From the outside looking in, the Buffalo Bills’ 23-20 loss to the New England Patriots may seem like a failure of quarterback Josh Allen to deliver another comeback. However, this game highlights a deeper, systemic problem within the team that has existed despite their strong 4-1 record. The saying, “winning covers up problems,” is especially true for the 2025 Buffalo Bills.
The Bills’ offense’s primary challenge is a persistent imbalance between the run and the pass, resulting in a lack of explosive downfield plays in the passing game. Josh Allen often checks down to possession receivers to maintain drives, but this approach limits big-play potential. If the Bills can consistently establish a strong running game, they can unlock play-action opportunities to generate more explosive plays and mask this core offensive deficiency.
Buffalo’s struggle to create explosive passing plays without relying on play-action has been a consistent weakness that often surfaces in high-pressure situations. In Week 5, the Patriots exposed this flaw by using a two-high safety scheme, daring the Bills to generate explosive plays. Buffalo limited their usual response, which relies on leaning on James Cook’s running and short and intermediate passes.
Buffalo Bills Secret Exposed: Stop RB James Cook to Beat Buffalo
Buffalo Needs to Find a Solution
For the most part, Allen made those plays downfield, but such plays are naturally less efficient than the Bills’ desired plan of attack. So, when Buffalo found themselves in several long-yardage situations due to penalties, it set them up for a difficult challenge. The problem with this secret being exposed is that, due to the nature of the NFL, it is a copycat league, and that means Buffalo’s next opponent will likely use a similar strategy. Therefore, Buffalo has a week to find solutions to the problems the Patriots exposed; otherwise, it may lead to more problems in the next few weeks.
Bills Must Remove the Cap from their Offense
Schematically, the Bills must develop a strategy to eliminate the self-imposed constraints on their offense. This requires generating explosive plays downfield. Given the Patriots’ success on Sunday Night Football, Buffalo will likely face consistent two-high safety defenses until it finds a way to overcome them. The most direct answer is to run the ball with James Cook, forcing opposing defenses to commit safeties to stop the run. However, this week, frequent penalties undermined the Bills’ ability to rely on the ground game. Therefore, the Bills need to create passing concepts for their receivers to consistently target the “high hole” area between the two safeties. Currently, the Bills utilize tight end Dalton Kincaid for this role, but Kincaid does not stretch the field vertically.
Behind the Chains
During the Buffalo Bills’ first five games of the season, they have faced a two-high defense with a strong defensive front. This front limited their running game, particularly impacting James Cook, who is the team’s primary running back. The first time Buffalo encountered this problem was against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1. This week, Cook only gained 49 rushing yards on 15 carries. Additionally, the Bills did not involve Cook in the passing game, keeping him off the field during 2nd-and-long and 3rd-and-long situations. As a result, the Bills became a one-dimensional offense in those situations, leading to turnovers and mistakes that Buffalo was unable to consistently overcome.
Bills QB Josh Allen Needs a Strong Running Game
Josh Allen is a talented dual-threat quarterback, now among the NFL’s best passers. The offensive weapons around Allen are built for an efficient, incremental attack that makes the Bills difficult to stop if they avoid penalties and stay ahead of the chains. However, repeated mistakes, such as 11 penalties, force the Bills into unfavorable long-yardage situations, disrupting their rhythm and making their offense predictable, which leads to struggles. Thus, Buffalo must focus on fundamentals and first-down efficiency to maximize their offensive potential and maintain their effectiveness.
Bills Need to Find Solutions Before Week 6
The biggest problem the Bills will face going forward is that the issues they encountered this week will persist for the remainder of the season. That means the Bills must be proactive in finding immediate solutions to their limiting factors on the offensive side of the ball. Next week, the Bills will face the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football. If Buffalo wants to move past this week’s loss to the Patriots, it must use it as a learning experience and grow as an offense.
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