Well, that wasn't supposed to happen. Nick Wright's annual "September Champs" seem to be collapsing a little earlier and more spectacularly than expected. Yielding both a game and the current division standings to the New England Patriots for the first time since Tom Brady left is one thing -- sophomore quarterback Drake Maye is in MVP discussions, after all. But dropping an absolute goose egg to the lowly Miami Dolphins in Week 10 is a whole other thing.
To be fair to Buffalo, their run defense has allowed the third-most yards on average per game this season (147.6). It was always going to hold up like a wet paper towel against a running back of Devon Achane's caliber (22 carriers, 174 yards, 2 TDs). No, what was disappointing was the Bills' seemingly anemic offense, which the Dolphins managed to hold to just 13 points on the day.
Josh Allen still got his in the air (306 passing yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT), but losing favorite target Dalton Kincaid during the game to a hamstring injury didn't help, and there wasn't a receiver that stepped up on their own. Even more disappointing was the performance from running back James Cook, who only took his 13 carries for 53 yards. It was also notable that despite taking almost 3.5 seconds to do so on average throughout the game, the Dolphins still successfully pressured Allen 17 times, while also tacking on three sacks to boot.
Simply put, Allen's receivers were not able to give him good enough looks for the entire game.
But who is really to blame?
Maybe it was the receiver corps. Maybe it was the scheme. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady mentioned a bit of regret towards not leaning on the passing game a little more, despite their apparent struggles. The Bills were more efficient in the air than on the ground, especially in the first half (0/6 on third down conversions rushing).
But despite the embarrassing loss, head coach Sean McDermott stood by his OC:
"Joe's a good coach. He really is. We've got a really good offensive staff. They've had really good games. You're going to have some games you want back, some play calls you want back ... It's how you respond to them, and I'm fully confident in our offensive staff ..."
So who's to blame for the Bills' offensive woes?
Well, if you are willing to read between the lines a bit on McDermott's words, his answer to that question is left in who he left out of his praises and defense: Bills GM Brandon Beane.
As the NFL's 2025 trade deadline approached, the Bills were among the hottest rumored suitors for an alluring crop of wide receiver talent. New Orleans' Chris Olave and Miami's Jaylen Waddle headlined a talented list of receivers who were rumored to be hopping teams by Nov 4, and Buffalo simply failed to get in on the feeding frenzy. And not just for wide receivers, either -- the Bills made zero moves before the trade deadline.
Now Beane, it must be noted, has quite the track record of activity around the trade deadline. 2025 marks the first year that he stood pat at the deadline since 2021, and he had apparently left his office "mad as any other fan" that there were no moves to be feasibly made before the end-of-day 4 p.m. EST cutoff. And the stasis wasn't for a lack of trying -- Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network apparently reported that Buffalo was in the running for Waddle himself.
But even though neither Waddle nor Olave moved, it is a little disappointing that Buffalo couldn't find some cap space to take on either Rashid Shaheed or Jakobi Meyers, two potential alphas that did end up switching jerseys on Nov 4. After all, Josh Allen is an annual MVP candidate for a reason, and it is clear to see that Buffalo's Super Bowl window is right now, despite unfairly stiff competition.
Hopefully they don't come to regret not investing in it this season.