Three questions: Run defense looms as recurring worry for Bills
Three questions on our mind after Sunday’s loss by the Bills to the Los Angeles Rams.
Three questions on our mind after Sunday’s loss by the Bills to the Los Angeles Rams:
What’s the biggest weakness to worry about in the wake of this defeat?
This could be a long conversation, but the vote here is for the run defense.The Bills’ defensive tackles as a collective group aren’t playing disruptive enough, and the Bills didn’t get into enough advantageous third-down pass-rushing situations. Five of the Rams’ six third downs in the first half were third and 4 or less, and 11 of 15 overall were third and 6 or less.
The final numbers by the Rams’ run game weren’t crazy. They averaged only 3.3 yards a carry. But their run total of 137 yards was well over their season average of 113 per game. And they got the yards they needed. In the first half, 15 of their 22 runs were successful (meaning they got the desired yardage toward a first down given the down and distance). That’s a 68% rate, which is a bottom-of-the-league type of number.
The advanced statistics say the Bills’ run defense has been better this year than most Buffalo observers think. But they simply don’t shut down the run enough.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott called a questionable timeout in the fourth quarter. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
What was the most egregious coaching shortcoming of the game?
Obviously, a lot of focus is on the time out after the Josh Allen sneak with 1:02 left. That was a mistake. The time out was more important than the 15 or so seconds it would have taken to run another play.But a bigger issue is the Bills sat back in zone defense and got skewered by Matthew Stafford. The problem is Rasul Douglas and Christian Benford are better at zone coverage than man-to-man coverage. And yes, the Bills were beaten when they tried man coverage a bit more in the second half. Doesn’t matter. The Bills needed to come up with some more creative pressures in order to try to get a stop. They don’t rush their defensive backs enough, partly because Taron Johnson is so reliable in coverage that they don’t want to rush him off the slot.
The defense got thoroughly outcoached by a master offensive play-caller, the Rams’ Sean McVay.
So the road to the Super Bowl goes through Kansas City, correct?
The Bills now have to win out, including next Sunday’s tough game at Detroit, and have Kansas City finish 14-3. Probably not going to happen. The race for the No. 2 seed got a little tighter. The Bills and Pittsburgh both stand 10-3. The Bills currently hold a tie-breaker edge via strength of a better strength of victory. The Steelers still have a much tougher remaining schedule, with games at the Eagles and Ravens, then home games vs. the Chiefs and Bengals.However, there still are a lot of “rivers to cross,” as Marv Levy once said.
We’re still presuming Baltimore is going to be a rough out in the playoffs. What if the Chiefs have to face Baltimore in the divisional round? That would be beneficial for the Bills. Ultimately, if you’re good enough, you get it done. Last year, Kansas City went on the road and beat both Buffalo and Baltimore.