The Buffalo Bills weren’t going to finish undefeated this season. It’s an impossibly difficult task that, ironically enough, has only been duplicated twice before by AFC East foes in the Miami Dolphins (1972) and New England Patriots (2007). The key, however, is winning the right games on the schedule.
Yes, every game counts, but not every game holds equal value. Buffalo picked a really bad weekend to play terrible football, where a loss against an AFC opponent — and their division rivals — far outweighs
any loss to NFC darlings like the Los Angeles Raiders. The reigning AFC Champions were reeling at 1-2, and ripe for another loss against what had been a prolific Bills offense.
However flawed New England may be, their defense entered Week 4 ranked sixth overall. That, alone, should have served as a warning sign for anyone looking at buckable trends. When you add in the fact that often enough Allen and the Bills have looked ordinary against the Patriots’ defense thanks to brilliantly called games, it seems the one ripe for something was Buffalo’s rookie head coach Joe Brady.
The season couldn’t have started better for Brady and the Bills, but it did place an early target on their backs. The One of football’s ultimate litmus tests, Allen will always carry the sort of gravitas that encourages teams to knock Buffalo swiftly to the ground at every turn.
Anyone who thought the Patriots were going to highlight their visit to Orchard Park, NY with a visit to that other Brady’s favorite hotel should now better understand the situation. There will be zero rolling over to play dead against Allen and the Bills because nothing deserves to be written in stone after three weeks of play.
In truth, it’s fair to hold Josh Allen to account for his play in the last two games. He’s not infallible, and his boneheaded play in the closing minutes of regulation handed the Patriots a win. To Allen’s credit, he immediately took responsibility for the throw, saying he “should’ve thrown the ball out of bounds and live to fight another day,” stating several times that he “shouldn’t have thrown it,” per Matt Bové. That’s also true of the absurd backwards pass.
Buffalo is going nowhere quick without Josh Allen at quarterback. But they’ll find themselves in a similar situation if Allen continues asking a struggling defense to pick up his slack in the biggest moments. If you can’t trust the defense to hold up, then you can’t force them back out onto the field.
Allen’s done so much to win an incredible amount of games for the franchise and by no means is this criticism meant to minimize what he means to the team, community, and beyond. But there have been too many mistakes to the extent that Weeks 3 and 4 stand out. It’s a team game, but Allen shouldn’t feel forced into such decisions at this point in his career. That interception wasn’t the final play of the game, but anyone watching knew the game was over in that moment simply due to Buffalo’s troubles on defense.
Perhaps this was the brand of loss Brady and the team needed. It’s clear that defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard has a massive uphill battle in front of him. Outside linebacker Greg Rousseau has blossomed in Leonhard’s scheme and the pass rush in general is promising, but there are far too many other defenders who just aren’t doing enough of the 1/11th required each down.
If you didn’t understand how important wide receiver DJ Moore is to the offense, consider the team’s play without him. The pass-catching unit looks eerily similar to the one that lined up in 2025, and you should well understand how difficult it was for them to accomplish much of anything downfield. Yes, wide receiver Keon Coleman has made huge strides, but it’s clear that Moore is key to the passing attack.
It’s also true that Brady was vastly out-coached in Week 4. Despite his familiarity with the organization and the offense, Brady is a rookie himself. That said, the team’s two-point offense belongs on a milk carton. It’s often far less than a 50/50 proposition that the Bills successfully convert a two-point try. That leaves them chasing points instead of taking the near-given one. Had more fruitful pushes came to shove, that failed attempt left Buffalo staring at a game-tying field goal try for overtime instead of lining up for a game-winning boot.
It’s early enough in the season that Allen and the Bills should be able to make needed adjustments. There will be a lot to unpack in the coming days, which includes a large amount of injuries. Now is when One Bills Drive must look itself in the mirror and find what’s needed to rise above the talk and stand tall at the end of the season.
