Buffalo Bills Notebook: Injuries, Consistency End Hot Streak vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Buffalo Bills were never going to continue blowing out opponents for the rest of eternity, but the streak certainly could have ended in a less painful fashion.
Buffalo’s trip to London ended with a 25-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The loss puts them at 3-2 and, temporarily, back into second place in the AFC East.
Things didn’t go as planned on Sunday. What can be taken away from the Week 5 loss?
1. The down-to-down consistency on offense just wasn’t there.
A downside of blowing out opponents is the lack of valuable reps. Bills fans saw the offense sputter out in Week 1, only to dominate the next three weeks, in large part due to the defense setting them up in favorable positions.
Of course, that doesn’t take away from how well quarterback Josh Allen has played or the offensive line’s strong start to the year. But there were concerns about how this offense would operate when it was rendered one-dimensional and/or forced to endure long drives.
Sunday didn’t do much in the form of encouraging offensive performances.
Against a legitimate Jacksonville defense, Buffalo’s run game returned to the concerning state it entered the season in. The leading rusher was Allen. Backups Damien Harris and Latavius Murray were serviceable but struggled to attain the volume or explosiveness to make an impact in the box score.
Starting running back James Cook was held to negative yardage on five attempts.
This rushing attack may not be consistent enough to alleviate pressure for Allen, forcing them to rely on his arm and legs more than they can sustain. It’s hard to build a true contender while asking Allen to carry any game the defense doesn’t.
Allen scrambles away from Jacksonville defenders.
© Kirby Lee, USA TODAY
2. A.J. Epenesa had himself a day.
The story surrounding the Bills’ pass rush all week was the potential return of edge rusher Von Miller. His one tackle wasn’t much to write home about.
Defensive end A.J. Epenesa, though, did his part to make headlines.
Epenesa might have been Buffalo’s best defensive player on Sunday. In total, he generated four tackles, a tackle for loss, two sacks, and three tipped passes. He also forced one of quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s three fumbles.
On a day where starting edge rusher Greg Rousseau was inactive and Miller was a non-factor, containing Lawrence and the Jaguars fell upon the Bills’ depth. Epenesa stepped up.
Furthermore, it is understandable for Miller to pose a threat to rotational players’ snap shares. Epenesa’s play, however, should do wonders for his future playing time. He’s keeping himself on the field and forcing the hand of decision-makers above him.
In all, his strong performance shouldn’t be disregarded because of the final score.
3. The defense remained competitive despite a blizzard of injuries.
There’s little room for moral victories in the NFL, but Sunday morning could have gotten ugly. Against a talented Jaguars offense, Buffalo lost star linebacker Matt Milano and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones to injury, and neither seem like single-game absences.
Milano has arguably been the team’s best and most consistent player through the first month of the year.
Despite these injuries, and the ones that kept cornerbacks Tre’Davious White and Christian Benford out, Buffalo held its own. The Jaguars did not score in the middle two quarters, and while it wasn’t some dominant performance, they were able to force turnovers and limit the damage Jacksonville was liable to inflict.
It is justifiable to be pessimistic about the defense’s future, but with the pass rush’s performance and the splash plays they were able to create, that may be a problem to deal with down the road.
For now, the Bills have to address an offense that probably isn’t as good as the last few weeks have indicated.
