‘The Bills’ run defense was horrific. Even worse was the lack of discipline on display for a national television audience as frustrated defenders drew penalties for shoves and hits out of bounds.’
Archives for October 20, 2020
Column: Bills not yet elite, but still control AFC East
‘If you were looking for a sign that last week’s blowout loss to the Tennessee Titans was an aberration, that the Bills are truly among the best teams in the AFC, that the defense is a top-five unit and Josh Allen is a genuine NFL MVP candidate, you were sorely disappointed.’
10 observations: Josh Allen comes down hard on himself
‘All that “Josh Allen for MVP” talk after the first month of the season feels awfully premature right about now.’
Analysis: Patrick Mahomes’ elusiveness put final dagger in Bills’ defense
‘Mahomes used the run-pass option game to hand off 46 times against the Bills’ defense. When Mahomes saw a light defensive front, he put the ball in the belly of running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire. If he had seen a safety joining the run front, he’d have pulled the ball out of Edwards-Helaire’s belly and thrown the ball. He rarely needed to opt for the latter decision.’
Quarter by quarter: Chiefs made 9-point win over Bills look easy
‘The Bills have been outscored, 41-7, in the third quarter and outgained, 654-362.’
Report Card: Run defense, coaching call earn easy ‘F’ grades
‘Utter and complete failure in every sense.’
So much for that 4-0 start; Buffalo Bills weaknesses exposed in 26-17 loss to Chiefs
‘The Bills defense, right now, is pretty awful, and if giving up 42 points to the Titans who had barely practiced for two weeks wasn’t bad enough, then giving up 245 rushing yards and 466 total yards to the Chiefs further shone the light on a struggling unit.’
Bills report card: Buffalo’s defense a dysfunctional mess after getting trampled by Chiefs
‘As Josh Allen said, no one is panicking inside the Bills locker room, but they need to start finding some solutions to their many ails or we could be looking at the ghosts of 2008 (a 4-0 and 5-1 start that was wasted) and 2011 (a 3-0 start that crashed and burned).’
Pollock: Bills’ run defense, Allen’s struggles, three bad optics
‘When asked about Murphy and Phillips being deactivated, he maintained, “Those two are good players, I just wanted to take a look at some other guys from the practice squad seeing if we could change things up a little bit. Those guys (Murphy and Phillips) will be coming right back again next week.”’
Bills-Chiefs Notebook: Rushing record for Reid as Kansas City coach
‘To put Buffalo’s vulnerability to the run into perspective: Kansas City rushed 46 times for 245 yards. It was the most carries and yards an Andy Reid-coached team (Eagles or Chiefs) had ever totaled in a game.’
Chiefs trample the Bills on the ground, hand Buffalo 2nd straight loss: Instant observations
‘The Chiefs ran over the Bills, running for nearly 245 yards and controlling the clock inside a rainy Bills Stadium. Patrick Mahomes made a few plays with his arm, throwing for 221 and two touchdowns to out-duel Josh Allen, but he wasn’t asked to do much as the Bills couldn’t stop KC’s running attack.’
Josh Allen says Bills aren’t panicked after loss to Chiefs: ‘I was not good enough’
‘The 24-year-old quarterback struggled early and put up pedestrian passing numbers for the second game in a row after a blazing-hot start that put him in the thick of the MVP conversation. He completed just 14 of 27 passes (51.9%) for 122 yards, but he did throw a pair of touchdowns, including a fourth-quarter score to Cole Beasley that brought the Bills to within one score late in the game.’
Justin Zimmer shines, Bills have no answer for Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Chiefs offense (4 reasons to be encouraged, 6 reasons to worry)
‘Edwards-Helaire had the best game of his young career rushing for 161 yards on 26 carries. In all, the Chiefs rushed for a whopping 245 yards and one score on 46 attempts (5.3 yards per carry).’
Bills defense continues its freefall against Chiefs (Week 6 report card)
‘Justin Zimmer, a defensive tackle elevated from the practice squad, was probably the only player who consistently played well for Buffalo. That’s inexcusable.’
Bills’ Trent Murphy, Harrison Phillips will be ‘healthy scratches’ vs. Chiefs (report)
‘Murphy and Phillips have been a part of a Bills defensive line that just hasn’t been getting the job done. Murphy was always over 50 percent snaps played last season but had his second game of the season under that mark on Tuesday night. Phillips is working his way back from a torn ACL last season and it’s been a slow grind to returning to the form he was playing at when he was injured early last season.’