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The Bills’ mantra of “culture” dictates there’s no room for finger pointing in Sean McDermott’s house of process.
But the Bills offense did fumble, metaphorically, down the stretch against the Browns during their 19-16 loss in Week 10. It was one step forward and a bunch back.
Quarterback Josh Allen hit rookie running back Devin Singletary with a quick pass just short of the first down near the sideline. The good stopped there. The receiver didn’t get out of bounds.
Buffalo huddled with less than a minute on the clock with that same clock still running thanks to Singletary not getting out of bounds, something head coach Sean McDermott admitted “wasn’t part of the plan.”
What was part of the plan, according to offensive coordinator Brian Daboll was what ensured.
After Singletary’s six-yard gain on second down setting up a third-and-4 scenario, Allen tossed a deep pass to wideout John Brown down the right sideline. That pass with Browns defensive back Denzel Ward in coverage fell incomplete and moments later, Stephen Hauschka’s kick from 53 yards missed and the Bills lost.
Replays showed that slot target Cole Beasley was likely open enough over the middle to gain a first down. But Allen opted to go deep.
Daboll broke down everything about the play on Monday.
The coach defended Allen’s decision, but with Beasley in mind, also added that’s a hard play to make, especially when the Browns dialed up a blitz on the play. He also kept in-step with taking some blame himself.
“(Allen) has to make a split-second decision when you have all those people up at the line of scrimmage in there. And the blitz, he has to make a quick read on that. We had a three-man route combination over to the left, and he had a one-on-one with John to the right, and threw it up there, and we just didn’t connect on it,” Daboll said.
“I should’ve given them a better play,” Daboll later added.
But with what Allen had to work with, such as the play called and blitz, Daboll defended that throw to Brown. It appeared to a throw tossed behind Brown, but Daboll indicated that it was an intended back-shoulder throw that didn’t connect, a similar play the Bills have run throughout the season.
“Let’s hit it and win it. We have a one-on-one matchup,” Daboll recalled of his thoughts in the moment. “It wasn’t the same play, but similar to the third down and whatever it was against the Jets, with Smoke on the left hand side, where he caught it and ran into the end zone. You have to have confidence in your guys. You hit some and you don’t.”
Of course, Allen didn’t have a problem with the play after the game, either. He took responsibility as well immediately following th eloss.
“Put the blame on me,” Allen said. “I didn’t play well enough today.”
Buffalo’s second-year quarterback still appears to have some growing pains to go through. The deep pass falling incomplete stung a bit more because of the nature of the pass. According to The Athletic, the Bills QB is 0-for-16 on passes that have traveled more than 30 yards in the air this season. There’s also the decision not to look Beasley’s way, really at all, to consider as well. That’s a concerning trend.
After the way things unfolded, the Bills will hope Allen learns from such a scenario to better prep himself while the game is on the line and that the learning experience didn’t cost them a potential playoff spot in the coming weeks.
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