Buffalo Bills still have zero TDs from first string offense
By Cory Buck
If one was allowed to panic in the preseason, one just might begin to get a little antsy about this first string Buffalo Bills offense. After all, the team got a one week head start on the rest of the league, an extra preseason game to boot, and still EJ Manuel and the first string offense have yet to produce a single touchdown. Again, it’s only the preseason and everyone will feel foolish if the Bills start racking up touchdowns in the regular season. For now though, that appears unlikely.
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“Coming off the field, it was frustrating,” Manuel said per The Buffalo News after the team’s 19-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team had no problem chalking up first downs in the middle of the field, but once again the worst red zone offense from a year ago reared its ugly head, settling for field goals or failing to convert on fourth downs in repeated red zone appearances.
Despite the lack of success, coach Doug Marrone was encouraged by what he saw in Pittsburgh. “He put us in a situation where we were moving the football,” Marrone said, “and that’s what you want your quarterback to do. He put us in a situation where we could make the plays.”
Unfortunately, Manuel and the offense were unable to actually make those plays once in those situations, which makes the current predicament all the more dire for a Buffalo team that desperately needs a better offense this season after losing safety Jairus Byrd to free agency and linebacker Kiko Alonso to season-ending knee injury.
Field goals won’t get the Bills to the playoffs for the first time this century, so while it’s still not fair to panic, it is fair to say it’s time for the Buffalo Bills offense to show something better than they have so far in August.