List of the Buffalo Bills’ top-five needs heading into the 2020 offseaon.
This Bills offseason is upon us while the NFL’s final four get after it in championship weekend.
While Buffalo had a successful season in 2019, each and every organization has holes to fill thanks to free agency, retirements and other circumstances. The Bills are no different.
With a big chunk of room under the salary cap, near $90 million, the Bills could be making some moves this offseason. What should some of those be?
Here are the Bills’ top-six needs for the Bills this offseason:
Buffalo Bills outside linebacker Lorenzo Alexander. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)
Replace leadership
Over the past few seasons under head coach Sean McDermott, the Bills have been sure to keep their locker room stocked with leaders. First and foremast, there was Kyle Williams. He retired following the 2018 season and linebacker Lorenzo Alexander has followed suit this offseason.
In one way or another, running back Frank Gore might be following Alexander out the door as well. Gore is notably 36 and a pending free agent. He said on locker cleanout day that he still hasn’t decided if he’s going to retire himself. If the Bills lose both Alexander and Gore, those are two huge leadership voids that need filling.
This offseason the Bills will have to decide one of two things. Is there potentially a veteran free agent on their radar they can bring in? Or could the answer already be in the locker room? Safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer could be candidates on defense, while Cole Beasley or John Brown might be qualified candidates on offense as well. Of course, the first names everyone will jump to are the team’s first-round picks from 2018 in Josh Allen and Tremaine Edmunds.
John Murphy: There’s no Lorenzo Alexander coming back into the building
Zo: Yeah there is. There’s Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, Tremaine Edmunds, Tre’ White. If me and Kyle Williams have left this organization with a hole we haven’t done our jobs pic.twitter.com/Gb5BLT16Ja
Buffalo Bills season recap podcast from The Bills Wire.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen calls signals at the line of scrimmage in the first half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
With the 2019 season being over for nearly a week, podcast hosts Matt and Jeremy have had some time to properly reflect on this 2019 season. While the way that it ended was not ideal, and pretty upsetting, it was a good year from an overall perspective.
Despite all of the criticism about strength of schedule, a young roster with growing pains, and a lot of “coulda, woulda, shoulda” moments, Bills fans should look back fondly on the 2019. With a solid coaching staff, whose instilled motto of “Trust the Process” has made considerable gains, and a General Manager who has flipped this roster, nearly 100% from before his reign, all signs point to up.
Josh Allen progressed relatively well in 2019, giving more fuel to the Allen apologists. He showed incredible growth, while still making some rookie mistakes, but importantly, has played well enough to leave no questions if he should continue to be a starter going into the 2020-21 season.
The fortunate aspect for this off season is that Beane and McDermott know have a smaller amount of spokes to replace on the wheel that is the Buffalo Bills, and are able to hone in on the most important needs before free agency and trades open up in a few months.
Buffalo Bills RB Devin Singletary appears in Pro Football Focus’ top-50 rookies list.
The Bills struck gold in running back Devin Singletary. Even Pro Football Focus thinks so.
The football analytics outlet released their top-50 rookies list following the 2019 regular season and Singletary is the lone Buffalo player on the list.
Here’s how PFF breaks his season down and lands him at their No. 45 spot:
45. RB DEVIN SINGLETARY, BUFFALO BILLS
Devin Singletary’s poor receiving prevented him from climbing any higher than 45th on this list, but his production as a rusher is exactly what you want to see. Singletary produced 0.24 missed tackles per rush attempt, the third-best mark among all qualifying running backs in the NFL, and he had the second-highest rate of carries that went for 10 or more yards (16.4%).
While the Bills did get contributions from the likes of DT Ed Oliver, OL Cody Ford and TE Dawson Knox, Singletary stands out for one reason which makes sense as to why he’s on PFF’s list.
Oliver, Ford and Knox had moments, but not the consistency of Singletary, or even rookies of the Bills’ recent past. LB Matt Milano, OL Dion Dawkins and CB Tre’Davious White stepped into the NFL and were steady. Oliver lost his starting spot this season, but still played well. Similar scenarios played out for Ford and Knox.
Back to the man of the hour/ article, Singletary was steady, steady, steady for the Bills. Early in the season he had a hamstring injury and also sat behind Frank Gore. But even in his limited touches, Singletary was dynamic and many clamored for him to get more touches. Eventually he did and took over the starting role. Overall, Singletary had 775 rushing yards and two scored on the ground, along with 29 catches for 194 receiving yards and two more scores in the air.
Singletary has promise. However, Buffao head coach Sean McDermott said at his season-ending press conference that he’s a believer in a two-running back system in the NFL, so whether it’s Gore or someone else, the Bills could look to add a back this offseason.
Buffalo’s 2019 campaign was quite a successful one. The team won 10 games for the first time in two decades. The Bills buttoned up a playoff berth with three weeks remaining in the season.
For this group, it was a full-team effort to achieve their accomplishments, but a few of those players stood out above the rest.
With that, here are the Bills’ superlatives and awards for what was the 2019 NFL season:
Offensive MVP: John Brown
Buffalo Bills wide receiver John Brown (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
There were quite a few signature John Brown touchdown dances this year. Brown was easily the best free agent signing for the team this year. The veteran wide receiver gave quarterback Josh Allen a semblance of a No. 1 receiver, and it paid off for the team. Brown set career highs in receptions (72) and receiving yards (1,060). “Smoke” had been known for his speed, but his precise route-running was welcomed addition for the Bills aerial attack.
While Brown and Cole Beasley, another offseason addition prior to 2019, did have successes in their first seasons with the team, the Bills shouldn’t be shy about continuing to add around Allen once again.
11 takeaways from Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott’s end of season press conference.
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott spoke for the final time during the 2019 NFL season. With his team’s loss to the Houston Texans in the Wild Card, things will now turn to the 2020 year.
But before fully doing so, McDermott chatted with reporters to discuss all that was his team’s playoff ride in 2019.
Here are X takeaways from McDermott’s end of season press conference:
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, left, talks with offensive coordinator Brian Daboll during. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
How important is Brian Daboll returning?
While the fan base might be split on the job status of Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who interviewed for the Cleveland Browns’ head coaching vacancy, it appears his current team is not. McDermott like quarterback Josh Allen, want him back.
“I’m not going to talk about Brian with Cleveland… I’m going to talk about our football team and where we’re trying to go. At the end of the day, we all have to get better, and that starts with me. That goes right into the rest of my coaching staff and to our players. That continuity is important with Josh and our coaching staff but it’s also important in other areas of our team as well. We’ve got some thoughts on where we need to improve and certainty continuity is important, not just from coach to player, but from coach to coach and the list goes on. The more we’re around each other, the more continuity, and that’s where we talk about, as I said, keeping this team as in-tact as possible… that certainly helps you,” McDermott said.
While McDermott didn’t directly say “we want Daboll back,” he basically did.
From Up To The Minute Live: #Bama offensive coordinator Brian Daboll is on several candidates‘ lists for an OC job. A return could be coming. pic.twitter.com/fmptFdpuo8
Four things we learned from the Buffalo Bills’ season-ending Wild-Card loss to the Houston Texans.
Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Saturday’s Wild Card loss in Houston is the type of loss that might be felt for years to come and might play a significant role in determining where this Buffalo Bills’ franchise goes from here in the near future.
While the future is bright for the Bills and there was plenty to be ecstatic about from a 10-6 season, a painful playoff loss could have an impact on what happens to the Bills going forward. It certainly stings now, but it also raises questions about many aspects of this Buffalo team heading into 2020, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
The Bills appeared to be on their way to a comfortable victory through two and a half quarters on Saturday, seemingly in control with a 16-0 lead. But the Bills allowed Houston to hang around just long enough to storm back. Led by an outstanding performance from quarterback Deshaun Watson, the Texans exploded for 19 consecutive points while the Bills managed just 38 total yards during a 16:25 span of the third and fourth quarters.
It appeared the Bills were done after a disastrous end to a drive into Houston territory with under two minutes to play. The Bills somehow turned a first-and-10 at the Houston 25 into a fourth-and-27 at the Houston 42. Allen was then sacked for a big loss to give the Texans the ball with a chance to run out the clock with 1:35 to play. However, the Bills were given a second chance when the Texans decided to go for the first down on 4th and 1 from the Buffalo 30. Watson’s QB sneak was stopped, and the Bills had the ball back for one last chance with 1:16 to play.
Again the Bills drove into Houston territory and this time got the tying points with five seconds left as Stephen Hauschka converted his fourth field goal of the day, this one from 47 yards.
In just the second playoff overtime game in Bills’ history, Sean McDermott’s squad had a chance to win the game after forcing a Houston punt on the first drive. The Bills were knocking on the door as consecutive third-and-long conversions to Dawson Knox and Devin Singletary moved the ball into Houston territory.
But once again, the Bills self-destructed as a personal foul penalty on Cody Ford moved the Bills back to their own 43. Allen then threw incomplete to Duke Williams on Buffalo’s final offensive play of the season. After punting, the stage was set for the play of the game, a play that will be talked about for years to come.
On second-and-6 from the Buffalo 44, Watson appeared to be sacked as Siran Neal and Matt Milano converged on him back in Houston territory. But, in what could only possibly be real in a video game, Watson somehow escaped from Neal and Milano as they bounced off each other after sandwiching him. The former Clemson star somehow stayed on his feet, scrambled to his right, and completed a short pass to former Bill Taiwan Jones, who broke free himself for a 34-yard gain.
That set up Ka’imi Fairbairn’s game-winning field goal from 28 yards away to end Buffalo’s season.
There will be a lot to dissect from this crushing loss, but the biggest talking point will be how the Bills let a 16-0 lead get away from them and, specifically, how the offense failed them in a game where one more score would have sent the Bills to the divisional round.
The Bills enter the 2020 offseason still seeking their first playoff victory since 1995. They have a lot to work on and, fortunately, $90 million in cap space to work with to patch up the holes that were fatal in 2019. There are still plenty of questions to answer about the duo of McDermott and Josh Allen, but they both gave us plenty to be optimistic about going forward.
Here are four things we learned from a season-ending loss that won’t soon be forgotten Saturday in the Lone Star State:
The Bills lost to the Houston Texans, 22-19 in a heartbreaking overtime defeat.
The Buffalo Bills first playoff appearance of this decade did not disappoint. The Bills and Texans battled all four quarters, forcing overtime.
Ultimately, Deshaun Watson and the Texans offense made enough plays in overtime giving Houston the Wild Card victory.
After a heartbreaking loss, here’s how the Bills graded out in what will be their final report card of the 2019 season:
Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Quarterback: C
Josh Allen started the first half strong, with a touchdown reception on the opening drive that seemingly set the tone for the rest of the game. The Bills never capitalized on that momentum, settling for field goals throughout the game.
When looking at Allen’s stat line it shows that he wasn’t consistent, he completed 24 of his 46 throws, 264 yards, zero passing touchdowns, and zero interceptions. To be fair, Allen wasn’t sharp in the second half and when the Texans were sending pressure he was making rash decisions. As the game progressed Allen started looking for the game winning play, when a more effective option was available.
Allen also tried to extend plays when they were dead, and cost his team valuable yards down the stretch. Allen has been an enigma all season, and Saturday was no exception. At times he extended plays with his legs, and made some sensational throws. Other times, especially late in the game he made some head-scratching decisions, like taking a deep shot to Patrick DiMarco in the fourth quarter.
Five takeaways from the Buffalo Bills’ Wild-Card loss to the Houston Texans.
The Buffalo Bills’ visit to the playoffs ended the same way as their last time two seasons ago, defeat.
Both games were close, but this one, an overtime loss, came in heartbreaking fashion for the Bills after Buffalo held a 16-0 lead over the Houston Texans after the first half of play.
With that, here are five takeaways from the Bills’ 22-19 loss to the Texans:
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
An ugly end
Bills quarterback Josh Allen had some good moments in this one. He completed deep passes, and made players miss with his legs while picking up chunks of yards. What ensued at the end of the Bills’ loss was nothing short of embarrassing and should’ve put him into perspective of what he is: a young quarterback.
Allen and the Bills’ offense drove into field goal range down three, took terrible penalties via intentional grounding and sacks to take the Bills out of field goal range. To the offense’s credit, the Bills got back into it and tied the game with an excellent rally and kick from Stephen Hauschka. In overtime, the Bills did little right.
To the defense’s credit, the Bills stopped the Texans’ opening drive. The Bills offense then couldn’t get things going much at all, and when they did, Cody Ford took a questionable penalty, but it was a rookie play on a block that didn’t need to happen. On defense, Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson broke a sack from Matt Milano and Siran Neal and dumped it off for a deep gain, setting up a chip-shot game-winning kick for the Texans. The Bills looked like a team in a playoff pinch for the first time.
Buffalo Bills rookie running back Devin Singeltary could give the Houston Texans defense problems. Bill O’Brien explains.
The Buffalo Bills have some juice in their backfield. To complement the ageless Frank Gore, rookie Devin Singletary has made his mark in his inaugural season as a slippery threat. The Houston Texans, ahead of their wild card matchup with Buffalo, are all too aware of that.
“He’s a very, very good, dynamic player,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said of Singletary on Friday. “He’s got good quickness, good speed. That one-two punch with him and Frank Gore, that’s a tough deal. That’s very challenging. Frank Gore is one of the best ever do it. Singletary’s come in here very explosive, so it’s a big challenge.”
Singletary, who measures in at 5-7, 203-pounds, evaded, juked and spun his way out of tackles en route to 775 yards and two touchdowns on 5.1 yards per attempt in 12 games. He tallied 29 receptions for 194 yards and touchdowns as well.
According to Pro Football Reference, Singletary recorded 2.4 yards after contact on average in 2019. He totaled 20 broken tackles on the season. The Florida Atlantic product makes up for his lack of size with his footwork, quickness and creativity as a runner, equating to a hard tackle.
“We’re going to have to do a good job of being disciplined up front, we’re going to have to tackle,” O’Brien said in conclusion. “We’ve got to tackle well in this game. I think tackling is going to be a big part of the game.”
The Bills’ offense isn’t a particularly lethal one. However, Singletary, as a rookie, will keep the Texans’ defense on its toes. Considering Houston recorded the 10th-most missed tackles in 2019 (117), the defensive front seven will have to step-up if they want to contain Singletary.
The Texans will host Singletary and the Bills at NRG Stadium on Saturday at 3:35 pm CT. The winner of the matchup goes to the next round of the playoffs.
The Buffalo Bills are back in the playoffs and will be facing the Houston Texans.
The Buffalo Bills are back in the playoffs for the second time in three years, and will be facing the AFC South champions Houston Texans. After a surprising 10-6 season, the Bills will be going to Houston to face Deshaun Watson, J.J. Watt, and DeAndre Hopkins on Wild Card weekend.
Here are the five matchups to watch against Houston on Saturday:
Let’s not beat around the bush here, this is the biggest test in the young career of Tre’Davious White. These two locked horns last season and White had an underrated performance. He held the Pro Bowl receiver to five catches, 63 yards, and one touchdown. White was in a great coverage, but Hopkins made an exceptional back shoulder grab that only a few players can make in the NFL.
White has had the best season of his career, with six interceptions, and 17 pass breakups the most important stat for White though, is that he’s allowed zero touchdowns this season. Putting him in the running for Defensive Player of the Year.
DeAndre Hopkins on the other hand, has been having a down year by his lofty standards. The Pro Bowler has 104 catches, 1,165 yards, and seven touchdowns. His past two seasons saw him go over 1,300 yards, and go into double digits for touchdowns as well.
With fellow wide receivers, Will Fuller V and Kenny Stills both listed as questionable for Saturday the offense will run through quarterback Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins.
