Defenses are being aggressive against the Buffalo Bills’ offense. The Bills have a lot of work to do coming off their bye week. Essentially, no aspect of the team can be considered 100% optimal through seven weeks. Although fans can debate whether the offense or defense carries the plurality of blame for the disappointment associated with back-to-back losses, one item that’s begun to rear its head is the increased aggressiveness with which opposing defenses are playing against Buffalo.
Through their
first six games, the Bills have faced a blitz from the defense on 28.8% of Josh Allen’s drop backs, per Sumer Sports. This number represents a four-year high for the MVP signal-caller.
- 2025: 28.84% (62 blitzes on 215 dropbacks)
- 2024: 26.53% (143 blitzes on 539 dropbacks)
- 2023: 27.73% (180 blitzes on 649 dropbacks)
- 2022: 23.35% (152 blitzes on 651 dropbacks)
One of the hallmarks of offensive coordinators Joe Brady’s offense in 2024 was its almost unbelievable effectiveness against extra rushers (0.379 EPA per play against the blitz). Allen had answers and got to those answers, contributing heavily to the historical lack of negative plays he produced last season. This year, however, Buffalo’s offense hasn’t matched last year’s excellent efficiency, putting together a still-great-but-not-as-great 0.224 EPA per play against the blitz.
The Atlanta Falcons, the most recent of Buffalo’s two-game skid, blitzed Allen on 55.9% of his dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats. This is the highest amount in a single game that Allen has seen since Week 8 of 2021, almost exactly four years ago. Defenses are trying to manufacture their own sugar-high Josh Allen, and it’ll be up to Joe Brady and his quarterback to figure out answers that will work consistently against the additional rushers teams are likely to send.
…and that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I’m Bruce Nolan with Buffalo Rumblings. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @BruceExclusive and look for new episodes of “The Bruce Exclusive” every Thursday on the Rumblings Cast Network — see more in my LinkTree!
