The Bills Still Have Trouble Closing Games Out
Teams that struggle on offense will often have trouble putting teams away in games they lead because they simply do not score enough points to pull away. This happened several times to the Bills last season. Despite winning 10 games, there where several instances where the Bills were seemingly in control, but still let their opponent hang within striking range.
Fortunately, the Bills got through their regular season schedule without losing a game where they had a comfortable lead. That changed, however, in the postseason.
The Bills certainly remember what happened to them in January when they traveled to Houston for the wild card playoffs. The Bills drove for a touchdown on their opening drive, but did not score another touchdown the rest of the wayvs, the Texans. The Buffalo lead evaporated as Deshaun Watson led a comeback and the Bills saw their season end in overtime.
For the Bills to get back to the postseason in 2020 against a tougher schedule, they cannot let teams get off the mat when they have them down. In the season opener Sunday against New York, the Bills again struggled to deliver a knockout blow in the second half.
The Bills held a 21-0 lead in the second quarter, but left the door open for a potential Jets comeback with a series of mistakes. The Bills seemed to sleepwalk through portions of the third quarter and didn’t really wake up until the Jets had the ball trailing by just 11 early in the fourth quarter.
The Bills got away with a lackadaisical second half against the Jets, a lowly squad that appears destined for a top-10 draft pick. But they won’t find similar luck against the best teams in the NFL, many of whom are on their 2020 schedule.
A big reason why the Bills did not finish off Houston last January is because they blew too many scoring opportunities. That happened again Sunday against the Jets. Allen killed two drives deep into Jets territory himself by fumbling the ball away twice. He also missed on some throws that could have gone for game-clinching touchdowns. The first was a throw down the seam for Cole Beasley in the third quarter. Beasley had split two Jets defenders in the middle of the secondary and had a shot at a catch and run that could have ended in the end zone. But Allen underthrew the pass and Beasley had to go to the ground to catch it. The Bills then ended up with no points on the drive as Tyler Bass missed a 38-yard field goal. The Jets were on the board three plays later as Crowder broke away for his long touchdown.
The Bills responded by putting together another nice long drive that looked like it was going to end in points. But on third-and-4 from the Jets’ 16, Allen underthrew Devin Singletary on a wheel route down the left sideline. Harvey Langi was able to make a play on the ball and knock it away. Had the throw been placed out in front of Singletary, it likely would have been caught for a touchdown. Instead, the Bills chose to settle for another Bass field goal attempt, which was again missed.
Allen’s most egregious miss came on the next drive after the Bills set themselves up with a first-and-goal at the Jet 4. On second down, Allen rolled out to his left and had Brown wide open running in the same direction in the back of the end zone. But Allen airmailed the pass. Allen was incomplete again on third down, and the Bills settled for a field goal, which Bass finally made.
The Bills left too many points off the board during Sunday’s game. It didn’t hurt them against a Jet team that never really threatened to come back, but doing so again could be fatal against the better teams in the league. The Bills have to be better at burying teams when they have them down. This killed them last season and it could kill them again if it’s not corrected.