5 of the biggest questions facing the Buffalo Bills at this point of the season

It's been a tough week for the Buffalo Bills and the fans. A lot of fans have thrown in the towel on the 2023 season, and I don't blame them for feeling this way. But I'm telling you, just have faith, you have to "billieve". If you don't, then why bother? Why continue to watch the games? Why continue to bash the coaches? Just turn off the television, get off social media, and fans who still have hope will welcome you back when the Bills go on a tear and pile up the wins again on their way to another playoff appearance.

I've been tweeting and writing both here, on X (Twitter), and Facebook, saying I still have faith in this team and not just the players but also the coaches. I'm not on the fire Dorsey train but regardless, it won't happen. The organization will not fire coaches in the middle of the season. This isn't the Bills from ten years ago, this is a Super Bowl-capable team. After all, there is a reason they continue to be in the top five among teams with the best odds to win it all.

We're nine games into the season and with eight games remaining, we're essentially at the mid-point of the season. Let's move past the "let's fire the coach" idea and focus on some of the actual questions ahead of the Bills as they continue through the second half of the season and make that playoff push.

Can the Buffalo Bills offense get back on track?

This seems to be the biggest question of the season at this point. The Bills went from three straight games of scoring 37 or more points to struggling to get over 20 in a game, having only done it twice over the last five games, winning only two of them.

Despite the obvious struggles, the Bills' offense still ranks fifth in total yardage and points scored per game, while fourth in passing yards. That's not to say there aren't some issues with this offense, but the yards are there. When we look into the games drive by drive, we see a common issue is self-inflicted errors. Turnovers, penalties, and dropped passes have been the thing that kills drives. When the team plays disciplined football, the offense is unstoppable.

On top of all this, we're seeing a huge uptick in Dalton Kincaid usage, as well as Khalil Shakir. This is exactly what fans were calling for too. Get Josh Allen another offensive weapon, they said. The team drafted Dalton Kincaid and now he's shining in this offense, add in the five to seven targets that Shakir is getting, and this offense is no longer just Diggs.

Should the Bills incorporate the run game more?

This is nothing more than a philosophical question. I honestly don't care if the team runs the ball or passes. Whatever it takes to get into the endzone and score points, is all that I care about. Keep James Cook involved with 15 to 20 touches per game, whether that's rushing or receiving. He's a weapon this offense can and should utilize but with the uptick in targets for Shakir, I'm not sure there are too many more passes to go around.

Cook has 506 yards rushing, with a 4.7 yards per carry average. The numbers are there as far as the running game goes. The Bills are averaging well over four yards per carry too, and with the offensive line playing better than any line the Bills have had in years, the run game is solid. It's a piece of the offense that defenses have to recognize as a viable threat, so I would like to see a few more runs throughout the game, just to keep the opposing defense safeties from dropping back in cover two coverage.

That said though, the Bills can do the same thing with the passing game. But that's on Josh Allen to make happen by being more willing to hit the underneath receivers more often, rather than risking a pick with those deep throws. Allen needs to be more patient and understand that a dink-and-dunk passing attack will open up the downfield throws.

Do the Bills have enough weapons outside of Stefon Diggs?

I already indicated my thoughts on this with earlier comments but both Dalton Kincaid and Khalil Shakir have emerged in the Bills offense over the last few weeks. I mentioned in the past that Shakir's snap share has consistently increased every week since the start of the season and now we're starting to see that turn into targets in the passing game.

Threw for the first six games, Shakir received five targets, turning four of those into receptions and a touchdown. In the last three games, he's been targeted 14 times, catching every one of them and 184 yards. He's a weapon that if the Bills continue to incorporate into the passing game as they have, defenses will have to start paying attention.

In largely the same way that we've seen Shakir starting to rise, we are also seeing Kincaid take flight in this offense. He too has seen a rise in targets over the last three games, totaling 26 targets, with 23 receptions, 221 yards, and a touchdown. Defenses are going to have to start accounting for these guys, which should open things up downfield a bit more, but Allen has to be consistent and willing to hit those underneath routes to Shakir and Kincaid.

Can the defense play well enough for the Bills to make a run?

This is a big concern going forward, especially with the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Chargers, and Miami Dolphins on the horizon. All four of those teams have elite offenses, capable of putting up huge numbers. So, it will be vital for the Bills offense to put up points and keep the pressure on opponents to keep up.

I honestly can't answer this question though because the additions of Rasul Douglas and Linval Joseph are huge, especially with Douglas. You could argue that Douglas is an upgrade over even Tre'Davious White, given that White wasn't quite fully back to his All-Pro form and Douglas was playing better this season. The one missing component in all this though is Matt Milano, and now the team has more players that have popped up on the injury report.

One other question that needs to be asked though, is will Milano and/or DaQuan Jones be able to return later this season. We have no idea and the Bills have given exactly zero hints as to the likelihood of this happening. I doubt they are just trying to be secretive about it, as it's more likely that they simply don't know at this point. Could you imagine if these two guys were to come back just in time and the Bills make that final push to the playoffs and beyond?

Can the Bills get into the playoffs and make a run for the Super Bowl?

The short answer here is yes, but will they, might be the better question. This Bills team is more than capable of beating any team in the league. We've seen how good they can be, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. We've seen it at moments in games, including the past five. If Allen and company can get things rolling again, this team should have no problem making the playoffs.

I think the Bills will get things together enough to beat the Broncos, Patriots, and Jets. That's three more wins, giving them eight. I think ten wins (hopefully) get you in, so where do the other two come from? The list is the Eagles, Chiefs, Cowboys, Chargers and Dolphins. I like to think they can get at least two of the five. The Chiefs aren't a strong offensive team this season, the Chargers seem to find ways to lose, thanks to their head coach, and the Dolphins can't beat anyone with a winning record. Just get into the playoffs Buffalo. After that, you never know what could happen and who might get hot.

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