Niagara Gazette

‘“The way they play defense is gonna smudge the offense,” Torrence said, “so we just got to be patient with our calls and running the ball, being OK with getting 2-3 yards at times and not getting bored with getting stopped.”’

‘Dorsey spent 26 games as the team’s offensive coordinator after Brian Daboll left to be the head coach of the New York Giants and statistically had one of the NFL’s best offenses. The Bills rank seventh in the NFL in yards and passing and eighth in points, a year after finishing second in points and yards.’

‘More frustrating is that many of the interceptions are throws that shouldn’t leave his hand, including one in the last minute of the first half that led to a Denver field goal. Teams live with mistakes from players the caliber of Allen, but at some point there needs to be urgency to improve.’

‘Special teams nearly cost the Denver Broncos a win, until the Buffalo Bills out-botched them.’

‘Despite all the bravado and reassurances, nothing seems to change. It’s the same, stale offense week after week. Instead of carrying the team at a time when the defense is missing five starters, it forced the defense to preserve a win or make a stop on the final drive for a fifth consecutive game.’

‘During Sean McDermott’s tenure as head coach, the Bills have gone 31-16 over the final eight games of the season, including a 7-0 stretch last year — the Bengals game, of course, was canceled after Damar Hamlin’s injury — and a 7-1 in 2020. Buffalo can’t afford to wait so long to turn on the jets this time, but McDermott has also guided the Bills to a 14-2 mark during regular-season games in December and January the previous three seasons.’

‘Shaq Lawson (toe), Oliver (toe) and Rousseau (foot) all missed games during the last five weeks, while Floyd has been nursing an ankle injury for most of the season, and that doesn’t include a pectoral injury that landed DaQuan Jones on injured reserve and Miller’s recovery from a torn ACL. The injuries have been overshadowed by major losses to Matt Milano and Tre’Davious White, but the ramifications have been significant.’

‘One of those concepts is the use of motion before the snap. Not only does motion give an offense free information because the defense typically tips its hand when an offensive player moves from one side of the formation to the other, but it also can create mismatches before the ball is even snapped. The Bills used motion on just 17 of their 55 offensive snaps, compared to the Bengals, who motioned on 31 of 67 plays. More puzzling is that the Bills were more successful when they used pre-snap motion.’

‘The Bills have surrendered 40 plays of more than 20 yards thus far, after never giving up 30 through the first nine games dating to 2020. Meanwhile, the offense has 27 of those chunk plays and hasn’t had fewer than 30 over the last four seasons.’

‘The Bills went without a huddle on 11 of 21 plays during their two touchdown drives and four out of nine plays on a drive that reached the Cincinnati 11 before tight end Dalton Kincaid fumbled. Those three drives netted 212 yards, while they went no-huddle on seven plays over seven other possessions, accumulating 105 yards.’

‘The 24-18 Bengals win might show a closer score, but the Bills failed to rise to the occasion offensively.’

‘There are so many questions about the Bills offense that have been asked repeatedly for the last month with no one capable of finding the right answer.’

‘A loss won’t end any postseason dreams but it would put a dent in hope and push the Bills against the wall during the final half of the season. Their last eight opponents have a combined record of 33-20, with four ranking in the top-10 in total offense and four in the top-10 in total defense.’

‘Even though Allen has averaged more yards per attempt with two tight ends than three receivers, other areas of the offense declined. Since Kincaid was injured for the New York Giants game and Knox went on injured reserve last week, the Bills have reverted to 11 personnel — one running back and one tight end — on 78.6% of plays and overall tight end production has increased to 10.7 yards per catch.’

‘Prior to practice, Bills coach Sean McDermott said that Allen would have a normal day of practice, but wasn’t sure how much throwing he would do. The Bills designated him as a full participant on the injury report released after practice.’