The Bills put up enough points over several minutes near the end of the fourth quarter in Sunday’s matchup to take the lead against the Patriots.
And then, within the final minutes, gave it back.
Despite a continued pattern of not putting points on the board until late in the contest, it seemed like Buffalo was making a comeback to secure a win on Sunday.
They took a fourth-quarter lead, and their defense got the chance to stop in the final minute, like the week before. Unlike that game, however, they didn’t stop their opponent.
When asked about whether he needs to be more involved on the offensive side of playcalling and if that is possible given he’s both head coaching as well as calling the plays on defense, HC Sean McDermott noted it would be a team effort to find a resolution to their offensive struggles.
“I oversee all three phases, we have communication across all three phases,” he said to the press postgame. “Collectively, we need to continue to find answers.”
The beginning of the outing was a little rocky for Josh Allen, who threw an interception on Buffalo’s first offensive play of the game. After the third contest in a row where the offense got off to a slow start, the QB is still looking for answers.
“I wish I knew the exact answer because we’d have it fixed by now, so I’m going to watch this film and find a way to get there,” Allen said. “Our season’s not over, it’s a long season I know it feels pretty bleak right now but we’re going to figure it out.”
In previous seasons, under offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, at times Buffalo would charge downfield to score on the opening drive or pile on points in the first half to add to in the second, where by the fourth quarter, their backup QB would take over for handoffs and running the clock down to a win.
Since offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey took over last season, there have been times where they’ve continued to spread the ball out and dominate and times where they are stagnant. He was previously the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Buffalo and has been learning on the job in his first experience as an OC.
Buffalo currently has a first-half points total of only 10 in their past three combined games, following what were several previous high-scoring outings.
That, along with continued execution issues, wasn’t enough to put the game out of reach for New England despite good production from TE Dalton Kincaid, WR Stefon Diggs, and RB James Cook.
Ultimately, the Buffalo defense couldn’t seal the win and the inconsistency and struggles have left McDermott acknowledging the need for examination.
Several commonalities across his tenure manifested in the game, such as penalties, turnovers, and struggling to stop the run. The pattern of often playing to the level of their competition continued as well.
“We’ve gotta continue to find answers to some of the reasons as to why we’re stubbing our toe,” the Bills coach added. “We’re not playing complimentary football. … We’re beating ourselves at times, and we’re not linking up in all three phases to control a game.”
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