As week eight of the NFL schedule concludes, the Buffalo Bills have reached the halfway point of the 2023 season.
The Bills, with a 5-3 record after eight games, have had a rollercoaster of a season to this point. With all the highs and lows of the season thus far, here is a mid-season analysis of the good, the bad and the ugly for the Bills in 2023.
The Good
The good news for Buffalo is that they are back to their winning ways after picking up a much needed 24-18 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football on Oct. 26th. In the win, the Bills were dominant in all three phases of the game – offence, defence and special teams – resembling the team that all football fans expect the reigning AFC East Champions to be this season.
Josh Allen led the way looking like the MVP Finalist he was a season ago, passing for 324 yards and going 31 for 40 in pass attempts to go along with three total touchdowns.
In the game against the Bucs, and throughout the opening eight games of the season, two Bills offensive players stood out: James Cook and Dalton Kincaid.
Cook has emerged as the star running back in offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey’s offence. The former Georgia Bulldog is a weapon in both the rush and pass game, tallying 678 total yards so far this season, nearly surpassing his total yards from the entire season in 2022.
On the other hand, Kincaid has slotted in as a reliable receiving option for quarterback Josh Allen. The rookie tight end has 193 yards in his young NFL career and is expected to have increased productivity after fellow tight end Dawson Knox was placed on injured reserve earlier this week.
As a collective, the Bills offence was dominant in a three-game stretch from week two to four, which included an impressive 48-20 win over division rival Miami Dolphins. Allen threw four touchdown passes in that game, as Pro-Bowl receiver Stefon Diggs caught three of them for 120 yards.
Sean McDermott’s defence held the Dolphins to just 20 points who came into the week four matchup undefeated, scoring 43.3 points per game in that span. Greg Rosseau picked up two of the four Bills sacks in that game, as the secondary limited Tyreek Hill to only three receptions in the game, a season low for him.
If the Bills want to contend for the Super Bowl this February, the dominance that was on display against the Dolphins needs to be replicated down the stretch and into the playoffs.
The Bad
Besides the lopsided victories over the Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders and Washington Commanders, things have been far from spectacular in Western New York.
In the season opener in the Big Apple against the New York Jets, it seemed as if the door was wide open for the Bills to take control of the game after Jets star quarterback Aaron Rodgers went down with an injury less than four minutes into the game. But instead, the contrary occurred.
The offence was stagnant, resulting in the Bills only scoring 16 points in that contest, nine of which were from field goals.
Allen was horrific in that game, turning the ball over four times with three interceptions and a fumble lost. He looked like his younger self throwing deep balls into double and triple coverage, lacking that decision-making that superstar quarterbacks must have to be successful in the NFL.
After a strong three-game stretch from week two to four, the following three games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants and New England Patriots were hard to watch for Bills Mafia.
In the game against the Jaguars overseas in the United Kingdom, the Bills’ defence could not stop the run. Travis Etienne Jr. rushed for two touchdowns and 136 yards, which is the second-most rushing yards in a game in his NFL career. Buffalo lost that game 25-20.
Against the Giants, who had a negative 91-point differential heading into the Sunday night game in Buffalo, the Bills’ offence was once again stagnant, shutout until the fourth quarter. Allen only threw for 169 yards in the game, his lowest this season, as the Giants clock mismanagement at the end of the first half, and a poor play call to end the fourth quarter gave the Bills the shameful 14-9 victory.
The following week in Foxborough, the Bills were once again unlike themselves, as Buffalo’s defence was problematic. Mac Jones passed for a season-best 83.3 completion percentage for New England, while averaging a high 9.1 yards per pass. Jones led the one-win Patriots down the field from their own 25-yard line, scoring the game-winning touchdown with 12 seconds left in the game. The 29-25 loss was the low point in the Bills’ season given their far superior talent and potential compared to Bill Belichick’s team.
Clearly, the bad has been dreadful, as the Bills have lacked success against weaker opposition. Their play against inferior teams is something that needs to change if the Bills want to compete for another division title and ultimately make a deep playoff run to the Super Bowl.
The Ugly
The Bills are 1-2 on the road this season, plus a “home” loss in London, England to the Jaguars. Unfortunately for Buffalo, five of their remaining nine games this season are outside of Orchard Park, which includes facing legit Super Bowl contenders on the road.
The tough road battles begin this Sunday night as the Bills travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals. The Bengals have had their own issues this season, but a team led by Joe Burrow who went to the Super Bowl in 2022 shouldn’t be taken lightly.
From there, the Bills’ next two road games are on Nov. 26th and Dec. 10th when they face last year’s Super Bowl teams, the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, in back-to-back games. The Eagles and Chiefs have a combined 13-3 record through eight games and rank in the top ten in both offensive and defensive yards per game this season. Those games will be gruesome as each team will be battling for every single yard.
The road schedule for Buffalo concludes with another primetime game on the Saturday night before Christmas Eve in Los Angeles against the Chargers, before heading to Hard Rock Stadium to face division rival Miami Dolphins in the season finale on Jan. 7th.
To make matters worse, the Bills will be without numerous key players for those critical matchups.
Pro-Bowl linebacker Matt Milano suffered a fractured leg in the loss to Jacksonville and will be out indefinitely after requiring surgery, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Milano has been impactful for the Bills’ defence in the five games he played, registering 30 tackles, two interceptions and a forced fumble, and is a big loss for the Bills behind their defensive line.
Also on defence, cornerback Tre’Davious White is out for the remainder of the season after tearing his Achilles in the win against Miami. White has an interception and 10 tackles in four games this season, as his ability to defend against top-notch speedy receivers like Tyreek Hill will be missing from Buffalo’s defence. His presence will be missed especially as skilled receivers A.J. Brown, Ja’Marr Chase and others will be up against the Bills in the coming weeks.
Other players on injured reserve for the Bills are tight end Dawson Knox, running back Damien Harris, defensive tackle DaQuan Jones, wide receiver Justin Shorter and offensive tackle Tommy Doyle.
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