4.) A short week might work to their advantage
Another issue that seems to be plaguing the Bills offense, is perhaps thinking too much. Football is a mental and complex game, but you can’t be in your head and think too much, you just have to play. Since Ken Dorsey has taken over as the offensive coordinator, all we have heard is that the offense is very complex. Well, maybe it’s too complex at times.
Josh Allen seems to be in his own head, overguessing things and he's hesitant to run. One of, if not the best dual-threat quarterback in the game is not using his dangerous legs nearly as much, even when scrambling. The Bills organization has publicly stated numerous times they don’t want Allen to run a lot and get hit, which is fine, they’re looking out for his health, but it’s a massive part of his game. There has not been much of, or really any, designed quarterback runs either. It seems like the coaching staff has in a sense, handcuffed Allen.
Well, it’s time to break the emergency glass and let Josh Allen be himself. “Unleash Josh Allen,” has been a common saying among Bills fans this week. Now, that’s not saying let Allen get hit and run 15 times a game, but just let him play free.
A comfortable Josh Allen is a very dangerous quarterback and it’s exactly what this team needs to break the slump. Allen hasn’t been playing badly by any means, he is tied for the league lead in touchdown passes, but he just seems a touch uncomfortable. Allen himself said on Tuesday that perhaps he is thinking too much.
Bills QB Josh Allen on staying in a “low-positive” mindset to have lower output of energy but keeping the mind free to think through things: “Who knows? Maybe I need to think a little bit less and just play football.”
— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) October 24, 2023
Through the past three weeks when they have slumped extremely hard, the Bills’ offense has looked its best late in the game when they’re going uptempo and no-huddle. That brings us back to the earlier point of things being too complicated.
When you’re going uptempo like that, there’s not enough time to think too much, you just have to go play. In this situation, Allen and the offense have looked very good. They scored two touchdowns against the Patriots in the final eight minutes. Similar results happened when they went uptempo against Jacksonville. Tight end Dawson Knox even admitted to Bills' reporter Sal Capaccio, that they are having a lot of success with that because it requires less thinking.
When you play on a short week it limits your ability to gameplan, and playing on a Thursday only allows for two to three days of practice. That means less mental stuff, a more vanilla game plan, and adjusting on the fly. All-in-all, it means more of just playing football. Josh Allen might just be the best there is when it comes to off-script plays. The short week could work to Buffalo’s advantage and allow them to play more freely.