Jenna’s Outlook Week 12: Bills (6-5) at Eagles (9-1)

After the abrupt firing of Ken Dorsey, the Buffalo Bills were desperate for any semblance of life on offense. Despite facing a staunch Jets defense which has given them issues in the past, Josh Allen led the Bills to an impressive 26-point win over their bitter rival. Dare I say, we may be back?

Interim OC Joe Brady called the offense with purpose and put his players in positions to make plays. That being said, QB Josh Allen did not hold back on his usual exotic throws but he was careful with the football. He didn’t put it in harm’s way, aside from an unnecessary Hail Mary at the end of the first half. What did we see that is different from Dorsey’s offense? Brady used a ton of motion.

According to Chris Trapasso, the Bills used motion on 62.9% of their drop backs! Compare that to Ken Dorsey’s offense, which used motion just 39.4% of the time Weeks 2-10, according to Tru Media. We’re seeing an improvement in the way that the offense operates. The running backs were involved in the passing game, and the Bills actually ran the ball in plus field position. Hopefully, it will continue heading into Week 12, because the Bills have a tall task on their hands.

The Buffalo Bills head to The City of Brotherly Shove — I mean, Love — before their bye week to take on the Philadelphia Eagles. It will be the beginning of a gauntlet of teams that they have face in order to keep their playoff hopes alive. In some ways I am content with the tougher schedule, because it means that if the Bills come out victorious in their final six games, they will be very hard to beat going into the playoffs.

First, they need to start out 1-0 against the Eagles, a team with the best record in the league. So, how would the Bills manage such a task? Defending the Eagles offense is not the same as defending the Jets. QB Jalen Hurts is having another stellar season as he’s led his team to four consecutive wins. He may not have the most passing statistics, but he finds a way to win week in and week out. If the Bills want to flip the script at Lincoln Financial Field, they will need to win in multiple ways, just like their opponent.

Matchups to Watch

Buffalo Bills Run Offense vs. Philadelphia Eagles Run Defense

The Eagles have the best run defense in the league, by far. Having surrendered only 765 yards and three rushing touchdowns, it will be very difficult for the Bills to run on this Eagles defense. After all, their defensive tackle room includes studs like Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, and Fletcher Cox. If RB James Cook cannot run between the tackles, how else are the Bills supposed to replicate a rushing attack? In extension to the run game, the Bills could use play action or screen passes or underneath checkdowns to their running backs and receivers. Either they could test the middle of the defensive line first, or they could try to spread out the defense. I’m hoping that the Bills use RB Ty Johnson like they did against the Jets, too.

Bills Defensive Line vs. Eagles Offensive Line

Buffalo Bills fans might want to prepare themselves. In Week 7, we were all salivating over the Tush Push as the Eagles used it against our rival, the Miami Dolphins. This week, we may not like it as much, but it will all start with the Bills defensive line. We all know how good the Philadelphia Eagles offensive line is. With future Hall-of-Famer C Jason Kelce leading the way, the Eagles’ front five leads the league in run block composite rating through Week 11. Like I had mentioned, us Bills fans won’t like the result of the multiple 4th and 1s that the Eagles will inevitably attempt, and that’s okay! Personally, I will be anticipating the 4th and 1 conversion by the Eagles’ offense every single time. That way, I will not get my feelings hurt.

However, Philly’s offensive line does have a weakness. Their pass protection isn’t as stout as it once was. It ranks 11th amongst all teams in pass protection composite ranking, but they have allowed 27 sacks which is amongst the latter half of the league. Do I expect the Bills defense to blitz QB Jalen Hurts? No, I do not, because he will likely make you pay for it, and I don’t want the Bills to risk having WR Devonta Smith or even RB D’Andre Swift burn them underneath. Instead, I’d prefer them to switch up their defensive looks and just try to get to Hurts with just four rushers. When they need to be aggressive, I trust McDermott to do just that.

Prediction: The Bills Offense will continue its success

What we saw in Week 11 may be a preview of what Bills fans should expect from now on. OC Joe Brady was intentional with how he called the offense. Especially with how he drew up motion on a majority of the offensive snaps. The most important aspect of their success was how clean Josh Allen played. He did not put the ball in harm’s way and he took what the defense was giving him. If that is a product of Joe Brady’s offense, then we should see more of that moving forward.

I mean, if Josh could do that against the Jets defense, what’s to say that he can’t do that to others? The main story of the week has been the offense, but I’d also like to mention that the Bills defense did put the offense in good field position. That will be harder to do against the Philadelphia Eagles. So it will be up to the Bills offense and special teams to produce optimal field position.

Conclusion

When the season began to look grim, new offensive coordinator Joe Brady provided the spark that this Buffalo Bills team has been searching for. Looking back, it has been difficult to digest how easy the Bills schedule was in the earlier portion of the season, and the result of it. What would this Bills team look like had they fired Ken Dorsey sooner? What would their record be? Needless to say, Josh Allen and his team has its backs against a wall. There is no way to reverse time, and they can only control what they can control. A win against the Philadelphia Eagles this week would mean everything to the Bills heading into their Week 13 bye. After that, they must treat every game as if it is do or die.

Because the Bills do not play in Week 13, I will instead release a Playoff Seeding Tracker. So that we can begin to understand the implications of each game moving forward. Will the Buffalo Bills need help even if they win out, or can they take care of business themselves? Stay tuned, as Buffalo Fanatics will release it in the days following the game in Philadelphia!

Featured Image Credit: Adrian Kraus/AP