Here are Jay Skurski's grades for the Buffalo Bills in their 13-12 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
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Grading the Buffalo Bills in their 13-12 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at Highmark Stadium …
Running game: B-
The Eagles did a reasonably good job bottling up James Cook. The NFL’s rushing leader gained 74 yards but needed 20 carries to do so, amounting to an average of 3.7 yards per rush. Cook’s long run was just 10 yards. Philadelphia would have signed up for that stat line going into the game. Quarterback Josh Allen rushed for two touchdowns, but the Eagles kept him mostly contained. He had a long run of 17 yards, but his other six carries produced just 10 yards (although it’s worth pointing out a couple of those runs were near the goal line, so success was defined by getting the touchdown, not the yardage total). Ty Johnson managed just 15 yards on five carries. It would be nice to see the Bills get a receiver involved in the run game with some jet sweep action, just to give defenses one more thing to think about.
Passing game: C
Allen’s final numbers – 23 of 35 for 262 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions – look better than the results of the eyeball test. The Bills quarterback has to make that throw to Khalil Shakir on the two-point conversion play to win the game. Some bad habits have started to creep back into Allen’s game. He’s trying to do too much. Understandably, at times, because none of his receivers can ever get open, but at some point Allen has to accept defeat on a certain play, throw the ball away and live to see another down. He’s taking way too much abuse. Brandin Cooks had four catches for 101 yards – a promising showing that could help open things up for the downfield passing attack moving forward. Tyrell Shavers had a spectacular 32-yard reception down the field, as well.
Khalil Shakir and the Buffalo Bills weren't able to make enough plays against the Eagles during a 13-12 loss Sunday at Highmark Stadium.
Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
Run defense: A
The Bills made Saquon Barkley look ordinary, limiting him to 68 yards on 19 carries – an average of just 3.6 yards per attempt. Matt Milano led the defense with seven tackles. It’s been good to see him back in form. The Bills finished with four tackles for loss – Milano, Shaq Thompson, Deone Walker and Joey Bosa all had one each. The group up front played without injured defensive tackles DaQuan Jones and Jordan Phillips, and they held up exceptionally well. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts gained just 5 yards on three rushing attempts. Their “Brotherly Shove” didn’t hurt the Bills, and the pass rushers did a good job of making sure Hurts didn’t have escape angles to hurt the Bills on the ground. Hurts completed just 13 of 27 passes for 110 yards.
Pass defense: A
The pass rush got just one sack against Hurts but hit him four times. Christian Benford had two passes defensed and Tre’Davious White added one. Cam Lewis started in place of the injured Jordan Poyer and finished with four tackles. There were quite a few times the rush got close to Hurts, but he’s got a knack – similar to Allen – for being able to extend plays. When that happened, he got outside and threw the ball away, which is still a win for the defense.
Special teams: F
It was not a good evening. Khalil Shakir had 50 yards on three punt returns, but on at least a couple of others, it looked like he should have fielded instead of letting them bounce. Shakir agreed: “I let some drop – a lot – drop early,” he said. Kick returner Ray Davis averaged 28.0 yards on three returns. Penalties were again an issue, as Joe Andreessen was called for holding on the second-half opening kickoff. Instead of starting a drive at their 40-yard line, the Bills were backed up to their own 20 – a net loss of 20 yards. Michael Badgley’s blocked extra-point attempt is the type of breakdown that can’t happen in a close game between two good teams. Matt Prater can’t get back quickly enough for the Bills.
Coaching: C
The defensive effort was exceptional all game long. “Shout-out to Bobby,” Thompson said, referring to defensive coordinator Bobby Babich. “Bobby had a good game plan; he dialed it up on third down and the guys went out there and executed. We got off the field.” For as solid as the defensive game plan was, the offensive game plan had as many flaws. Second-guessing an offensive coordinator’s play calling is often the low-hanging fruit, but it was hard not to take it Sunday. On the play before the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter, the Bills ran Ty Johnson up the middle for 1 yard on second and 10. On third-and-9, the team went with the same screen that fans have grown to hate, and Johnson was stopped for a 1-yard loss. That was a brutal sequence. The successful lateral play on fourth down helped to make up for those, but it doesn’t excuse them entirely. The biggest problem for Brady is that he’s slow to react when other teams are pressuring Allen. That was true against Houston earlier this season, and it was true again against the Eagles. The No. 1 priority for him has to be adjust to keep his quarterback out of harm’s way as much as possible. Sean McDermott did make good use of a challenge.
