The Buffalo Bills had collectively one of their worst games of the season in all three phases of the game, particularly in the second half. The Bills came up short against the New York Jets by a final score of 20-17 and are now 0-2 in the AFC East this year.
When looking at this game, these were two players and two position groups that struggled and will need to improve moving forward if Buffalo Bills hope to be successful.
4 Buffalo Bills who disappointed in Week 9 against the New York Jets
Josh Allen
There is no question that Josh Allen is the most important player on the Buffalo Bills. He is an elite quarterback in the NFL and when he is playing well he can make up for other parts of the team that might be struggling.
However, when he is not playing well it puts a lot of pressure on the rest of the team. In the game against the Jets, he had only 205 passing yards with two interceptions and for the first time, this season didn’t throw a touchdown.
After the game, Josh Allen was very blunt with his assessment of his play and he didn’t hold back. He understands that he has to be better for the Bills to be successful.
To make matters worse, it appears that Josh Allen suffered an elbow injury at the end of the game. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, he will likely be limited during practice this week which isn’t ideal as the offense needs to seemingly correct a lot before Sunday.
Gabe Davis
While Josh Allen struggled, he also didn’t get much help from the players on the offensive side of the ball outside of Stefon Diggs. One of those players that struggled was Gabe Davis, who had only two receptions for 33 yards and dropped a catchable ball on the final offensive play of the game.
In his first full season as a starter, Davis has been up and down and now has had back-to-back weeks where he hasn’t been able to be much of a factor. He has had some excellent games this season but the consistency hasn’t been there.
The Buffalo Bills made significant changes at wide receiver this offseason and to this point the results haven’t been necessarily great. It certainly opens up the question of whether they need to bring in any free agents, particularly Odell Beckham Jr., to help get this offense back on track.
Offensive Line
Another area the Buffalo Bills offense struggled was in the trenches and protecting Josh Allen. The Bills quarterback was sacked a season-high five times by the New York Jets and he seemingly had a defender in his face on every pass attempt.
The Buffalo Bills were without their starting right tackle Spencer Brown this week but the pressure was seemingly coming from every part of the offensive line. Quinnen Williams in particular had a great game with one sack but also was seen a number of times pushing Mitch Morse right back into Josh Allen that certainly can affect the throw.
It is not surprising that in the two losses for the Buffalo Bills this year, Josh Allen has been sacked nine times but in the six victories he was sacked only seven times. The Bills have been able to get by without much in terms of run blocking but if they want to be one dimensional they have to protect Josh Allen better.
Run Defense
This next group that struggled against the New York Jets was the run defense as the Jets would pick up 174 rushing yards against the Buffalo Bills. This comes after the Green Bay Packers had over 200 rushing yards.
There was one sequence in particular that highlights exactly how much this run defense is struggling right now. The Jets got the ball back midway through the fourth quarter and would put together a drive that went more than six minutes and included eight straight run plays. On five of those run plays, the Jets picked up seven or more yards on that run.
It is tough to pinpoint exactly what the issue is for this group but the rest of the NFL has clearly figured something out. The Bills brought in defensive tackle DaQuan Jones and Tim Settle in free agency as one part to help shore up the run defense. Early in the season it looked like it was going to work but after the past two weeks, the coaching staff is going to have to figure out something different.
This week the defense is going to be tested against Minnesota Vikings’ running back Dalvin Cook, who is one of the best in the league at his position. If the Bills are not able to have an answer for him, they could be looking at their first losing streak of the season.
Week 9 grades for the Buffalo Bills against the New York Jets
The Buffalo Bills struggled for their second AFC East matchup of the season and these are the grades for each position group from Week 9.