Joe Brady’s ability to adapt led to Bills offense onslaught in snow
After the Buffalo Bills’ 35-10 beatdown of the San Francisco 49ers in Week 13, the team is now 16-3 since Joe Brady was promoted to interim offensive coordinator after Week 10 last year.
Brady has changed the Bills’ offense to put his own flare on things. In return, the game has slowed down and simplified for Josh Allen.
No more sitting in shotgun for the majority of the game and spreading out five wide. No more relying on Allen to make things happen every other play.
Allen’s passing yards per game (224.3) is at its lowest since 2019. His rushing yards per game (27.8) is at its lowest since 2020. But most importantly, the team is off to its best start in decades at 10-2.
Brady’s approach has a direct impact on the 10-2 record. His playcalling style, although limiting to Allen’s statistics, has Allen with only five interceptions to this point. It’s on pace to be a career-low.
In return, the Bills are scoring points at the second-highest clip in the NFL (29.6 ppg). And, they are elite on offense all while keeping it simple.
Brady has made life the easiest for Allen that he’s seen thus far in his career. He’s spamming run plays until the defense stops it. He’s using motion pre-snap to uncover the defense. He’s using a sixth offensive linemen to make running easier. He’s going under center and using play action. Above all, he’s been willing to adjust and beat a team in a plethora of ways.
The Bills offense can shapeshift. And that’s exactly what they did in the Sunday night win.
According to the Buffalo Bills Notebook, the Bills were in shotgun for their first six plays in Week 13, and those plays resulted in just 12 yards. Brady decided to mix things up early. Over the Bills’ next 50 plays, Allen was under center for 38 of them.
On adjusting early, Brady said, “We knew it was going to be a weather condition game, but until you’re out there, every snow game is a little bit different.”
Until the Bills got out there in Week 13, they didn’t know just how bad the footing would be on the playing surface. After an early three-and-out, Bills players and personnel got on the same page and adjusted the game plan.
The shift in the offensive identity early on resulted in a season-high 220 rushing yards on their way to 35 points scored. James Cook averaged 7.6 yards per carry while Ray Davis averaged 5.7 per pop. The adjustment to playing under center was so effective that Allen and the starters were able to hit the bench early in the fourth.
That’s exactly what you want to see in an offense and a playcaller. First, the players’ talent and ability to be able to be used in different ways, and second, a coordinator’s trust and awareness to change things after just one failed drive.
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