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The Bills followed up last week’s 45-17 dismantling of the Jets with a taste of their own medicine.
The team fell 41-15 to the Indianapolis Colts at home and out of the division lead in the AFC East on Sunday.
While the Bills had a record day running the ball a week ago, this time around the Colts made some history of their own.
Buffalo was without leaders on the defensive side of the ball in Tremaine Edmunds and Star Lotulelei, leaving them vulnerable to ground attack. And attack Indy did, as RB Jonathan Taylor went off for a career-high game of 185 yards on 32 carries and a franchise-record five touchdowns.
The teams’ defensive leaders knew this type of loss was a call to action, and safety Micah Hyde was one of them.
“We felt like we have been doing pretty well stopping the run all season and obviously going against a guy like Derrick Henry and Jonathan Taylor, two very good backs. We gotta find a way to limit that” Hyde said while addressing the media.
Head coach Sean McDermott also recognized the run defense is in need of repair.
“We’ve got to get that fixed,” McDermott said during his own press session. “There’s a formula to win and there’s a formula on the other end of it too. And when you’re giving up… when we’re getting beat at the point of attack, obviously, I have to do a better job there.”
Next up is the New Orleans Saints, who also experienced a 40-29 loss, and RB Alvin Kamara, the last RB to log a multi-scoring game of Taylor’s kind (six in 2020.) He will look to make things difficult during Buffalo’s visit to the Big Easy in this Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day game.
With a short turnaround, they’ll shake off the loss and look to show they are a different team than the one fans saw on the field this past weekend.
“That’s a good football team but at the same time, we understand we’re a better football team than what we showed today,” said safety Jordan Poyer as he shared the media session alongside Hyde. “So it’s one of those ‘you gotta take a look in the mirror, we’ve got a game on Thursday’, short turnaround so we’re able to come back tomorrow, and obviously the 24-hour rule and get ready to play on Thursday night.”
Buffalo now enters a pivotal remaining stretch of the regular season with high playoff hopes.
Kansas City has not been as dominant this season as in recent years, and the rebuilt New England squad is no longer the practice-filming dynasty that won six championships.
The road to the Super Bowl in the AFC may be more open than it has been in some time.
The club still has the opportunity to once more sweep the division, with a game against the Jets and two against the Patriots.
One thing’s for sure, Buffalo now finds itself back in familiar territory.
A team with something to prove, who may now be viewed as a division and playoff underdog with their rival Patriots once more ahead of them.
In order to win a championship, the Bills and their coaching staff will need to turn things around and find consistency to make another strong playoff run.
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