Utah John

The CBS studio group is having a good discussion about the Bills' struggles.

Daboll can't call plays without a running game and no time for JA to pass. Everything starts with the line play.

If the Bills had alternatives available, Ford would be gone tomorrow.

It's their job! Opposing defensive coordinators are SUPPOSED to figure out how to stop the opponent. But the Jags couldn't have done it without such a lousy day from our O line.

Look, the Jets beat the Titans and someone bad beat the Bengals. No team is as bad as the Jags record indicates.

Even a great QB can't win behind our O line.

All the receivers were covered.

Well, forward progress definitely was stopped. So...

I think it's a fumble. Allen was losing it on the way down.

Right now, are you hoping for a TD to win, or a FG to tie?

This can't be overturned. The ball never hit the ground.

Careful with the point, Sanders. That would be taunting in the first half.

I think Tre White got hit on the knee by the ball he didn't intercept.

Hyde was hit three yards in the backfield and still gets it back to the LOS. The fire for the D has gone out.

Need a stop.

Definitely a fumble. Oh my. Today we have the wrong Josh Allen.

Allen is doing what we have said we want, taking the easy yards over the middle. And just like Mahomes doing that, it ends up with getting stopped.

Close call that the man blocking for the punt return didn't touch the ball.

For all the well-deserved Feliciano hate, you have to say it's worse when he's not there.

The Bills D is loaded with first round draft picks. The O has one (Allen) and a lot of other guys who are determined to show the rest of the league they are better than they thought. It is time for the O to start getting top-notch talent. Drafting WRs high is almost as big a crap shoot as drafting QBs. Lots of WRs with athleticism, height, hands, etc still don't pan out for one reason or another. Generally Beane has been able to fill out the WR room with really good players without investing first round picks on the position. I think his focus will be on guard and center picks. Once again the Bills will have a very high draft number so the eye candy picks won't be options.

The Bills RG, Feliciano I think, pulled around the left side and was beyond the LOS when the pass was thrown. I think it was borderline whether he was so far downfield that he should have drawn a penalty. Fortunately we didn't get a flag (maybe none was warranted) and the TD counted. But because he was downfield he wasn't available to help block for Allen in the pocket.

I think Jairus Byrd might be a better match than Marcel Dareus. Byrd had a couple of good years with the Bills, then signed a big FA contract with the Saints, and suddenly discovered he just didn't feel like playing -- but getting paid was another story. He was good at that part.

Other teams are playing the Bills and Chiefs by keeping two safeties deep and denying the deep plays that Allen and Mahomes love. If we could assure ourselves that the Jags will do the same thing, the Bills could still win easily with Trubisky playing the whole way, making accurate short to medium passes and moving the down field. The Bills have too much talent for the Jags to stop them. But without Allen in the game, the fear factor for the defense goes away, and suddenly those short to medium passes won't be open. The Bills will be challenged and could be frustrated if the Jags can play even ordinary-level defense (I'm not sure they can). This is the difference that Allen brings. I would play Allen and make it clear to him that the crossing routes over the middle, or quick outs, 10 yards down the field, are all he needs to win. Force the Jags to bring a safety down, and maybe move their LBs back, and then let Allen hand it off to a RB with a decent chance of success. Only when there's a single safety deep should Allen look for the long passes he loves. Basically this approach makes Allen earn the chances he wants to take. Allen sometimes plays better on the road. I think the home crowd in Buffalo juices him up too much. On the road he's calmer and deadlier. Anyway, if the Bills are up by 28 in the second half, sit Allen down and let Trubisky get some work.

Consider the possibility that the coaches had a chat with Allen at halftime, telling him that he needed to take the easy stuff and stop trying to be a hero. Allen might be a demigod to some here, but to the coaches he's one of their good players but still someone they can criticize as necessary. It's their job to make sure Allen does HIS job. His stats for the second half were quite good. Double those (as if he'd been playing smart the whole game) and he would have had an excellent game.

No dome. It's football, not track and field. Weather is supposed to play a part in how games go. Now that you mention it, isn't it time to bring back the Jills? Probably the Eichel situation will get resolved before the Jills situation is.