Buffalo Bills 'Too Inconsistent' In Loss To Cincinnati Bengals
Many of the same issues that have plagued the Buffalo Bills reared their ugly head in their 24-18 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at Paycor Stadium.
Whether it was an inability to run the ball or the defense being unable to force a turnover for the third time in four weeks, both played a pivotal role in the Bills (5-4) dropping to 2-3 in their last five games. After the loss, Buffalo currently finds itself out of a playoff spot in a crowded AFC, and they have already lost more games than they did in 2022 when they went 13-3.
"Just too inconsistent overall," Bills head coach Sean McDermott said. "Not enough complementary football. Turned the ball over twice, and I thought the defense got off to a slow start."
Josh Allen completed 26 of 38 passes for 258 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Allen was also the team's leading rusher, with eight carries for 44 yards and a touchdown on the offense's opening drive.
The Bills' offense didn't score another touchdown until their final drive when Allen and Stefon Diggs connected for a 34-yard score. Buffalo never got the ball back as Cincinnati drained the clock out.
The Buffalo Bills only ran the ball 16 times against the Cincinnati Bengals.
© Katie Stratman, USA TODAY
"Just finding a way to get into a rhythm," Allen said. "Come out on an opening drive, had some success moving the ball and obviously hit a lull there and didn't score until late in the fourth. We had our opportunities, [but] didn't score before the half, didn't get six on the first drive of the second half. That's not complementary football...In order to win, you've got to stop yourself from losing, and we didn't do that."
Bills running back James Cook only had six carries for 20 yards. Buffalo's lack of balance has become a trend when it struggles on offense.
"When you're getting into a rhythm, the run is working with the pass, and the pass is working with the run, and they go hand in hand," McDermott said. "Just too inconsistent today."
McDermott added on the running game: "You've got to do that in order to move the chains and keep a good offense off the field. That's all part of being a good offense. Being two-dimensional, not that you're going to be 50-50 totally balanced, but the threat of being two-dimensional."
Defensively, Buffalo only registered one sack and didn't force any turnovers for the third time in four games. Joe Burrow picked apart the Bills defense, completing 31 of 44 passes for 348 yards and two touchdowns.
The Bills defense hasn't had an interception since Week 4 when they beat the Miami Dolphins 48-20.
"It's making plays on the ball, and when you're talking about the defense, it's are we putting enough pressure on the quarterback?" McDermott said. "Usually turnovers happen either by just a poor decision by a quarterback, but more times than not, it's when you can affect the quarterback, and the quarterback is getting affected, and the rush and the coverage is working together. I didn't think we were able to affect [Burrow] enough."
With eight games left in the season, the Bills need to find their stride sooner than later. If Buffalo is going to get back on track, it'll have to do it against some of the NFL's best teams, including the Philadelphia Eagles (8-1), Kansas City Chiefs (7-2) and Dallas Cowboys (5-3). The Bills also have crucial divisional matchups against the New York Jets (4-3) and Miami Dolphins (6-3) during that stretch.
"Realistically, if you want to look at it from a real view, you need 10, maybe 11 wins to get into the playoff picture in the AFC," Allen said. "Got eight games left, we got five wins, so the math there, it's not pretty, it's not going to be easy, but again, if there's a locker room that can handle this, it's this locker room."
The Bills return home on Nov. 13 to face the Denver Broncos (3-5) at Highmark Stadium on Monday Night Football at 8:15 p.m. ET.
