Josh Allen interception highlights Bills’ offensive struggle…
The Buffalo Bills had only nine possessions in their loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
They couldn’t afford to lose the turnover battle and give the ball away on two of their nine chances. That is what happened, and that is a big reason the Bills dropped a 24-18 decision at Paycor Stadium.
The propensity to turn the ball over is one of the reasons the Bengals are a bad matchup for the Bills.
Last season, the Bengals committed the fourth-fewest turnovers (18) in the NFL, while the Bills gave the ball away the third-most times (27).
Entering Sunday’s game, the Bengals had the second-fewest giveaways in the league (six), while the Bills had double that total (12).
The Bengals’ offense is so good at sustaining drives, they tend to limit the chances the opposing offense gets. The Bills had only eight possessions in the 27-10 playoff loss to the Bengals in January.
Double clutch. The pivotal play of the first half was a terrible read by Josh Allen in the middle of the second quarter. The Bengals had just scored to take a 14-7 lead.
Allen started down Gabe Davis on a route up the left sideline against a two-deep coverage. Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt was following Davis stride for stride and had safety Dax Hill helping deep.
Allen tried to thread the ball into the hole between the cornerback and safety, but his throw was late because he double-clutched in the pocket, seemingly realizing at first that he shouldn’t throw it. He threw it anyway, and Taylor-Britt made an easy interception on the underthrown pass.
Stefon Diggs was running a short route to the left flat. Allen should have taken the ball to Diggs for a short completion, but he got too greedy.
The Bengals did not score on the ensuing possession, but the interception indirectly cost the Bills points.
While the Bills defense forced a punt, the Bills were backed up at their own 9 to start their next drive. They went three plays and out, punted and the Bengals took advantage of great field position to stretch their lead to 21-7.
Opportunistic. The Bengals have a knack for forcing turnovers to close out victories. Since the start of last season, Cincinnati has eight fumble recoveries in the fourth quarter and eight interceptions.
They did it again with 13:18 to go in the game, when linebacker Germaine Pratt knocked the ball out of tight end Dalton Kincaid’s grasp. It killed a promising Bills drive. Kincaid fumbled at the Bengals’ 11-yard line.
It was a right-hand punch by Pratt as Kincaid was flipped upside down in the air on a tackle by safety Nick Scott.
Pratt, a third-round draft pick of the Bengals’ in 2019, is an underrated playmaker. Over the past 2 1/2 seasons, he has five forced fumbles, six interceptions and three fumble recoveries.
Going for jugular. After the Bills scored to pull within 24-18, the Bengals did not play it safe.
On first down from their 25 with 3:32 left, Joe Burrow read a blitz coming from the Bills and got aggressive. He checked the pass protection at the line of scrimmage. The Bills rushed six men, blitzing both linebackers, Tyrel Dodson and Dorian Williams.
Running back Joe Mixon picked up Williams, giving Burrow time to hit slot receiver Tyler Boyd for 32 yards. Boyd ran a corner route to the left sideline, beating Taron Johnson in man coverage.
No fill. The Bengals’ second touchdown came on a 2-yard run by Mixon.
It was a third-and-goal play, and Cincinnati ran a power play off left guard, with a double-team block put on Bills defensive tackle Linval Joseph. Joseph held his ground, but Dodson stood in place behind Joseph and didn’t fill the hole to his right. Why Dodson essentially picked himself behind Joseph was confusing. Mixon plowed into the end zone for a score that gave the Bengals a 14-7 lead.
Burrow throws dime. The Bengals’ first touchdown was nearly impossible to defend, a 7-yard scoring pass from Burrow to tight end Irv Smith. The Bengals put five receivers in the pass pattern, so it was man coverage with two linebacker in zone coverage in the middle of the field. Safety Jordan Poyer had decent coverage on Smith, but the throw from Burrow was too perfect to the back left corner of the end zone.
Settling for three. The Bills had a good drive going to start the third quarter, marching 57 yards in 10 plays to the Cincinnati 17.
But on a third-and-9 situation, the best play the Bills could muster was a low-percentage fade route up the right sideline for Davis. The throw was too high, and Davis barely got a hand on it.
Taylor-Britt grabbed Davis’ facemask briefly as the ball arrived, but there was no penalty thrown. It probably should have been a flag, although without the facemask grab, Davis still would not have caught the ball. It would have been nice to have a better play or a better throw.
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