‘But let’s be real. This mess wasn’t on the defense.’
Archives for September 13, 2021
10 Observations: Josh Allen nowhere near MVP form in Bills’ opening loss
‘Allen chalked up some of his troubles to being too aggressive, instead of taking what the Steelers were giving him. He pushed back against the idea that he was pressing, although his description sounded … pretty much like that.’
Bills offensive line flustered in loss to Steelers
‘“We just put ourselves in bad situations, whether it be communication or technique,” Morse said. “We know we have a special guy, No. 17, back there, and it’s our job no matter what the play call is to keep him as clean as possible. And as an offensive line, we know we didn’t do that as well as we could.”’
Three questions: The big picture on what went wrong in Bills’ loss to Steelers
‘The Steelers’ defensive game plan was to put the game on the shoulders of their front four. How? They didn’t blitz a lot, unlike in last year’s December loss to the Bills in Orchard Park. Their plan was to force Josh Allen to hit underneath throws, prevent the big play and see if the Bills could execute 12-play scoring drives.’
Plays that shaped the game: Blocked punt, short yardage, trick plays foil Bills
‘Haack is a three-step punter. Corey Bojorquez, the Bills’ former punter, is a two-step punter. However, Killebrew broke through so cleanly he might have blocked the punt regardless of the steps. Haack had only one punt blocked in his previous four NFL seasons. Bojorquez had two punts blocked the previous three seasons.’
Quarter by quarter: Penalties, mistakes are Bills undoing in second half
‘Start of a trend: Holding was an issue for the Bills offensive line Sunday, and it started early. The Bills were flagged for holding three times on their second drive of the day, though one of those was declined.’
Report Card: Questionable coaching calls, offensive failures lead to ugly grades in Bills’ opening loss
‘What happened to the McDermott who showed such aggressiveness on fourth down last year? That went away in the AFC championship game against the Chiefs, and unfortunately didn’t return Sunday.’
Bills super fan ready for the season – but hold the condiments
‘Johnson will still be cooking food on the roof of his red 1990 Pinto, located in the stadium’s Hammer Lot section, while Pizza Pete will bake pizzas inside a filing cabinet. It’s part of the zaniness that has made Johnson such a tailgate character of renown.’
Josh Allen struggles, Bills receive gut punch in 23-16 opening loss to Steelers
‘One of the hot button topics heading into this season of high expectations was how would the Bills handle playing every game this season with a glowing target on their collective back? One week in, I’d have to say not very well.’
Bills report card: Offensive line, play-calling a mess in collapse against Steelers
‘McDermott admitted it afterward: Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin and his staff outcoached their Buffalo counterparts. It’s hard to argue.’
Steelers give Bills bitter taste of hype
‘When it was over on a mild, but windy and overcast afternoon, the Steelers had administered Buffalo a bitter dose of reality.’
Pollock: Versus Steelers, Buffalo’s line was ‘offensive’
‘But Pittsburgh’s defense, in particular, fifth-year linebacker T.J. Watt, emphatically proved that confidence to be misplaced. To wit, Watt couldn’t be blocked. He sacked Allen three times and delivered five of the eight hits on the fourth-year QB.’
T.J. Watt dominates, Bills offense disappoints in Buffalo’s 23-16 loss in opener (8 observations)
‘It was a frustrating game for Allen, who completed less than 60 percent of his passes and had just one touchdown against a Steelers defense that had pressure in his lap all afternoon. The Bills had a couple drops in the game but the offense just couldn’t get any momentum going throughout the game. Allen would make one good throw and then either a miscommunication, bad pass, or penalty stymied the Bills offense.’
Bills’ high-powered offense humbled by Steelers; Josh Allen: ‘We’re going to learn from this’
‘“You hold a team to 16 points,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “I thought overall defensively, and they were in some tough positions, they played hard and they did some good things. Some opportunities on some turnovers that we got to take advantage of.”’
Josh Allen, Bills stumble in Week 1 loss to Steelers (6 reasons to be encouraged, 7 reasons to be worried)
‘Buffalo’s left tackle missed time this offseason due to COVID-19 and there were questions about how he would hold up in the regular season. It’s just one game, but Dawkins struggled, to put it kindly. He was flagged multiple times for holding and struggled to keep Steelers defenders in front of him. Dawkins needs to be better in Week 2.’