The Buffalo Bills lost to a motivated Philadelphia Eagles team this week and it was ugly. Buffalo had miscues and was dominated in every facet of the game. We’ll highlight the five things we think were the most important here in our takeaways post:
We are worried about the Bills’ defense
It’s official. After two straight down weeks, we are officially worried about the defense. It’s not the screen game, which has hurt them over the last two weeks. The Bills were gashed in the run game, and Philadelphia went over 200 yards on the ground. The Bills may need to try and add a DT at the trade deadline to replace Harrison Phillips in the rotation. Star Lotulelei and Kyle Peko are not getting it done. (The Bills allowed 381 yards to the Miami Dolphins’ anemic squad last week, too.) They allowed big plays in the passing game again, as well, and Levi Wallace left the game with a shoulder injury.
Use running backs more, coach!
Devin Singletary had one touch in the first half. He showed why he needs more opportunities on his slippery touchdown run after catch. As the third quarter turned to fourth, Frank Gore opened a drive with two good runs, then the Bills went to the air. Seven straight passes led to zero net yards, a turnover on downs, and a punt. After that, the Bills were down three scores and went away from the run completely while the game still mattered. Especially with the QB runs that were called, why not use the running backs more?
Terrible two-minute drive ends first half
A bomb called to Robert Foster, an 8-yard run to Frank Gore, then a designed QB sweep on 3rd-and-2. Josh Allen had the ball pop out and the Eagles turned it into a 4-point lead heading into the half. Instead of the Bills driving with the wind, they shot themselves in the foot with execution and play calls. Robert Foster didn’t come back to the bomb. Allen put the ball on the ground. There were a lot of questionable play calls in the game, but this series encapsulates a lot of the problems.
Sloppy special teams
A bad third quarter kickoff was returned to the 35, leading to the Eagles’ first touchdown of the second half. Stephen Hauschka missed a field goal, albeit competing with wind. Their second kickoff of the second half was returned to the mid-30s and the Eagles were in scoring position after one play. Buffalo let the Eagles block their extra-point attempt in the third quarter. It was not a great day.
Josh Allen has a bad day
The wind didn’t do him any favors, and a few drops were pretty noticeable, but the Bills’ second-year quarterback was not very good on Sunday. He was below 50% in completion percentage. He fumbled three times, including the crucial one near the end of the first half. He was late to throw it on a late 4th-and-10 play while the Bills were still in the game. He wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t good.