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Buffalo Bills running game issues: an All-22 look

The Buffalo Bills ran for just 68 yards on 38 carries in their 37-14 win over the New York Jets in Week 11. What went wrong for the Bills? Well, just about everything.

By Brian Galliford
  • (Play 1, 1 of 2) The Bills run plays like this a lot - slant the line one way, run a weak-side blocker across the formation as a lead blocker (here, Frank Summers). It's a counter, but there's a problem here: the Bills don't block Muhammad Wilkerson, one of the best defensive linemen in the league.
  • (Play 1, 2 of 2) Cordy Glenn and Doug Legursky double-team one defender, leaving Wilkerson completely unblocked. Glenn should have stepped backwards to at least slow Wilkerson's progress towards C.J. Spiller. Spiller can't outrun Wilkerson because Kraig Urbik can't sustain his block, clogging up the lane.
  • (Play 2, 1 of 2) This run is heading left, with Glenn helping to seal the edge off left tackle before heading to the second level to block David Harris.
  • (Play 2, 2 of 2) The Jets send a run blitz, with Dawan Landry streak off of left tackle unblocked. Spiller sees him and looks to the cutback lane, which is sealed off by Wilkerson, who has rendered a Legursky block utterly ineffective. Spiller was leveled by both players at the line of scrimmage.
  • (Play 3, 1 of 2) Here's another counter run, with the addition of a pulling right guard (Urbik). Lee Smith is the other lead blocker.
  • (Play 3, 2 of 2) Fred Jackson misses an opportunity for more yardage on this play. In red, Demario Davis is focusing on EJ Manuel rolling out, with Scott Chandler (circled in red) the potential receiving target. Davis doesn't pursue quickly, leaving a lane (in yellow) for Jackson to attack. Instead, he presses to the outside, and Quinton Coples (circled in yellow) easily disengages for a stop.
  • (Play 4, 1 of 2) The Bills dial up an end-around fake (in blue) on this play; the Jets ignored it, so they ran the end-around three plays later (Ed Reed sniffed it out). On this play, you'll want to focus on the double-team inside on Kenrick Ellis, in red.
  • (Play 4, 2 of 2) Eric Wood and Legursky execute their assignment well: they double Ellis until Legursky can establish an edge, and then Wood moves forward to take on David Harris (who bit hard on the end-around fake). Spiller does not hit the hole hard enough; had he taken the blue route, he'd have had at least a modest gain, but instead he presses the hole to the outside and then tries to cut north, giving Landry (26) enough time to meet him at the line.
  • (Play 5, 1 of 2) No fancy diagrams are needed for this play. Note here that Wood is lined up on the 31-yard line, directly across from nose tackle Damon Harrison...
  • (Play 5, 2 of 2) ... as the handoff is made, Wood has been driven two yards backwards, and Harrison plugs the lane up sufficiently that Spiller is forced to bounce outside. We all know how things turn out when Spiller is forced outside.
  • (Play 6, 1 of 2) This is a more straightforward power running call, with one double-team inside (on Harrison, between Wood and Legursky), Summers the lead blocker into the A gap, and Jackson picking a hole to exploit.
  • (Play 6, 2 of 2) The Bills block this up fairly well (Urbik has even taken care of Davis at the second level, in yellow), save for one area: Summers doesn't get enough of Harris going low. Harris keeps his balance and prevents Jackson from running straight upfield between Glenn (blocking 91, Sheldon Richardson) and Summers (in red).
  • (Play 7, 1 of 2) Again, no fancy diagramming needed here. Just focus on Legursky (in yellow) and Wilkerson (in red).
  • (Play 7, 2 of 2) That's a whiff and a half on Legursky's part. Wilkerson steps by him like he's not there, and hits Spiller as soon as the ball is tucked away.
  • (Play 8, 1 of 1) Wood had the block of the day on Summers' second-quarter touchdown run. It's a typical block that's well-executed in confined space: he takes care of his first assignment, then moves to the second level.
  • (Play 8, 2 of 2) Wood scrapes off of his first assignment and seals the edge, allowing Summers to squeak through the narrowest of lanes and waltz into the end zone.
  • (Play 9, 1 of 2) The Bills are running another counter here, with T.J. Graham throwing a key block on the play (right red arrow). Jackson takes a step in the direction of the line, then plants and explodes to his left.
  • (Play 9, 2 of 2) Buffalo blocks this up exceedingly well, and it's a well-timed play call - Jackson has the widest running lane any Bills runner will see all day. Dee Milliner (27) is the man Jackson has to evade, and he can't: he essentially runs directly into Milliner (yellow arrow), rather than planing and getting north (blue arrow).
  • (Play 10, 1 of 2) The yellow circle focuses on Legursky, lined up across from Harrison (in red). This is another weak-side run, with Smith serving as the lead blocker and the line slanting toward the strong side of the formation.
  • (Play 10, 2 of 2) Legursky is so positively overwhelmed by Harrison that he ends up in the path of Smith. The two players collide, Spiller has absolutely nowhere to go, and he's again forced to try to make something happen outside. This play lost yardage.

If the Buffalo Bills want to make good on the idea that their 37-14 win over the New York Jets in Week 11 was a season-changer, and legitimately make a push for a wild card playoff berth down the home stretch, then they have a ton of work to do in fixing their ailing running game.

The Bills have been held under 100 rushing yards as a team in four of their last five games, with Sunday's 38-carry, 68-yard output a season-worst performance. Sure, the Jets have the NFL's best run defense by a country mile, but there is plenty that the Bills can clean up, as well.

In the All-22 gallery above, you'll pretty much see it all: bad running back play, missed assignments, horrible blocks and, yes, even a good play or two that could have ultimately yielded more. Long story short: Buffalo's running game looked very out of sorts against the Jets, and if they don't want to force EJ Manuel to carry the team to a potential post-season spot by himself, they're going to have to fix this up quickly.

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