ESPN analyst thinks 'philosophical changes' will lead Bills' offense to continued success

Despite the offseason turnover, one ESPN pundit feels as though the Buffalo Bills offense is still one of the league's best.

Nov 5, 2023; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) hands the ball off to running back James Cook (4) in the first half against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports | Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been trendy throughout the 2024 NFL offseason to poke holes at the Buffalo Bills offense given the departures of players like Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis, and Mitch Morse, yet, there are still some believers in the Josh Allen-led offense. ESPN’s Mina Kimes recently ranked the top offenses heading into the 2024 season, and had Buffalo slotted at eighth. 

Kimes had this to say on her podcast, The Mina Kimes Show, with guest NFL pundit Steven Ruiz: “What I found interesting… was sort of the philosophical changes and whether or not they’ll carry over this year. The most dramatic being the willingness to run the ball.” 

Neither @theStevenRuiz nor I are selling our Bills stock.

Picked the top ten offenses on this week’s pod and discussed how things might evolve in Buffalo this year….

🎧: https://t.co/i7dtlfuvrz

📺: https://t.co/omihkeW0O7 pic.twitter.com/7A80j3tf49

— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) June 19, 2024

What we all saw when Joe Brady took over as offensive coordinator is how much more willing the Bills were to run the ball, to 'use the hot hand.’ Under Brady, we saw running back James Cook with four games of 70+ rushing yards, including a game against the Dallas Cowboys where he had 179 yards on the ground. 

Related: NFL Fantasy Expert calls Bills' QB Josh Allen Doubters 'silly'

James Cook broke out in 2023:

👨‍🍳 1,122 rush yards
👨‍🍳 445 rec yards
👨‍🍳 8 total TD pic.twitter.com/YVArOeIFxx

— NFL on DAZN (@NFLonDAZN) June 11, 2024

Kimes and Ruiz would like to see the Bills adopt a more play-action approach to their offense for next season: “Can you build a pass game off that very, very, good run game? A very good play-action attack, an RPO attack.” The Bills could benefit from an offense that schemes their pass catchers open, compared to them trying to win their matchups on a play-to-play basis since they’ve lost one of the best receivers in the NFL in Diggs. 

If the Bills want to stay in the Super Bowl hunt for next season, it’s clear that their offense will need to evolve into something different from years prior. They’ll need to spread the wealth to their wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs. 

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