SAD NEWS: A Philadelphia Eagles lineman died a few hours ago.BUFFALO, NY – Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey during the season to reinvigorate the offense after a season of inconsistency and close defeats.The Bills have played two games under interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady, winning at home against the New York Jets and losing in overtime against the Philadelphia Eagles on the road.
Win or lose, Brady stressed his ability to set the tone for the offense.
“You can’t be results-oriented in the sense of when you win, you handle it differently, and when you lose you handle it differently,” Brady told reporters. “… We can’t change who we are, our mindset, or our approach as a result of our wins and losses.” We must recognize that we only need to fine-tune and clean up some aspects.
“However, I believe it all begins with myself.” It will always do so. And if I’m ready to go, and those guys look me in the eyes and know I’m ready, I feel we’ll be able to have some success and feed off of me.”
That energy has been recognized by the players.
“I give a shoutout to Coach Brady for bringing a lot of the juice,” wide receiver Stefon Diggs stated in Week 12. “I think he drinks a lot of coffee and a lot of Monsters or whatever the brand is, because he brings a lot of juice and he lets you know that if y’all don’t got it, I’m gonna bring it for you.”
The offense hasn’t changed dramatically in the tiny sample size under Brady. There was no time or necessity for a complete revamp. It’s also difficult to do in the middle of the season.
However, since Brady took over for Dorsey in Week 11, the offense has thrown the ball over on around 8% of drives, the lowest this season outside of zero turnovers in Weeks 2 and 4, and far lower than the team’s average of 17.3% of drives entering Week 11. On first down, Buffalo has also been running the ball more. The Bills had 21 and 24 first-down rushing attempts against the Jets and Eagles, respectively, the two highest totals of the season.
But, more importantly, quarterback Josh Allen’s style of play has improved, which has been lacking at times this season.
“Looked like Josh to me,” said left tackle Dion Dawkins following the Eagles game. “I mean, he’s running around, making moves with his arm and feet.” That’s the Josh we all know, and I love seeing him.”
In those two games, Allen has completed 59% of his passes and tossed five touchdowns to two interceptions, continuing an active eight-game stretch with a pick. As a rusher, Allen is coming off a season-high 81-yard effort against the Eagles on nine attempts. His carries have been limited this year (5.2 per game), down from his career average of 7.2 entering 2023.
“[Allen’s] level of play has risen over the last two weeks,” McDermott said after the Eagles loss. “That is the most important thing. You have a chance when your quarterback is performing well. One of the reasons I made the decision to move forward here was the inconsistency preceding the last three weeks. Josh Allen’s play over the last two weeks has been good enough for us to win.”
To keep their faint playoff aspirations alive (Buffalo has a 22% probability of making the playoffs, according to ESPN Analytics), the Bills must continue to rely on Allen at a high level. For the first time since 2010, the offense has scored 30 or more points in consecutive games.
According to ESPN Analytics, Buffalo (6-6) is now out of the playoff picture and has the toughest remaining strength of schedule.
McDermott’s focus heading into the game will be on moving the ball better as the Bills approach midfield and the red zone. Aside from missing two field goals against the Eagles, the Bills also saw another drive finish in Philadelphia territory without scoring. This season, the Bills have gained the most yards of any team on drives that resulted in punts (average of 15 yards gained per punting drive), including the third-highest average since Brady took over.
“I just think we’re moving the ball better than we were before and a little bit more consistently than we were before,” McDermott said in an interview. “…We’ve moved the ball beyond midfield, where we still stub our toes.”
“I have to do a good job, and we have to do a good job of figuring out how the two games have been played from a self-scouting standpoint,” Brady said of the bye week. “… Just evaluating that, evaluating, ‘Hey, what can we do moving forward that can help benefit us?'”
