Okay, people, let’s settle down now. It’s typical for Buffalo Bills fans to panic after a loss, but it’s only week one.
Gone are the days when Bills Mafia watched terrible football in Orchard Park and the fanbase was celebrating only going 6-10 or 7-9 every year.
Now that the team is in Super Bowl or bust mode this year, it’s still frustrating when the Buffalo Bills lose a game.
Josh Allen’s four turnovers
Bills QB Josh Allen (17) – Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Now, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Josh Allen was not good Monday night. He threw for three interceptions and also had a late fumble recovered by the Jets with over four minutes left in regulation. Give the Jets’ defense credit, as this is probably the best defense Allen and the offense will see all year.
Anybody who watches football knows it’s very difficult to pull out a game like this one when your star quarterback turns it over four times. It was also infuriating to watch Allen not take off and run for the first down like he normally does.
I get he wants to take care of his body and rely on the Buffalo Bill’s run game to take the burden off of himself, but he still has that habit of trying to fit in some awful throws and expecting his receivers to haul those in most of the time.
The issue with that now is that the Jets have built a stout defense where those balls are going to be picked off more. With a better secondary and a great defensive line head coach, the Jets brass have built over there.
It has happened two years in a row where Allen has looked bad against one of the better defenses. The Buffalo Bills offense will play again this year.
All the Top Teams Lost in the Conference
If there is a silver lining to week one, it wasn’t just the Buffalo Bills, who were the top contenders in the league, to stunningly lose their first game.
Yes, some people in the NFC circle are saying to put an asterisk on this loss because Travis Kelce wasn’t playing. But the defending Super Bowl champions, Kansas City Chiefs, dropped a somewhat surprising home loss to the upstart Detroit Lions on Thursday night.
Everything about that fake punt in the Lion’s territory was quite real and a great call by head coach Dan Campbell and the Lions special teams that pulled out of their bag of tricks early.
The Cincinnati “Bungals” also returned for at least one week, laying an absolute egg on the road to the Cleveland Browns in an AFC divisional opener.
What the Buffalo Bills can learn from this?
Bills WR Deonte Harty (11) – Bill Wippert/Buffalo Bills
It’s simple but not easy. Allen should just come out, take a deep breath, and calm down.
He needs to flush this loss, keep putting wide receiver Deonte Harty in the backfield, and use him like a Deebo Samuel or Cordelle Patterson as some other teams do, including the Cowboys, who are utilizing KaVontae Turpin in a similar role in their offense.
This takes the pressure off of the traditional running back role and Allen having to run the ball himself. It also diversifies the Buffalo Bill’s play calling on offense, as Harty can be used like a running back or be used on jet sweeps and reverses.
Maybe this will be the Buffalo Bill’s “bread and butter” play; the more they practice this formation.
One thing is for sure: the Buffalo Bill’s quest for a Super Bowl may have gotten off to a rough start. Their defense is probably as good as it’s ever been under McDermott and Beane. The offensive play-calling by Ken Dorsey also looks more well-rounded this year.
Let’s all calm down, take a deep breath, and see what week two brings…
