The Buffalo Bills lost to the Cincinnati Bengals 24-18 on Sunday Night Football in Week 9, and despite the one-score final, the game was never really that close after it started 7-7. Josh Allen and the Bills offense couldn’t move the ball effectively and consistently, and the banged-up Buffalo defense simply couldn’t stop Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Joe Mixon. Who’s to blame for this loss? Well, this is the rare game that you can’t put on the players at all. The Bills lost this game thanks to head coach Sean McDermott, offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, and general manager Brandon Beane.
OC Ken Dorsey
The easy scapegoat for the Bills Week 9 loss to the Bengals is offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. Having a top NFL quarterback like Josh Allen is a football blessing, and Dorsey simply isn’t getting the most out of him.
Dorsey’s offense is predictable and lacks creativity. For example, he didn’t call a designed quarterback run for Allen until the Bengals were already firmly in control, and once he did, it was the first time since the first drive that the Buffalo offense looked dangerous all night.
He’s also failed to establish any other offensive weapon other than Stefon Diggs. Maybe some of that is on Allen, but when the No. 2 wide receiver Gabriel Davis gets just two targets and no catches in a big Sunday night game like this, it’s a play-calling problem.
Looking back on the Brian Daboll-led Bills offenses of a few years ago, you’ll see a ton of motion, RPOs, and creative ways to either spread the ball around or keep it in Allen’s hands on the run. There is precious little of this with Dorsey.
The Bills’ problems run deeper than just Dorsey, but if the organization hopes to save the 2023 season, replacing Dorsey is the quickest and easiest potential fix.
HC Sean McDermott
Ken Dorsey didn’t hire Ken Dorsey, though. Nor does Dorsey get to fully espouse his own offensive philosophy. That comes from the top and head coach Sean McDermott.
McDermott, an excellent defensive coordinator by trade, finally took over the Bills defense after Leslie Frazier couldn’t close the deal on that side of the ball in the team’s last two playoff appearances.
Early on, that looked like a solid move, as the defense dominated early on. However, injuries to key players like Matt Milano, Tre’Davious White, DaQuan Jones, and many others have eviscerated the Bills’ defensive talent.
Ultimately, the Bills are a team without an identity — as Brandon Beane openly admitted recently — because they are stuck between two worlds.
The Bills have a defensive-minded head coach and have spent too much money on that side of the ball. Paying Von Miller, drafting Kaiir Elam, and trading for Rasul Douglas are bad moves. That capital should have gone to things like paying DeAndre Hopkins, drafting Breece Hall, or trading for Hunter Renfrow.
Buffalo has a generational QB right now in Josh Allen, and they are wasting him by having Sean McDermott as a head coach. That’s not a total knock on McDermott. Put him on a team like the Jets that don’t have a young, top-level QB and can spend a lot on defense, and he’d be excellent. He’s the wrong coach for Allen and the Bills, though, and it’s showing.
GM Brandon Beane
The biggest reason for the Bills Week 9 loss to the Bengals was the same reason the same result happened in the 2022 playoffs. The Bengals simply have much more talent all around the field.
Brandon Beane might like to take shots at Cincy and say that is only because they were very bad for a very long time (which isn’t wrong), but he has to look in the mirror as well.
Beane’s resume — or lack thereof — over the last few years speaks for itself.
The Bills GM has drafted one (replacement) Pro Bowl player, Dawson Knox, in the last five drafts. He made a major mistake drafting first-round bust Kaiir Elam in 2022, and he traded up two spots to do so, as he always seems to do. Giving up later-round picks to move up a few spots in the early rounds instead of sitting tight and having multiple plans almost always backfires in the NFL, and Beane is proof of that.
He also gave a now-34-year-old Von Miller a six-year, $120 million contract with $51.4 guaranteed and traded for Rasul Douglas while his supposedly high-powered offense has scored 25 points or less six times this season.
The coaching situation needs to change, both on the sideline and in the booth, but what ultimately may doom this Bills era is the lack of talent and depth on the field, and that is on Beane.
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