The Bills had a big bounce-back win on Sunday, putting up 489 total yards of offense against the Jets.
Following an uncharacteristic loss to Jacksonville the previous week, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll came forward to own his share for the loss.
He did so following some very public criticism for an offensive performance against the Jaguars in which Buffalo didn’t make it into the end zone.
This week, the Bills offense looked back to form.
A key feature of the Bills culture in player scouting and development also played out on the field during the game. Position flexibility, to be exact.
“The more position flexibility the players have on your roster the easier it is to do,” Daboll said while addressing the media. “I think every week is such a different week. I think our backs had 17 carries this week, so we had some other people carry the ball for us, Emmanuel [Sanders] carried it, “Little Man” [Isaiah McKenzie] carried it.”
Under Sean McDermott, Daboll has flourished since the team drafted QB Josh Allen and gave him offensive weapons and playmakers. The OC’s offense frequently has incorporated trick plays, notably position players with prior quarterback experience in their playing background throwing touchdown passes.
But as the roster depth has expanded, so has the playbook.
Anyone who has watched the Bills regularly since Daboll became the offensive coordinator may have noticed he frequently runs trick plays, often involving players from the receiving corps and other positions.
It’s also not uncommon for him to use players with experience at quarterback in their background, or for those trick plays to end in touchdowns.
Over the past year, there has been an increase in running plays with non-RB players such as Dawson Knox and Isaiah McKenzie.
“What you have to be in this league is consistent because it can get you pretty quick,” said the Bills offensive coordinator. “A bad performance, if you let it, can weigh you down and a good performance can get you too high.”
Buffalo’s consistency has paid off, and their diverse offense ranks second in the NFL in points per game. The creative playmaking on Sunday helped to add to those numbers and caught the eye of the team’s head coach Sean McDermott.
“I thought Brian Daboll called a great game. I really did,” McDermott said to the press following the game. “Changed the look enough and changed the profile of the offense, and I thought that was well executed and good to get stuff going there. [The offense] gives us tons of energy.”
Mckenzie took over as the kickoff return man this year for Pro Bowler Andre Roberts and his experience getting playing time on kickoff returns and running plays is growing.
The added versatility that players like McKenzie bring to the roster came in handy in a game where Buffalo looked to shake off the funk of their loss to Jacksonville.
“That what makes teams really good is how you handle adversity,” added Daboll. “It’s easy to sit there on cloud nine when you’ve got six wins in a row but adversity builds character if you handle it the right way.”
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