The Buffalo Bills have serious concerns that need to be addressed with their second straight loss

Very few people were willing to argue that the Buffalo Bills would field the same kind of dominant team that everyone had grown accustomed to over the past four seasons. Losing so much talent required patience from outsiders. Then they went out and started the season 3-0 against teams with bigger deficiencies – and they looked dominant.

Immediately following the game, the team here at Buffalo Rumblings had a lively conversation in Discord about how head coach Sean McDermott and the Bills handled their final drive of the game. It was essentially a no-win situation, but I begged McDermott not to waste the clock in exchange for overtime.

I thought it was the right move to give Josh Allen the opportunity to put the team in position to finish the game on offense. What I didn’t say, however, was that working this way should always include a good twist when something goes wrong, but not in a disastrous way. So when wide receiver Keon Coleman was flagged for offensive pass interference (a wise penalty from him), the next move should have been to take their lumps and run out the clock to play for overtime. Force the Houston Texans to use their timeouts after clock-killing run plays so they don’t have timeouts to work with when they get the ball back on a punt.

Instead, Bills Mafia saw another improbable field goal attempt fly through the posts in the endgame. All the Texans needed was seven seconds to get into position and let Ka’Imi Fairbairn try to convert the winning 59-yard field goal. Seven seconds, which the Bills could have easily run away by calling even one running play before kicking away on their final possession.

I still believe that for the victory there was the right mentality and decision to start. They should have known the passing game was struggling all afternoon, and should have had a backup plan for parachutes in case of an emergency. Yet they did not, or at least chose not to deviate from the original plan. Stick to your weapon even when you’re defeated.

Playing without wide receiver Khalil Shakir did them no favors, and it’s clear they need an additional, different receiving complement. That’s clearly not Curtis Samuel – at least not right now. Is it the toe injury, a lack of chemistry or something else? Why hasn’t offensive coordinator Joe Brady done more to get Dalton Kincaid into clear mismatches as a diverse and unique receiving threat?

Allen claimed that “this is not a defining moment in our season,” yet it certainly feels that way after the Bills have lost back-to-back games against some of the AFC’s best competition. And in both losses, Josh Allen didn’t look great, and the offensive line looked even worse. How bad were things? Allen finished with a 30% completion percentage, going 9-of-30 for 131 yards and a touchdown.

It’s time for One Bills Drive to address the elephant in the attack room. The receiving corps doesn’t scare opponents and the group consistently fails to make defenses pay for blitzing. All of that has led to Josh Allen struggling, as we’ve seen since his rookie season.

While we are constantly told that everyone eats at One Bills Drive, there is a depth of chemistry missing on the field that seems to tell the story of a starving group. As Sean Murphy noted early in action, “If teams don’t respect the receivers across from them, the defense can use additional rushers with impunity.” Until someone wins early on routes and the Bills beat that extra pressure, it will happen again and again.

That quick underplay that was so powerful in training camp is all but gone. Having wide receiver Khalil Shakir on the field probably won’t change that story much, but he makes those catches late in the game and functions as a more efficient receiver between the sticks.

For the second straight game, Buffalo’s first half play was a disaster across the board, but a very limited defense did enough to keep the game within reach for Josh Allen and company. The defense’s play in the second half was inspired and they held Houston to six points over the last 30 minutes. Either way, the damage had already been done and climbing out of a two-touchdown hole meant there would be fewer opportunities to produce go-ahead drives.

People will be calling for more action against James Cook, but the early deficit hurts his chances of making the Texans pay. Despite this, Cook finished with 20 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown. Buffalo needs to figure things out holistically so they can utilize Cook’s full capabilities.

Leaving the field with a total of six points after two 1st & Goals situations is unacceptable. The Bills won the turnover battle, but didn’t do enough with the football when they controlled it.

The season isn’t over yet and they are still in fourth place in the AFC regardless of how the rest of Week 5 develops. Things could unravel quickly if they refuse to make significant adjustments to their current offensive plan.

If the offensive line continues to stink, Josh Allen will be seriously hurt. The goal was to build a team that complemented Allen and didn’t ask him to do everything. Instead, it feels like he’s never been asked to compensate more since entering the league in 2018.

Sean McDermott took full responsibility for the endgame mistakes on offense and defense. That’s noble and great to see from Buffalo’s senior leader, but the step required is to learn from it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Yet here we were, faced with yet another complex foul decision, the results of which seemed doomed from the start. McDermott must figure out how to lead his players to victory in the toughest situations. Until he does, the Buffalo Bills will remain an overhyped and often cast aside team led by a generational quarterback.