It was a cold, windy Monday night at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, NY. The (5-4) Buffalo Bills took on the (3-5) Denver Broncos looking to get back into the win column and the seventh seed of the AFC playoff picture.

There were rumblings heading into the week about what had happened to the once-explosive offense of the Buffalo Bills led by superstar quarterback Josh Allen.

Things like, “What has offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey done with the play calling”, and “Did he break Allen’s confidence and spirit?”

These questions should have been answered with a get-right game against the Broncos, but we still received the same old story plaguing this team.

Buffalo Bills Week 10 Slays

Firing Ken Dorsey

When all of Bills Mafia woke up the next morning, we all heard the inevitable news that offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey was relieved of his duties.

This was great news, even though it was not 100% his fault for the offensive shortcomings. The unit was not improving at all, and it probably would have gotten to a boiling point if it continued to the end of the season.

Bills OC Joe Brady – Gregory Fisher/USA TODAY Sports

The Buffalo Bills smartly promoted another man named Brady, but it wasn’t Greg or Tom Brady, it was their 34-year-old quarterback coach, Joe Brady.

He was named interim offensive coordinator for the rest of the season. Brady had already led his “bunch” of Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Justin Jefferson at LSU to the national championship title in 2020.

Now, he will look to revive his “bunch” combined of Josh Allen, James Cook, Stefon Diggs, Dalton Kincaid, and Gabe Davis.

The Defense

Unlike the offense, the defense showed that they were ready to play from start to finish.  They didn’t need to bench any players, in order to make a statement.

Even with many injuries, the defense had multiple players who stepped up and showed what they were made of, including: AJ Epenesa, the quick (DE) who had two sacks and three quarterback hits, while (CB) Rasul Douglas was on his toes, recovering his first turnover as a Buffalo Bill.

Taron Johnson showed his speed and strength with a forced fumble while Greg Rousseau had another steady performance, collecting six total tackles and adding a key sack to stall a Broncos offensive drive.

Bills DE Greg Rousseau (50) – Adrian Kraus/AP Photo

The 6’6″, 266-pound, defensive end currently has four sacks on the year and is projected by ESPN to finish the season with 6.5 sacks should he continue on this pace.

As a team, the defense kept the Bronco’s point total to just 15 at the half. Despite two turnovers from the offense, the Broncos were held to just six points starting from the 50-yard line in the game’s opening minutes.

The defense as a whole now leads the league with 72 quarterback takedowns and is second with 33 sacks.

Buffalo Bills Week 10 Bombs

Special Teams

It was disappointing to watch the Buffalo Bills special teams give up three big returns to the Denver Broncos rookie Marvin Mims Jr., who set up drives inside the Denver 48 and 46-yard lines.

Perhaps the biggest bomb of this group was having 12 men on the field when Broncos field goal kicker, Will Lutz initially missed the game-winning kick on his first attempt.

It gave the Broncos a chance to re-kick the ball again from 36 yards. Lutz had no problem and drove it through to win the game, 24-22.

This falls on special teams head coach Matthew Smiley, and the players for being irresponsible to count the number of players they had on the field when Denver rushed the field goal unit as the final seconds were ticking.

As the Buffalo Bills practice for this play going forward, all the players need to be more prepared for this. It isn’t ALWAYS the coach’s fault for counting the players, as the players need to be ready, know their position, and know where and when to be on the field.

Buffalo Bills Week 10 Bounce backs

James Cook

Despite being benched for the first quarter of the game and after fumbling on his first carry, Cook came back out running with angry intentions.

The Buffalo Bills knew the beast in Cook had to be fed the ball, but he just needed a little time to regroup. The second year running back finished with 120 yards and is on pace for his first 1,000-yard rushing season.

Dalton Kincaid

The rookie tight end started rocky, too. The 6’5″, 240-pound catching threat, let a pass go through his hands leading to a Broncos interception.

However, being the level-headed star-tight end that he is, Kincaid reeled in a key touchdown late in the first half that set up a successful two-point conversion to make the score 9-8, Denver.

Even though it wasn’t enough to give the Buffalo Bills the win, Kincaid showed that he didn’t give up, even though he had a rough start.

So as the old saying goes, “Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.”

This game was a very hard one to lose, and I hope that the team learns from this, as I do expect them to bounce back with a “W” next week with their new OC, and a home game against the New York Jets.

Let’s Go Buffalo!

For another NFL story, please check out:

Buffalo Bills Week 10 Preview vs. Denver Broncos