National Football League

Bills lack answers for recurring problems after loss to Patriots

Published Oct. 22, 2023 6:37 p.m. ET

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Buffalo Bills defensive end A.J. Epenesa had a sense of how the New England Patriots offense and quarterback Mac Jones were going to attack. Bill Belichick signaled the plan this week. The coach said the Bills had the best pass-rush in the league.

"We are, statistically," Epenesa told FOX Sports postgame when informed of Belichick's comments.

Belichick's compliment was a clue that he was focused on figuring out how to keep Buffalo's rushers from blowing up the game. Epenesa said he anticipated the Patriots making heavy use of the quick passing game, a common game plan against elite pass-rushes.

Everyone saw this script coming. And yet the Patriots still won 29-25, thanks in large part to their quick passing game. New England — a one-win team entering Week 7 — upset their division rivals.

If the Bills knew the Patriots were coming with this game plan, why couldn't Buffalo get stops?

"We're an aggressive team and teams know that and teams try to use that," Epenesa said of the Bills defense. "That's a common theme and we're not going to stop being aggressive. That just hammers that we've got to focus on our fundamentals more. There's subtle things that we can do to change the big picture and those things will really help us out."

Did Jones do anything to surprise him?

"No, that was the same Mac Jones I've seen four times," Epenesa said.

What can you say about how he plays?

"No comment," Epenesa said. "I've got nothing to say about Mac Jones."

Bills closer or further from a Super Bowl?

Jones finished the day with an average depth of target of 3.3 yards. Even without throwing the ball far beyond the line of scrimmage, he was 25-of-30 for 272 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead TD near the end of the fourth quarter. It was unlike any of the games Jones had had this season, in part because of how well his teammates played, with receivers Kendrick Bourne and Demario Douglas showing explosiveness in the open field.

Josh Allen, meanwhile, opened his game a bit like Jones has done: with an interception. The Bills quarterback threw a pick on the first offensive play. He didn't seem to see safety Jabrill Peppers cheating off his area in a zone defense and so while Allen let the ball loose for tight end Dawson Knox, it was Peppers who looked like the intended target.

That turnover set the tone, with Buffalo failing to score points in the first quarter for the third consecutive week. Since thumping the Miami Dolphins on Oct. 1, the Bills haven't looked like the same team.

Can the Bills put a finger on why that first quarter — and the first half, in general — has been tough for Buffalo to put up points?

"No," center Mitch Morse said in the locker room after the game. "It's something we've been putting an onus on. Just haven't been doing it."

Surely, the head coach has an answer to these slow starts. Right?

"I wish I could tell you," coach Sean McDermott said in a postgame press conference. "We talk about it. We talked about being more detailed, getting into a rhythm early. … We just haven't been able to get into a good rhythm in the first quarter. Let's just start there. Just overall, got to find the answers there."

He added: "We've got to continue to find answers to some of the reasons why we're stubbing our toe. … We're not linking all three phases to control a game."

Maybe they're doing things differently. But right now, it looks like the Bills are doing things awfully similarly to the previous weeks — and expecting a different result.

Allen threw an early interception. Offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey called a first-down draw play out of shotgun in the red zone that contributed to a stalled red-zone trip. Buffalo committed an offensive pass interference penalty on its second drive that wiped away a touchdown. The Bills missed a first-half field goal attempt. It all added up to a slow start. Yet again.

There's no doubt that this Bills team is better than their record (4-3). A big part of that disparity comes down to their injury luck. They've seen linebacker Matt Milano and Tre'Davious White suffer injuries that could hold both of them out for the whole season. Edge Von Miller has been on a snap count and played sparingly in the second half. And a handful of the team's top defensive playmakers have dealt with injuries.

But at this point, the Bills should be feeling like they shook off their tough showings against the Jaguars and Giants. Instead, they have to figure out why these three games have been so tough — and on a short schedule. The Bills play the Buccaneers on Thursday night.

The Bills were not ready to despair, however.

"Every team — at some point — you need a reality check," Miller said. "And they're always good. You always look in the mirror and see what you do well, see what you don't do well. And you just keep going. A good punch in the chin, punch in the mouth — it's good for the great competitors we have."

That depends if we're watching Rocky I or Rocky II. Because Rocky beat Apollo Creed in the second film, but in the first? Well, you get it.

The point is, the Bills might not have the answers now. But they have time. It's Week 7 and while the Miami Dolphins are screaming ahead in the divisional race, Buffalo will surely stay in the mix as a wild-card team.

"There's no panic," linebacker Terrel Bernard said. "Not at all. We lost the game. Came down at the end. Had a chance to win. Just couldn't get it done on the last drive. … We'll look at the tape, get it corrected and move onto next week."

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They said it after the Jaguars game. They said it after the Giants game. Now they're saying it after the Patriots game.

The Bills only have so many weeks before their search for answers enters the panic phase. They better work toward solutions to make the matchup against the Buccaneers into their get-right game. Because right now, it certainly doesn't look right.

Prior to joining FOX Sports as the AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.