Bills at Patriots, Week 7 — Second-half open thread

The Buffalo Bills trail the New England Patriots 13-3 heading into the half. With 10 minutes to go in the second quarter, my feed went out, necessitating a reboot. To most of Bills Mafia, that feels like something the Bills need to do — unplug and reboot. As luck would have it, my service is set to be restored around 6:30 p.m. EDT tonight. Buffalo will need to resume production far sooner.

As play-by-play man Ian Eagle point out in the first half, “Things have not been crisp for Buffalo today.” [Insert Nicholas Cage meme.] The Bills’ offensive line has been in poor form too often, and that’s not helping quarterback Josh Allen — who has looked off more than on through two quarters.

Buffalo kicked off to New England, which began an efficient march downfield en route to a 3-0 lead. When Allen and the Bills came on the field for their first possession, Allen stared down his intended receiver and threw an interception on his first pass. Analyst Charles Davis pointed out that to his surprise, Allen has never gone consecutive games without a turnover.

There’s plenty of bad to consider from the first half but, and I’m going to say this once more and then move on — none of it is due to offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. Allen made certain to point out this week that their troubles on offense come down to execution, not because of scheme, calls, or otherwise. The offense needs to play better for Dorsey, who’s at its mercy when it comes to outsiders’ perceptions of him.

Through one half, Josh Allen is 9-of-16 for 99 yard with one interception — for a 48.7 rating. Allen did throw a TD dart to a wide-open tight end Dawson Knox, which was due to a no-brainer offensive pass interference call on running back Latavius Murray. While I wasn’t able to see it unfold, the stats told me rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid caught four passes for 44 yards — on four targets. That’s a promising development as it relates to the team’s offensive troubles. The same can be said of second-year running back James Cook, who continues to show how valuable his versatility could be to Buffalo’s offense down the stretch.

Zero magical things have happened between Stefon Diggs and Allen to this point. Kicker Tyler Bass missed yet another field goal. The sky is falling, or perhaps the Bills and Patriots are celebrating Halloween early by switching their uniforms.

Whatever the case may be, things better change quick. For today, and for the season. The era of excuses is long over. Win and go home, otherwise they’ll never get the chance to play win or go home.

Here’s your open thread for the remainder of today’s Bills game. Let’s hope everyone’s postgame vibes tell a different, more positive story. Go Bills!