The Buffalo Bills had an offensive offense in the first half of their game against the Green Bay Packers, punting on every single possession on the way to a 16-0 deficit. Josh Allen, alternating between inaccurate throws and throwaways against smothering coverage, only completed 5-of-19 passes. The rushing offense, alternating between Chris Ivory and LeSean McCoy on a pitch count, hasn’t made a difference. At the end of the half, Allen finally connected with Kelvin Benjamin for a 34 yard reception, setting up a red zone series, but killed the drive with a terrible interception on a play that should’ve been another throwaway.
Aaron Rodgers has been as good as advertised, completing 10-of-15 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown, though the Bills defense managed to come away with his first interception of 2018 after Tremaine Edmunds tipped a pass that landed in Jordan Poyer’s possession. The real problem has been Buffalo’s run defense, which was gashed for 89 yards on 17 carries in the first half.
It didn’t help that Micah Hyde left early in the first quarter with a groin injury. His replacement, Rafael Bush, doesn’t have as much range or agility. Rookie Taron Johnson re-injured his shoulder and is questionable to return, and even corner Ryan Lewis was banged up late in the half.
Despite their shortcomings, the Bills are still within two scores. They’ll need a strong second half improvement if they hope to turn this match around. A sixteen point deficit isn’t insurmountable in the NFL, but between these two teams, it might just be.