Buffalo Bills Praise Joe Brady After First Game As Offensive Coordinator: 'No Hesitation!'
The Buffalo Bills' 32-6 beatdown of the New York Jets on Sunday was exactly what the doctor ordered after a tumultuous couple of weeks.
Before this game, the Bills were coming off back-to-back ugly losses against the Cincinnati Bengals and Denver Broncos, both in primetime. After that disastrous stretch, the Bills made a move that many had been clamoring for by firing offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. In his place came quarterbacks coach Joe Brady, best known for coaching the juggernaut that was the 2019 LSU Tigers offense.
Despite entering Sunday's game in a difficult position, Brady's offense shined in his first game at the helm. Buffalo racked up nearly 400 yards of total offense, balanced the ground and air games well and avoided the turnover bug that caused so many problems in prior games. It helps that the defense suffocated the Jets all day, but overall, it was a good first impression for Brady, who called plays from the booth.
Brady during his previous job as the Carolina Panthers' offensive coordinator.
"I didn't envy Joe's position by any means," center Mitch Morse told reporters. "We executed. He gave us a game plan that we knew we were able to dial in, the simpler the better, and then it was about executing that game plan and I think that's a great job for the first week."
Perhaps no one reaped the benefits of Brady's game plan more than Josh Allen. The star quarterback was coming off one of the ugliest games of his career against Denver, committing three extremely costly turnovers in the last-second loss. Against New York, though, Allen looked much more calm and collected with three touchdowns to only one turnover.
"This isn't an offense that was broken," Allen said. "We've been playing close to where we need to play and today felt like we played close to – not as good – as we can play, but we played obviously better."
Now at 6-5, the Bills still have plenty of work to do to reach the playoffs, and their remaining schedule doesn't do them any favors. However, Brady coming in on short notice and delivering a clean, efficient offensive performance is certainly encouraging for the home stretch.
"Joe picked up where we needed him to right away," coach Sean McDermott said. "When we made the switch, there was no hesitation. He went right to the offensive staff and the offensive staff really came together and collaborated in a team way, in an effective way."
