Bills need to shore up tackling
The Buffalo Bills defense has been dominant all season long. The defense has really been the backbone of the team. While the offense has sputtered and struggled at times this season, the defense has held them in it. The Buffalo defense had given up 20 or more points in a game just four times all season entering Saturday.
The Bills defense has even rebounded from some struggles at midseason, specifically with run defense. But a new issue has cropped up that ultimately killed the Bills on Saturday: poor tackling.
The Patriots exposed Buffalo issues with tackling on several plays during Saturday’s game. Tackling is an essential element of defense necessary to handle the Patriots. They don’t have a big downfield passing game like they did during the Randy Moss era, they like to throw underneath and short, demanding that the defenders come up and make the tackle in one-on-one situations. They also turn to a strong running game that asks defenses to match their physicality.
On Saturday, the Bills failed to stand up to the physically of the Patriots. Tackling was a major downfall.
There were missed tackles all over the field for Buffalo, helping to turn short runs and completions into big gains for the Patriots. The tackling issue was highlighted on the Patriots go-ahead touchdown run with 5:06 to play. On a first-and-goal play from the one yard line, Burkhead appeared to be stopped in the backfield by Star Lotulelei and Lorenzo Alexander, but broke free of both tackle attempts and skipped into the end zone to give the Patriots play. It was just one of many plays were Patriots’ backs and receivers were able to get extra yards by breaking free of tackles.
The Bills have been fundamentally sound all season long on defense, which makes their tackling struggles so puzzling. But the Patriots will make you play a perfectly sound game to beat them. If you’re not up to it, you’ll be exposed.
Suddenly, tackling is a concern for the Buffalo defense. The lone touchdown they gave up to the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday night featured a broken tackle by James Conner. Whatever the reason for this problem, the Bills have to get it corrected because the team has such a small margin for error with an offense that struggles to score consistently. Giving up extra yards to missed tackled could prove to be a fatal mistake, and it was Saturday against New England.