One thing prevents Bills from A+ on midseason report card

The Buffalo Bills are good, but one part of their team is holding them back from greatness.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen react to the Patriots field goal / Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Buffalo Bills are approaching the halfway point of the NFL season as one of the best teams in the league.

The Bills are 6-2 through eight games, making them one of the best teams in the league. The Athletic awarded the Bills an "A-" in their midseason grades.

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"Their consecutive losses in October feel like ancient history after throttling the Panthers and dispatching Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. The defense still needs to be better against the run, but the Bills are rounding into form as we head into the second half," The Athletic wrote.

Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver reacts after a sack in the first quarter at Bank of America Stadium. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

What's keeping Bills from A+ season?

Sure, the Bills lost a pair of games last month against the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons, the former costing them the No. 1 spot in the AFC East standings. It's important to dive into the reasons behind those losses to see where the Bills can improve.

Those games were the only ones so far this season that saw the Bills score less than 28 points, so it's comforting to see that the team isn't allowing those games to start a pattern. Diving deeper into the team, it's important to note that the Bills defensive line has a tendency to allow big gashes of rushing yards.

In Week 1, the Bills surrendered 238 rushing yards to the Baltimore Ravens, but Josh Allen and the offense bailed them out. In their loss against the Falcons, Bijan Robinson and the running back room posted 210 on the Bills defense.

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The Bills rank 28th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game at 141.4. Only the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants and Cincinnati Bengals have allowed more.

All of those teams are well under .500, so it's important for the Bills to clean up in that department because that will only get more exposed down the stretch when the weather gets colder and the strategies begin to shift. Opponents will try any way they can to exploit the Bills and that is the easiest way how.

Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson is tackled by. Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

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