined the Week 1 loss

By Matthew Hodowany

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 12: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills is pursued by Cameron Heyward #97 and T.J. Watt #90 of the Pittsburgh Steelers at Highmark Stadium on September 12, 2021 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 12: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills is pursued by Cameron Heyward #97 and T.J. Watt #90 of the Pittsburgh Steelers at Highmark Stadium on September 12, 2021 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images) /
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ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 12: Matt Breida #22 of the Buffalo Bills is tackled by Jamir Jones #40 of the Pittsburgh Steelers on fourth down during the fourth quarter at Highmark Stadium on September 12, 2021 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images) /

4th Down Efficiency

Coinciding with Buffalo’s offensive line issues, the team went 1-3 on fourth down during crucial moments in the game.

The first occurred on a fourth and eight from the Pittsburgh 35 following a Chris Boswell field goal to get Pittsburgh on the board. After Allen failed to connect with Cole Beasley on third down, a failed fourth-down reception by Davis led to another Steelers’ field goal.

Once they regained possession of the ball, another failed fourth-down convention, this time on a confusing backward pass/bubble screen concept to Matt Bredia that saw a loss of seven yards.

This provided Pittsburgh with an excellent field position as Ben Roethlisberger would cap off an 11-play, 62-yard drive with a touchdown, finding Diontae Johnson in the endzone.

Last season, Buffalo was one of the more effective teams on fourth down and very rarely faced turnovers on downs. Leading the league with eight converted fourth downs on 10 attempts led the league in 2020 based on their ability to rely on Allen. Calling quarterback-designed runs and short passing concepts to Beasley saw the Bills be wildly successful last season.

Currently, that is not the case and it is worth wondering what the outcome of the game would be if the team had decided to punt instead of opting for trick plays.

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