Jenna’s Outlook Week 11: Bills (5-5) vs Jets (4-5)

Like I said last week, there is not much breathing room for the Buffalo Bills at the moment. With five losses, they cannot afford to drop more than one game heading into the final stretch of the season. The AFC has many Wild Card contenders despite the most recent injuries to a couple of AFC North teams. Both QB Joe Burrow and QB Deshaun Watson suffered season-ending injuries within the past week, which likely leaves Cincinnati and Cleveland out of the playoff picture, unless they can catch lightning in a bottle. The Bills can still win the division, but they have to take care of business the rest of the way, and hoping the Dolphins lose a couple games.

What would the Bills have to do to win out? Well, first, the offense needs to figure things out, still. The Bills offense turned the ball over four times against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night, which is unacceptable! They haven’t done that since — you guessed it — Week 1 against the New York Jets. QB Josh Allen played a huge part in that, tallying two interceptions and a fumbled handoff. RB James Cook even coughed up the ball (twice, but the other team retrieved one).

I can’t say whether the Buffalo Bills would’ve won had they not turned the ball over that many times. However, the loss was overshadowed by the firing of OC Ken Dorsey. It came as a surprise, because most Bills fans thought he would be let go after the season ended. If that were the case, I can’t say that Buffalo would’ve won many more games had he stayed. He was too inconsistent and didn’t put his players in positions to succeed. I felt like he was calling plays out of a hat, hoping Josh Allen would turn them into bunnies. At some point, an Offensive Coordinator needs to scheme things in a way where the quarterback wouldn’t have to do too much of the work.

Interim OC Joe Brady has some playcalling and scheming experience, as he was the Offensive Coordinator in Carolina and the Passing Game Coordinator at LSU with QB Joe Burrow when he won the 2019 National Championship. Could he be the answer to the Bills’ inconsistencies? One of the obstacles for Brady is time: he doesn’t have a lot of it. On a short week, he had to prepare for the New York Jets, re-invent an offense, and tidy up any loose ends. None of us know what the offense will look like, or if anything will be different from what we’ve seen this season. Regardless, if Joe has any answers for the offense, the Bills will be facing, yet again, a very tough defense.

Matchup to Watch: Bills OC Joe Brady vs. New York Jets Defense

What a test this will be for the interim play caller. The New York Jets defense has given the Buffalo Bills offense issues their past few matchups. Could it be because of the way that OC Ken Dorsey prepared for the games? It may just be a coincidence that they’ve had problems against the Jets ever since he became the offensive coordinator. Besides, their defense has been elite since then.

Hopefully, interim OC Joe Brady can ignite Josh Allen and the offense in ways we never saw from Dorsey. Like I said, the one obstacle they have is time. There is not much you can implement into an offense with just one week to prepare. However, if Joe can call the correct plays in certain situations, it could make a huge difference. I don’t think we’ll see anything different. But maybe the offense could run much smoother than we’ve seen thus far this season.

Prediction: Josh Allen will look comfortable

Oftentimes this season I felt Josh Allen has looked uneasy in games. Perhaps the coaching staff has drilled into his head that he should decrease his scramble and running plays. We know he thrives off contact and, oftentimes, he gets into a groove after being hit a couple times. That hasn’t happened much this season. During games, there’s been times when he could have run for a first down, but instead he’d dance around out of the pocket without passing the line of scrimmage. Also, it seems as if his decision making has been hindered more than usual. I’ve noticed that he seems to be second-guessing himself, but that’s just my interpretation. I am hoping that in Brady’s offense (as a Bills fan that sounds weird to say) Allen will play freer than he has. It’s time to let Josh Allen loose!

Conclusion

In the eyes of many fans, and the national media, the Buffalo Bills’ season is slipping away from them. I don’t blame people for thinking that, but I am not quite there yet. With the change at offensive coordinator, there is hope that we could see the offense revitalize itself. What will that look like exactly? There is no way to know until we see what product they put out on Sunday. I didn’t mention the Bills defense because I’m not worried about them this week. After all, it will be all about the Bills’ offense when they step out onto the field. 

In Week 12, the Bills will face the test against a Philadelphia team that may very well represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Stay tuned for next week’s edition of Jenna’s Outlook when the Bills take on the Eagles!

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