Report card: Bills fall 37-34 in overtime at Eagles
The Buffalo Bills took an opportunity to build on their push toward the playoffs in Week 12 against the Philadelphia Eagles and squandered it.
Buffalo (6-6) lost 37-34 in overtime against Philadelphia (10-1). Now the Bills have the take the defeat and push it far, far away. From here, the Bills will hope their march toward the postseason does not fall short for the first time since 2018.
Buffalo’s game plans went well, and in the end, that was reflected by the final score.
The same can be said for the grades the team received following the contest, too.
Check out Bills Wire’s Week 12 report card following the team’s loss to the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field:
Quarterback: A
Allen missed a share of throws. He was 29-for-51 against the Eagles. But considering the weather, everything else he did was gold in Philadelphia.
Allen had four total touchdowns (two rushing) and had an interception, but credit to Eagles defensive back James Bradberry for a strong break on the ball.
Running back: C+
James Cook had a 29-yard gainer but it came in the passing game. Cook’s stat line there was promising: six catches for 57 yards. However, he averaged on 2.7 yards per carry (43 total) and veteran Latavius Murray was at a 3.3 average (30 total). Cook also dropped a clear touchdown early on.
Against a top Eagles defensive front, the running backs didn’t exactly make it feel like Buffalo’s offense was totally balanced. What did give it a bit more of that was Allen carrying the ball… but this grade isn’t for him.
Wide receiver: B
Gabe Davis bounced back from his goose egg last week with six catches and 105 yards. Stefon Diggs had another six for 74 yards. Both had touchdowns as well.
The the of this is a bit of a balancing effort. Both had 12 and 11 targets, respectively, so they only hauled in half the passes thrown their way. The same can be said for Khalil Shair (three catches on five targets). There were some misses
There were also a couple of really questionable calls from the refs, too. A few missed pass interference plays, undoubtedly.
Tight end: B-
It was not the type of effort we’ve seen in recent weeks from Dalton Kincaid. The first-round rookie had five catches for 38 yards. But perhaps because of the Eagles’ talented defensive line, he was tasked with blocking a bit more often but he fared well there.
After the bye week, we’ll see how this position unfolds. Dawson Knox will return from wrist surgery at that time.
Offensive line: C+
Allen was only sacked one time but as noted, the areas to run for Bills running backs wasn’t there too often. Cook had a long rush for 11 yards, while Murray’s was 13 yards. If you take those out of their numbers… yikes.
But the real issue here were the penalties. Yes, the missed ones were there like potential pass interferences and the horse-collar tackle on Allen.
Holding calls are less debatable. We’ve all said there is “holding on every play,” right?
That was almost the case for Buffalo. O’Cyrus Torrence was the only Bills offensive lineman not called for holding against the Eagles. Left tackle Dion Dawkins was twice.
Defensive line: C+
The Bills’ defensive effort went where their D-line went. In the first half, there were strong plays. Greg Rousseau played well off the edge in particular. He had three tackles for loss and recovered a fumble. Leonard Floyd also tipped a pass that ended up being intercepted.
In the second half, there wasn’t much positive to be found.
Linebackers: D
Terrel Bernard was the one that ended up picking off Hurts. That’s where the positives end for the Bills linebackers.
Far too many ball carries were taken down by defensive backs. That’s because Bernard and Dodson were not getting into gaps and making plays like we’ve seen before.
Seconadry: D
A game to forget for safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer. It looks like age is starting to show.
The secondary held well early and the weather conditions probably helped. However, Hurts was 10-for-15 passing for 116 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and overtime. That’s inexcusably poor.
Special teams: C-
It was not a nice day weather-wise, but the Bills needed Tyler Bass to connect on the two misses he had. One wasn’t his fault as it was blocked, which is reflected in the offensive line’s grade as well.
Khalil Shakir recovered a punt he muffed but on returns the big problem, again, was penalties. Siran Heal had a personal foul call and Baylon Spector had a hold.
At least punter Sam Martin had three punts downed inside the 20.
Coaching: C-
Offensive coordinator Joe Brady appears to be two-for-two in terms of nicely-called games.
Sean McDermott left a lot to be desired. His defense gave up the second-half surge by the Eagles. The Bills were also downright conservative late.
And do we have to mention the penalties again?
