Tag: EFC East

Bills ground game has historic breakout in Week 10

#Bills ground game has historic breakout in Week 10:

The Bills are winners once again, bulldozing the Jets on Sunday in a lopsided 45-17 victory following an off-performance against Jacksonville.

While seeking consistency as they prepare for the remainder of their regular-season opponents, the team had a game more like the kind fans have grown accustomed to seeing from Josh Allen and company.

There was also a significant development that stood out during the win, one in an area of offense that has been criticized often over the past year.

The Bills ground game came alive. And they did so in historic fashion.

A week after Josh Allen and the offense failed to make it into the endzone, they did just that and more. While the QB went 21 of 28 for 366 yards and two passing TD’s, it was the personnel that got it done on the ground who turned some heads.

This year’s kickoff return man, McKenzie got in on the action, taking the ball for an eight-yard TD capping a 75 yard, five-possession drive to start the second half. 

Then, also in the third quarter, Matt Breida and Zack Moss joined him, as did Devin Singletary in the fourth quarter, all adding touchdowns of their own.

The four different player carries for scores was a Bills franchise first.

And that wasn’t the only franchise mark set, as the Bills’ total points on the season increased to 280 setting a new team record for the first nine games of a season (278 in 1964.)

In the winning effort, Buffalo’s 54 offensive plays had an average of 9.1 yards for a season-high 489 yards. It was the second-highest single-game yards per play total in team history (9.3 ypp at Seattle on 12/23/2000, 579 yards on 62 plays.)

Hopefully, this encouraging development is a sign of things to come.

Moss and Singletary had previously struggled to perform to the level many have expected. Shaking off some of the rust and criticism, the two third-round picks from consecutive NFL Drafts each made an impact in the final score.

And another name that jumped off the stat sheet paper was Matt Breida’s.

The free-agent signee and former 49er was active for the first time since Week 2. In those first two contests, he only had four carries. On Sunday he had six total carries and two TD’s for 15 yards each, one of which was a first-quarter pass from Allen.

Head coach Sean McDermott spoke complimented their performance. “We ran the ball I thought effectively, in particular in the second half, mostly in the third quarter, ” McDermott said while addressing the media after the game.

He also noted Breida was a part of their plans for Sunday all along. “He [Breida] was gonna be in the plan it was just a matter of how much,” Mcdermott added. “He gave us a spark.”

Josh Allen spoke about how the RB’s speed was a big factor in his ability to make plays.

“He’s able to make one cut and go. You see it in the passing game too,” Allen said alongside Breida during the postgame press conference. “First drive, saw what I saw, darted upfield, and we were on the same page there. This is a guy that hasn’t had many opportunities throughout the year, but he made the most of it today. It was good to see.”

The Bills will now turn their attention towards facing the Indianapolis Colts, against whom they will look to find similar success at home in Orchard Park next Sunday.

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Brian Daboll talks position flexibility factor in Bills win

Brian Daboll talks position flexibility factor in #Bills win:

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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