How Will the Buffalo Offense Rebound in Week Five?
Buffalo enters Week Five of the NFL season fresh off their first regular-season loss against the Baltimore Ravens. After dominating the line of scrimmage for the first three games of the season, the Bills got a taste of their own medicine with Derrick Henry running amuck on Sunday night. However, with the team traveling to play the Houston Texans this Sunday, there is not much time to regroup before their next challenge, quarterback C.J. Stroud and his crew of weapons. Without the threat of a dominant rushing attack, Buffalo should be able to impose their will on the game, dictating the style we will see.
The Buffalo offense struggled against Baltimore due to a heightened pressure rate from the Baltimore Ravens, at 44.1%, the fifth-highest around the league this week. Bills’ star quarterback Josh Allen only completed 55.2% of his passes, his lowest completion rate of the season. While he did not turn the ball over, as he has been prone to do in the past, Allen saw the fourth-highest rate of tight windows, at 24.1%, which combined with pressure proved too much to overcome. Unfortunately for the franchise quarterback who targets the slot receiver the sixth most this season, head coach DeMeco Ryans will try to eliminate his favorite target, slot receiver Khalil Shakir.
On the ground, the Bills struggled to find success on just 47.8% of their rushing attempts for 81 yards. Even against six-man or lighter boxes, Buffalo only rushed for 37 yards across nine attempts, which ranked the team the seventh-lowest yards per rushing attempt during Week Four. Of course, Baltimore ranks first in rushing yards allowed per game this season so Buffalo will have an easier time this week. Houston has shown a willingness to stop the run with numbers which means for the first time this season, Allen will have some plays to make down the field. The question is can rookie receiver Keon Coleman step up to help his team get back in the win column? For some information about NFL news, please click here to learn about some ideal trade spots for star receiver Davante Adams.