The panic meter went down a bit in Buffalo on Thursday night.
After ranging from shaky to atrocious the past three weeks against the Jaguars, Giants and Patriots, the Bills hammered the Buccaneers at Highmark Stadium, 24–18.
At 5–3, Buffalo has struggled at times, but finds itself only a 1/2 game behind the Dolphins for the top spot in the AFC East.
Meanwhile, the Buccaneers’ 3–1 start is a distant memory. They haven’t won in a month, with three losses and a bye week marring what was a hot start.
So what did we learn on Thursday night, other than Tampa Bay having a deep love of long drives down two scores?
Here are five takeaways:
5. Baker Mayfield is going to be looking for another home in 2024
If the headline above proves true, Mayfield will be on his fifth team in four years come training camp next summer.
While the lackluster offense isn’t all on Mayfield (more on that below), he’s only been mediocre. The 2018 No. 1 pick also faces the real possibility of a turnover on the sideline after the season, and Tampa Bay having a premium draft choice in what should be a loaded quarterback class.
AP Photo/Adrian Kraus
To date, Mayfield has thrown 10 touchdowns against four interceptions with only one 300-yard game. On Thursday, Mayfield was jittery in the pocket and threw multiple balls which either could have or should have been picked, ending with a stat line of 25-of-42 for 237 yards and two scores.
If Mayfield and the Buccaneers don’t play markedly better, it’s tough to imagine general manager Jason Licht trying to re-sign him as anything more than a backup.
4. The NFC South is wide open … and not good
Nobody expected the NFC South to be one of the league’s best divisions. Well, here comes some good news for all those people.
Going into the weekend, the Falcons lead the division at 4–3. After them, the Saints and Buccaneers are 3–4 and trending downward, with the pair riding a combined five-game losing streak. Then there’s the Panthers, who are the league’s only winless team at 0–6.
If we want to look ahead, it seems whoever wins this division is going to be the No. 4 seed and a huge underdog come Wild-Card Weekend.
Odds are, they’ll be playing the Cowboys or Seahawks (or even more scary, the Eagles or 49ers). Good luck.
3. Josh Allen was willing to run, and it made a big difference
Over the past two seasons, Allen averaged 123 rushing attempts for 762 yards. Through Buffalo’s first seven games, he was on pace for 70 carries and 359 yards.
It seems Allen and the Bills are considering a more aggressive ground approach going forward. On Thursday, Allen took off time and again, both on designed runs and scrambled, gaining 41 yards on seven rushes, including a 13-yard touchdown.
Buffalo hasn’t struggled to run the ball this year, ranking 12th in the league with 4.2 yards per carry. However, the lack of Allen’s legs threatening the defense has hurt the overall attack, with Buffalo failing to score more than seven points in each of its three games prior to the victory over Tampa Bay.
Additionally, it will dissuade teams from playing a ton of man coverage, with coordinators not wanting defenders to turn their backs on the elusive quarterback.
2. It’s enough already with the first-down runs, Tampa Bay
Before the fourth quarter, the Buccaneers ran 14 plays on first down. They called eight runs, gaining 45 yards (5.6 YPC). The average is great until you realize one carry went for 15 yards. Take that out, and the average drops to a middling 4.2 YPC.
This has been a problem throughout the season for Tampa Bay, both running too much on first down, and not rushing for much yardage. Far too often, Todd Bowles’s team is looking at second-and-long.
This shouldn’t be a surprise to offensive coordinator Dave Canales. The Buccaneers entered Week 8 as the league’s 31st-ranked rushing team in both yards (467) and yards per carry (3.1).
At some juncture, Tampa Bay has to allow quarterback Baker Mayfield to play the position. Throw to Mike Evans. Throw to Chris Godwin. Throw off play-action and break a bad tendency.
It’s time to make the change, or continue to play behind the sticks.
AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes
1. The Bills did what they needed to, but they’re not fully back yet
This is what Buffalo needed. The Bills came out at home and dominated a toothless Buccaneers team, outgaining them 427–302.
At 5–3, the record isn’t sterling, but it’s nothing to apologize for, either. Now, though, comes the tough part of the schedule. Next week brings a Sunday night matchup with the Bengals in Cincinnati. Then, after two games against the Broncos and Jets, a three-game stretch of the Eagles, Chiefs and Cowboys before finishing at the Dolphins in Week 18.
There was plenty of good to take away from this one for Buffalo. As aforementioned, Allen ran. He also was great throwing the ball, and rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid had his second consecutive terrific game, catching five passes for 65 yards and a touchdown.
Still, there was another bad interception from Allen. It was a throw which led directly to Tampa Bay’s first touchdown.
Then there’s the red-zone failure, when offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey could have called a sneak with Allen on either third or fourth down from the 1-yard line. Instead, he decided on a handoff to running back James Cook and then a pass to the flat which fell incomplete.
Against good teams, those mistakes could spell the difference.
In the end, though, it was a night the Bills needed, even with some issues still needing to be addressed.
