ORCHARD PARK, New York (AP) — On Wednesday, a depressed-looking Josh Allen blamed himself for overseeing a stagnant and turnover-prone offense that cost Buffalo Bills coordinator Ken Dorsey his job.
Allen, as surprised as he was to learn of Dorsey’s firing a day earlier, focused his attention on the future. Unable to change the past, Allen emphasized that “the offense is not broken,” and that the unit can perform to playoff-caliber expectations in the final stretch of a season in which the Bills (5-5) have little room for error.
“I take that very personally. It hurts a lot to see someone you care about go through a situation like that, and to know that if I could have done more, if this offense could have done more, we wouldn’t have to do something like that,” Allen said as Buffalo prepares to host the division rival New York Jets (4-5) on Sunday.
“Our backs are against the wall. The clock’s ticking on what we can do this season and it starts this Sunday to try to turn this thing around,” he added. “I think it takes a lot to look at yourself in the mirror and say, ‘What can I do that’s been good and what can I do to fix what’s been bad?′ That’s what we’ve all got to do.”
Reducing turnovers would be a start for Allen, who has thrown an NFL-leading 11 interceptions to go with losing three fumbles.
Establishing a rhythm and reclaiming a long-lost swagger would also be beneficial. During a three-game stretch from Weeks 2 to 4, Buffalo has scored 123 points. That’s the same number of points the Bills have given up in four of their last six games.
Joe Brady, who has spent the last two seasons as Buffalo’s quarterbacks coach and the two previous seasons as the Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator, will now take over as coordinator.
“He’s got a lot of juice to him,” Allen said of Brady, who is scheduled to address reporters on Thursday. “I’ll give him as much input as I can. My phone line is 24-7. … If he calls me I’m going to pick up and make sure we can get on the same page as quickly as possible.”
Coach Sean McDermott made the decision to fire Dorsey within 12 hours of a 24-22 loss to Denver.
It was a game in which the offense turned the ball over four times, with Allen throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble. The outcome was decided when WIL Lutz hit a 36-yard field goal as time expired, and after his miss on a 41-yard attempt was negated when Buffalo was flagged for having 12 players on the field.
Though special teams and a defense missing five starters played roles in the loss, much of the blame fell on an offense that matched a season low with 18 first downs and continued its long string of sputtering starts by committing turnovers on each of its first two possessions.
With only five days to prepare for the Jets, McDermott acknowledged it may take weeks for Brady to place his stamp on the offensive scheme. What he’d like to see immediately is Brady re-instill a sense of confidence and energy into the unit.
“Mistakes are going to happen. You’re going to have good plays and bad plays,” McDermott said. “At the end of the day, it’s about the mental toughness, the grit, the resiliency of the unit to continue through all that.”
The offense is taking the brunt of the blame for failing to help overcome an injury-depleted defense that’s still limiting opponents to 18.4 points an outing. All five of Buffalo’s losses have been decided by six points or fewer. Four of those losses have come during a six-game span in which the offense has failed to score 26 or more points to match Buffalo’s worst stretch since 2018.
“It’s one drive. If we didn’t have a turnover, who knows if we’d end up with three or six (points),” Allen said. “We’re limiting our own opportunities. We’re hurting ourselves.”
Allen is no stranger to experiencing difficult losses, or having an off game since his career trajectory began pointing upward in 2019, when the second-year player helped the team to its first 10-win finish since 1999. He followed that up by leading Buffalo to three consecutive AFC titles.
What’s different today is that Allen has never had a midseason crisis that resulted in the firing of one of his coaches. He worked under Brian Daboll for his first four seasons in Buffalo before leaving to coach the New York Giants. And Allen knew Dorsey, who was the Bills’ quarterbacks coach for three seasons before being promoted to replace Daboll.
“I adore Dorsey as a person….” “I feel like I owe him a lot of my success,” Allen said, before adding that he understands McDermott’s reasoning for the change. “It’s a shame.” But, on the other hand, we have a game against a division rival on Sunday. And there’s still time to turn this thing around.”
NOTES: The Bills held a walkthrough session with limited participation for CB Christian Benford (hamstring) and safety Micah Hyde (neck/stinger). DT Jordan Phillips (knee) and WR Trent Sherfield (ankle) did not practice and did not play against Denver.
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