It’s been true that in 2025 my film review has declined (some major shifts in my personal life are to blame, sorry). That said, I don’t think I would have had the heart for it for the Buffalo Bills’ game
against the Philadelphia Eagles if I’m being candid. Check out what else I write this week to get more insight into that.
Anyway, what I’m going to do instead for the game recap is continue another 2025 trend. Point out how losses this season have rested on the shoulders of the offense. Now I want to be clear, this is not me claiming the defense has been awesome all season. There have been plenty of games the defense was bad enough to blame for a loss, but in those instances the offense bailed them out.
But that doesn’t change this fact. When the Bills have lost, the blame belongs to the offense.
A look at each Buffalo Bills’ loss in 2025
Week 5: New England Patriots
The final score was 23-20. The defense held the New England Patriots, the possible one seed in the AFC mind you, to a league-average amount of points. The Bills’ offense is generally one of the most prolific in the league. But not on that day, where they failed to reach an average scoring output, let alone their own illustrious standard.
Three turnovers were a primary culprit. The offense outgained the Patriots, held the ball for nine minutes longer than New England, and even had an advantage in third-down conversions. Like I always say though, the only stat that matters is the score. Everything else is just context. The defense did an average job, the offense couldn’t.
Week 6: Atlanta Falcons
For this game, the final score was 24-14. Two weeks in a row saw an average defensive performance. One could argue and be valid that this is less “good” than the previous week, as it was against a shakier offense. But the point remains: the defense did an acceptable enough job where a high-powered offense had a reasonable shot at a victory.
Which makes the Bills’ drive chart pretty awful on this one. In 11 drives, they had two turnovers and four three and outs. Yes the Falcons’ defense has had some great results this year, but they’ve hardly been unbeatable. Let alone 2-of-9-on-third-downs-level unbeatable.
Week 10: Miami Dolphins
With a final score of 30-13, there’s a case to be made that the defense was a let down as well. Especially against a team that is currently averaging 21.1 points per game this season. That said, let’s look at some of that context behind the score to see where we want to point the finger more toward.
Let’s start with the obvious, that 13 points is quite bad. Aside from that, Buffalo had zero until nearly three minutes into the fourth quarter. That’s really bad. The defense went the other direction, allowing only 16 into the fourth quarter and then letting Miami get two easy scores.
So why do I blame the offense? If there had been any signs of life from them earlier in the game, it likely changes the outcome. I would add that in the first half, Buffalo had three drives that were three and out, a turnover, a turnover on downs, and a drive that ended due to the half. Then they came out in the third quarter with a 14-play drive that ended in an interception.
Week 12: Houston Houston Texans
This explanation should be pretty familiar by now. The defense allowed 23 points, average. The offense scored 19, below average and well below the Bills 27.9 points per game standard. Three turnovers sunk Buffalo’s chances on a global scale.
On a “back to the defense” argument, the Bills were still only down by one score at the time the Texans scored their final points at the close of the third quarter. The defense shut down two Texans drives afterward (seven plays allowed) and the offense came up with three points instead of the seven needed.
Week 17: Philadelphia Eagles
The final score was 13-12, so this is perhaps the most obvious one yet. Quarterback Jalen Hurts completed zero passes in the second half. I know it was raining, I was there. The weather sucked. But zero passes completed? Zero? Philly converted three of 13 third-down conversions. Under 200 yards of total offense. A rushing attack that yielded 3.6 yards per carry.
To say the defense did enough in this game to win is an understatement. This is arguably their statement game for the season.
So let’s take a look at the Bills’ drives, courtesy of Pro Football Reference.
Until it was nearly too late, the offense failed in the only stat that matters. There are some decent drives in there. If you’re worried about winning the field-position battle and less so about scoring. This game is pretty clear cut.
The Final Straw
This seems like another shot to nitpick quarterback Josh Allen and the offense, but that’s not the case. There are zero undefeated teams this year and, as of this moment, there isn’t a single team more than two games ahead of the Bills. That’s not a massive gap. What I’m getting at is that even good and great teams lose games. In Buffalo’s case, it’s been a result of the odd occasions when the offense isn’t clicking.
It’s true in the losses that the offense has been the scapegoat. But that said, in many important victories the offense has been the savior. Against the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Patriots the offense had to do a lot of heavy lifting to get back into and then win the game.
Make no mistake, the Bills’ offense can beat any team in the league. Any team, no qualifiers to that statement. When they’re on they can be invincible. When they’re off, they’re vulnerable. We have one week where I don’t really care much which version comes out. After that, Josh Alien will hopefully make his way onto the scene.
