The defining moment for the 2023 Buffalo Bills could have come in the fourth quarter on Sunday, and it wasn’t a good one.
The Bills struggled against a bad New England Patriots team, but it looked like everything was going to work out. Stefon Diggs scored with 5:32 left, Buffalo recovered after a Patriots fumble and then scored again on a Josh Allen sneak with 1:58 left. The Bills made the two-point conversion and led 25-22. Like the New York Giants game the week before, the Bills struggled, but it seemed like they would come away with a win.
This was not the moment that could shape the bills. It’s what happened next.
The Patriots’ offense, which had been ridiculed all season, went completely off the rails. Mac Jones, who has been benched by fans and media at least a dozen times this season, started making plays. A simple swing pass to Rhamondre Stevenson went for 34 yards thanks to a few missed tackles. A Bills third-down blitz came a step late, a safety bit on an under route and Jones hit Hunter Henry for a huge first down. Passes to DeVante Parker and Stevenson picked up 14 yards. Then the Patriots targeted a matchup between tight end Mike Gesicki and cornerback Taron Johnson from the 1-yard line, just as the Giants did with Darren Waller against Johnson on the final play the week before, and New England ran it for Game-winning touchdown a minute later.
It wasn’t just that the Patriots’ maligned offense pushed down the game-winning score. It looked so easy compared to the Bills. Buffalo struggled and clawed to take the lead in a game it should have easily won, and then when it regained the lead, it took the Patriots less than two minutes to take it back and claim the victory. A championship team stops Jones there. The Bills didn’t even slow him down.
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There is much that is concerning about the bills. If the Giants made better decisions at the 1-yard line in both halves of Week 6, Buffalo could be 3-4. Even at 4-3, the Bills appear to be far from the Super Bowl contender we expected.
There is still a long way to go, but the draft legislation should be concerning. Super Bowl contenders are not surpassed by the Giants and Patriots in consecutive weeks.
“Our season isn’t over yet,” Allen said. “It’s a long season. I know it feels pretty bleak right now, but we’ll get through it.”
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills suffered a really tough loss on Sunday. (Photo by M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Maybe Allen is right and the Bills will turn things around. It’s also possible that Buffalo already has its Super Bowl chance in the balance and the last few weeks are the first revelation. The Bills have played seven games and looked bad in four of them (high-volume loss to the Jets, no-contest London loss to the Jaguars, narrow win over the Giants, outplayed by the Patriots). In this even-keeled NFL, a bad play or two happens to everyone. Four out of seven is harder to explain.
The offense still relies too heavily on the miracle ball of Stefon Diggs or Josh Allen. On defense, cornerback Tre’Davious White, linebacker Matt Milano and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones really seem to be missing. All three are on injured reserve. Any of them could have made the necessary play on the Patriots’ game-winning drive, but they weren’t there. They’re not coming back this season either (there’s a slim chance Jones could return).
When the Bills failed in the playoffs three seasons in a row, most notably in the “13-second” heartbreaker against the Chiefs two seasons ago, everyone knew that, looking back, we might understand that this was their window of opportunity and that it was without one Trip to the Super Bowl passed. Maybe there’s no reason to panic. The Bills looked like a contender just a few weeks ago when they beat the Dolphins. Buffalo still likes analytics. Even if the Bills’ slump is really bad, they have all the teams.
But what we’ve seen since the win over the Dolphins is alarming. Buffalo is lucky to be 4-3. Maybe the Bills’ time at the top of the NFL is over and we’re now starting to see the decline.
Here are the power rankings after Week 7 of the NFL season:
The Bears had a nice Sunday. They won and many of the other one-win teams also won, while the Panthers went winless with a bye. Everyone in the NFL has two wins except the Panthers and Cardinals, and as you heard, the Bears have the Panthers’ 2024 first-round draft pick.
We’ll look back at the Cardinals’ win over the Cowboys and wonder how the hell that happened. Since then, Arizona has lost by scores of 19, 14, 17 and 10. At least it looks like Kyler Murray will be back relatively soon.
Darren Waller posted a 7-98-1 record on Sunday, easily his best game of the season. That’s a great sign. The Giants need this version of Waller for the rest of the season to have any hope on offense.
Justin Fields is unlikely to return this weekend, so it’s another start for rookie Tyson Bagent, who looked good on Sunday. It’s impressive that he made the jump from Division II to the NFL without looking overwhelmed. Certainly an entertaining subplot in the Bears’ season.
The problem with Jordan Love’s problems is that he’s not a rookie. He sat for three years. That makes it harder to excuse him when he plays like a rookie. You don’t want to give up on anyone after six games, but Love has given Green Bay little reason to believe he’s the answer.
When everyone was ready to bench Mac Jones, he came out and posted a 25-30 line, 272 yards, two touchdowns and a 126.7 passer rating in the comeback win over the Bills. Who knows if this is a sign of things to come, but it’s the most positive step forward for Jones since…his rookie season?
Commanders defensive lineman Jonathan Allen left Sunday after an ugly loss. It’s hard to blame him. He sees that Washington isn’t going anywhere. The loss to a Giants team that, with all its injury problems, was struggling to find five starting offensive linemen shows just how bad Washington is doing this season.
The Titans traded safety Kevin Byard to the Eagles for safety Terrell Edmunds along with a fifth- and sixth-round draft pick. This is likely a signal to the rest of the league that the Titans are willing to trade anyone before the deadline. Stay tuned.
Javonte Williams looked all the way back on Sunday. He ran for 82 yards on 15 carries and was instrumental in Denver’s victory. This is a great story considering Williams suffered a torn ACL and other ligament injuries last season.
It’s still amazing that head coach Josh McDaniels started 38-year-old QB Brian Hoyer, who has lost 13 straight starts. There was no good reason for this decision and it shows how McDaniels is struggling for answers. It doesn’t help that Josh Jacobs somehow went from being an All-Pro in 2022 to being one of the worst running backs in the NFL in 2023. His 2.9 yards per carry is tied for worst in the NFL with Houston’s Dameon Pierce.
The Saints have an easy schedule ahead of them, but it’s not as easy as the Falcons’ remaining roster (which is far easier than any other team). The Falcons went on the road Sunday after the Saints lost a winless home game to Jacksonville. It looks like Atlanta’s division is losing, and only the Saints have themselves to blame.
The Rams’ Puka Nacua reacts to his play for a first down in front of Cooper Kupp on Sunday against the Steelers. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Puka Nacua did not disappear when Cooper Kupp returned. On Sunday, he had eight catches for 154 yards. He looks like an elite NFL receiver. How could the rest of the league drop him to the fifth round?
You didn’t expect Gardner Minshew and Lamar Jackson to connect today, but here it is: Minshew joins Jackson as the only QBs in the NFL this season to score two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in a game has. According to Mike Chappell of Fox 59/CBS 4. Minshew is the first Colts quarterback to ever achieve this feat. Minshew has some really good games, like Sunday. What holds him back are the bad ones, which are too numerous.
The Buccaneers return to Earth. They have lost three of four games since an 0-2 start, suffered a tough loss to NFC South rival Atlanta on Sunday and play a short week in Buffalo this week. The Bucs weren’t expected to do very well this season, but a solid start provided optimism. We probably won’t see Tampa Bay’s true level until the last few weeks.
Entering Week 7, Will Anderson Jr. led the NFL in tackles for a loss or no gain. according to Pro Football Focus. He was very good. I still don’t agree with the high price the Texans paid to take him third overall, but he was exactly what Houston was looking for.
Last season, Justin Herbert had a passer rating of 101.3 in the first half of a game and a passer rating of 85.5 in the second half of a game (also 50.3 in overtime). This season, Herbert has a first-half rating of 110.4, a second-half rating of 84.1 and went 0-3 in overtime in his only appearance. The Chargers had a chance to beat the Chiefs on Sunday, but the offense completely stalled in the second half. Herbert usually gets a pass when criticized, but the truth is that he needs to do better in recent games, especially in close games. Every second quarterback is subject to this standard.
Bijan Robinson’s absence on Sunday seems sensible. He had a headache that was affecting him. Terrell Davis had to miss part of the Super Bowl because of migraines; it happens. But head coach Arthur Smith’s strange fascination with not using his best players and his shady answers after the game instead of just explaining what happened leads to unnecessary speculation.
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This was Kirk Cousins’ masterpiece. It gets forgotten the first time Cousins has a bad game because everyone loves to dunk on Cousins, bring up his poor record in prime time and act like he’s never had a good game in the NFL . But he threw for 378 yards to salvage the Vikings’ season against a 49ers defense that may be the NFL’s toughest, and he did it all without Justin Jefferson.
Last season, the Steelers had games where they weren’t going to win, but somehow ended up winning. Then, at the end of the season, everyone was surprised when they found themselves in playoff contention. No one would say the Steelers are 4-2 this season, but they keep picking up wins in ugly fashion. They all count equally.
The Jets face the Giants in a non-road game, then host the Chargers and play at the Raiders. Nothing is promised because of their offensive problems, but they are three winnable games. Just don’t be surprised if you wake up in a few weeks and Zach Wilson’s team is 6-3.
According to Tankathon, the Bengals have the toughest remaining schedule in the NFL. Their next month is a sign of that: They play in San Francisco, host the Bills, have a tougher-than-expected test against the Texans and then play a huge AFC North game at the Ravens. It’s a good thing the Bengals got back to .500 before the bye, because there won’t be any breaks for a while.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba finally had a bit of a breakthrough with 63 yards and his first career touchdown. The first-round draft pick’s talent was never in question. He had a larger role when DK Metcalf left on Sunday, but perhaps this step forward is a sign of things to come, even if Metcalf returns.
The Bills will need more from rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid. Dawson Knox needs wrist surgery, compounding the Bills’ problems. But they selected Kincaid in the first round for a reason. He had a promising game on Sunday with eight catches for 75 yards.
It was strange to see the Browns suddenly give up 38 points to the Colts after looking like the best defense in the NFL against the 49ers a week earlier. But they won, which helps as they answer another round of questions about what’s going on with Deshaun Watson.
The only good thing about the Urban Meyer era might be that the Jaguars signed Travis Etienne. Meyer obviously wanted Kadarius Toney, but Jacksonville has Etienne and he’s having a monster season. He has 700 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns in seven games and is the most consistent player on the Jaguars’ offense.
There have been ups and downs for the Cowboys this season, and there is a bit of concern this weekend. They should beat the Rams, but will they overlook them with a game in Philadelphia? We’ll see if Dallas can stay focused on the task at hand.
The Lions aren’t bad. After the heavy defeat on Sunday we just have to recalibrate. Great teams don’t typically trail anyone 35-0, like Detroit did to the Ravens on Sunday. Only two Super Bowl champions (1994 49ers, 2000 Buccaneers) suffered a loss of 32 or more points. That’s fine. We just need to slow down the conversation that the Lions might be the best team in the NFC. They will win the NFC North, be tough in the playoffs and, if everything works out, make a good run. This is a great season for a Lions team that hasn’t won a division title in 30 years.
The dolphins are getting healthier. Cornerback Jalen Ramsey, running back De’Von Achane and left tackle Terron Armstead are among the impact players out. It will be helpful to get these players back. But at some point, if the Dolphins want to be taken seriously as a Super Bowl contender, they’ll have to beat an elite team.
Now that the Titans have traded safety Kevin Byard for little in return, the Ravens will have to talk non-stop with Tennessee about Derrick Henry until a deal is made. Imagine what an elite running back could do for an offense that appears to be gaining momentum.
Get ready because you’re in for another week of debate over Brock Purdy after he threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter with Monday night’s game on the line. The 49ers are still very good and could still be the best team in the NFL. They’re just imperfect, like the rest of the league.
What mind control does general manager Howie Roseman have over the rest of the NFL? The Titans traded safety Kevin Byard, a former first-team All-Pro, for safety Terrell Edmunds and a pair of late-round draft picks. Byard is only 30 and not yet finished as an elite player. What a bargain for the Eagles. Again.
Travis Kelce continues to beat the aging curve at tight end. Only one other tight end has ever posted a 1,000-yard season at age 34 (Pete Retzlaff of the 1965 Eagles had 1,190 yards). Kelce has rushed for 525 yards in six games. He appears to have overcome his early season injuries and has rushed for 303 yards in the last two games. It is possible not because of Taylor Swiftbut whatever Kelce does, it works.