Let’s strip away all on-field results from the 2023 Buffalo Bills for a second.
Right now, per RBDSM.com, perennial Pro Bowl quarterback Josh Allen’s expected points added (EPA) and completion percentage over expected (CPOE) of 0.184 is second in the NFL. He’s projected to finish with over 40 created touchdowns and, on a statistical basis, might be enjoying the finest season of his career. As a team, Buffalo is fourth in the league in total yards, is fifth in scoring, and owns the second-best point differential.
Yet, the Bills are only 5-4. What gives?
As it turns out, even with the on-paper success, the Bills’ offense leaves a lot of meat on the bone every week. For one, it could utilize a consistently faster pace centered around Allen and a dynamite no-huddle approach much more often. After scoring just 18 points in an AFC heavyweight battle against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott was asked about why his team didn’t move faster on offense.
His response was utterly clueless for a team that fancies (fancied?) itself a Super Bowl 58 contender:
Sean McDermott on why it took so long for the #Bills to get to a faster pace offensively vs Bengals: “We wanted to get to some other styles of play rather than the quicker upper tempo.. some things we can look at and examine moving forward.”
— alex brasky (@alexbrasky) November 6, 2023
I know the regular season is a time for NFL squads to figure out what they can and can’t do well. But early November is when an identity should already be established. If you’re a contender, you should more or less know what works and what doesn’t by the halfway mark. And if you’re still going to experiment with new offensive ideas, maybe the time to do so isn’t against the rival that eliminated you in last year’s playoffs. A crazy thought, I know.
By no means is this Bills season over. But between an offense predicated on empty calories and an injury-riddled defense, it doesn’t look like Buffalo is going anywhere. Throw in McDermott’s way-too-casual approach to coaching, and it’s obvious this iteration of the Bills is probably just doomed.
Sorry, people of Western New York. I think y’all will have to wait at least another year for what you’ve already been waiting for your entire lives.