There is no doubt that the Buffalo Bills can enjoy their Week 10 win over the Indianapolis Colts. Coming away with a 30-20 win, the Bills improve to 8-2 and keep on running away with the AFC East and they have their eyes set on the first seed of the AFC with the playoffs slowly approaching. For the fourth consecutive time, and seventh time overall, Buffalo’s offense put up 30+ points. The only time they didn’t score that many in a win was in Week 6 against the New York Jets.
Even though on the surface it looks like Buffalo dominated the Colts, most of the credit has to go to the Bills defense. They managed to sack Joe Flacco four time and forced four turnovers. On the other hand, the Bills offense had a little bit of a rough day.
Josh Allen threw two bad interceptions and the offense only scored two rushing touchdowns. Tyler Bass converted three field goals and the Bills defense even got on the board with a Taron Johnson pick-six early in the first quarter. So in all reality, the Bills passing attack was useless.
Allen did throw for 280 yards, but the leading receiver was Mack Hollins, who had 4 receptions for 86 yards. When you look at the rest of the receivers’ production, Khail Shakir and Curtis Samuel were the team’s leaders in targets (17 combined) but between the two, they only brought in 10 catches combined.
The Bills won this game without Keon Coleman or Amari Cooper, but had it not been for the fantastic defensive efforts, we might be talking about a potential different outcome. Going into a highly anticipated matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Bills need Amari Cooper back in the lineup.
The Bills need to hope Amari Cooper can play in Week 11
The “everybody eats” mentality on offense is inconsistent and the Bills need their number one receiver back in the lineup in order for everyone to eat. When Brandon Beane traded for Amari Cooper, the purpose was to add another weapon for the offense and allow other receivers to get more involved. Cooper has only played in one true game in Week 7 against the Tennessee Titans. The following week, he suffered a wrist injury that has kept him sidelined the last two games.
While the Bills have been doing well and winning, not having Cooper in the lineup is showing because of either the game coming down to the wire, or the offense having limitations much like against the Colts.