Josh Allen offers brutal response after Bills embarrassed in Miami originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
We spoke all last week of how the Buffalo Bills had to capitalize on their win over the Kansas City Chiefs by beating the Miami Dolphins, but it appears the AFC East champs didn’t get the memo.
The 30-13 loss to the Dolphins, which saw Allen throw an interception along with having a fumble (James Cook, too), sees Buffalo fall further behind the New England Patriots in the AFC East standings as the offense continued its struggles.
Allen, per Next Gen Stats, had 3.53 seconds to throw against Miami, the longest time to throw since 2018, as the receivers simply couldn’t get open.
And when assessing the loss, Allen, to begin his press conference, dropped the hammer.
“They came ready to play, they wanted it more than us,” Allen said.
Wanted it more? A division game? That is nightmare fuel, folks.
After last week against the Chiefs, you would have said no, but after the Dolphins’ loss, you can easily say yes.
For whatever reason, whether it be scheme, the routes, or timing, Allen’s 3.53 seconds to throw means that his offensive line is protecting him, but being sacked three times shows that receivers aren’t doing their jobs and getting open.
It appeared all was well after last week, but perhaps that was an aberration for Buffalo, with the AFC East now drifting further away.
The Dolphins wanted it more than the Bills, and that is a damning statement from a team that is seen as a Super Bowl contender.
Did Buffalo expect to walk into Hard Rock Stadium and canter to a win? Or was it beaten by a better team on the day?
For Bills Mafia, if the answer to either of these questions is yes, well, that isn’t great.
Accounting for the decline in Bobby Wagner’s performances has become a weekly problem for the Washington Commanders this season, but trading for a long-time starting middle linebacker from the AFC would solve the issue.
That’s the view of ESPN’s Seth Walder, who named Cincinnati Bengals linchpin Logan Wilson as an ideal trade fit for the Commanders. Walder believes “the Commanders clearly need short-term help at linebacker, where Bobby Wagner’s struggles in pass coverage have become common knowledge for opposing offenses. They also want to walk Frankie Luvu down more onto the edge, as they did against the Chiefs. Wilson is in the back half of his career, but he would immediately fill some of the snaps they need if this defense does execute a midseason turnaround.”
The move would make some sense in light of Wagner’s flaws, but the 35-year-old remains a key leader for the Commanders. A 10-time Pro Bowler and former Super Bowl champion with an immense pedigree and invaluable experience.
Wagner’s CV and professional pride mean he might not warm to the idea of a snap share with Wilson. Interestingly though, the idea has merit, based on how successfully Washington used a similar strategy the last time the franchise claimed a Lombardi Trophy.
The flaws in Wagner’s game are showing up most when he’s trying to defend the pass. Giving up 12.4 yards per completion and 9.1 per target, per Pro Football Reference, underline Wagner’s problem.
It’s inevitable that a player in his 14th season would show signs of slowing down, but Wagner has become a liability for the Commanders. A painful example occurred against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8, when Wagner was burned by wide receiver Rashee Rice over the middle.
The play shows another issue for Wagner, one out of his control. He’s been put into unfavorable matchups too often this season.
Wagner isn’t going to stay with anybody in man coverage anymore, so the Commanders either need a change of scheme or personnel. A deal for Wilson would satisfy both shifts.
Engineering a trade for Wilson would at least give the Commanders somebody they could sub in ahead of Wagner in obvious passing situations. Wilson might even start ahead of the likely future Hall of Famer against teams defined more by the pass and defined by weaker running games.
It may sound like an unusual arrangement, but Washington used it during the triumphant 1991 season. Then it was Matt Millen as the grizzled veteran run-stuffer who got the nod against run-heavy teams like the New York Giants, while Kurt Gouveia played on passing downs as a linebacker more adept on the blitz and in coverage.
Now is a good time to revive this trait from the past when the Commanders are set to don their Super Bowl era uniforms against Wagner’s old team the Seattle Seahawks in Week 8. Wilson has blitzed at least 38 times in four of the last six seasons, according to Pro Football Reference, while he’s also snatched 11 career interceptions.
The numbers are there to justify this deal, even though a calf injury has kept Wilson out of practice recently, per the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Pat Brennan. Getting a deal done by the deadline on Tuesday, November 4 would give the Commanders time to wait on Wilson’s recovery and plan the parameters of his exact role.