For two weeks, Buffalo looked like it had picked up right where it left off. Josh Allen and the Bills were lighting up scoreboards, putting 36 points on the Houston Texans in Week 1 and then dropping 41 on the Detroit Lions in Week 2.
The last two games have painted a different picture. Allen has turned it over three times with two fumbles, including one lost, and Buffalo’s offense has lost its edge.
The Bills survived the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 3 despite five turnovers, but the wheels came off in Week 4 against the New England Patriots. Buffalo managed zero or one first down on seven of 11 possessions in that home loss, and the offense never found a rhythm.
That’s the backdrop for the conversation around Buffalo’s offense after four weeks of the season, and head coach Joe Brady made it clear the answer can’t come from Allen alone.
“There’s a standard by which we play, and we’re either playing to that standard or not,” Brady said. “It obviously wasn’t good enough [against New England], and we didn’t find a way to go 1-0.”
One of the biggest questions now is what defenses have done to Dalton Kincaid. In Buffalo’s wins over Houston and Detroit, the tight end was a major weapon, catching 12 of 14 targets for 245 yards and a touchdown. He posted a 4.69 yards per route run mark, second only to Jaxson Smith-Njigba of the Seattle Seahawks, and his 29.2% targets per route run rate ranked 12th in the league.
Since then, the production has dried up. Over the next two games, Kincaid caught just three passes on five targets for 45 yards and lost a fumble. His yards per route run fell to 1.13, and his target rate dropped to 12.5%, tied for 160th among 209 qualifying players.
Against the Chargers and Patriots, defenses were physical with Kincaid and shaded help over the top, taking away one of Buffalo’s best early-season options. The encouraging development for the Bills came from Keon Coleman, who broke out against New England with six catches on seven targets for 116 yards and a touchdown. Still, if Buffalo wants its offense back on track, getting Kincaid more involved looks like a must.
There’s also more pressure on Brady and offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. to get the downfield passing game moving again, especially if wide receiver DJ Moore misses time with his shoulder injury.
Elsewhere around One Bills Drive, the film study also digs into the good and the bad from Allen against New England, Buffalo’s growing issue with two-point conversions, and how the Bills are approaching the rest of the offense after the first four weeks.
There’s also chatter about a possible Bills connection to speedy wide receiver Tyreek Hill, along with a look at Buffalo’s first-four-weeks grades and what left tackle Dion Dawkins is doing to help people impacted by the criminal justice system find work.
In Other News...
Josh Allen Faces A Growing MVP Concern Bills Fans Will Feel
Josh Allen still sits near the top of the NFL MVP race, but the margin is getting tighter as the season moves along. A mix of quieter recent performances, a knee injury and a dip in his rushing volume have all played into a shift at the sportsbooks, where his odds have shortened just enough to make the chase feel more real than it did a few weeks ago.
For Bills fans, the bigger concern is not just the award board but what it says about Allens overall rhythm and health. Interceptions have crept into the conversation, and with Brock Purdy and Trevor Lawrence gaining ground, traders and analysts are watching every snap for signs that Allen can stabilize before the race becomes a full-blown sprint. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Face A Rams Shift That Could Decide Monday Night
Matthew Staffords tape is still worth the Bills full attention heading into Monday night, because the Rams passing game has shown how much it can change when the pocket starts to close. Buffalo will also have to sort through a Los Angeles offense that has leaned on Kyren Williams as more than a runner, using him as a receiving option to keep drives moving and make the structure of the defense work a little harder.
On the other side, the Rams defense has been built around a steady dose of Cover 1 man coverage, with safety Trent McDuffie playing at a high level and Byron Young emerging as the top edge threat off the outside. For Buffalo, the matchup is less about one isolated wrinkle than the way all those pieces fit together, because the Rams have enough shifting parts to make Monday night feel like a test of patience as much as execution. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Offensive Line Is About To Face Its Biggest Early Test
Buffalos offensive line has been a work in progress through the first four games of the 2026 season, and the concern has been centered inside. Even with continuity from returning players, the unit has not settled in the way the Bills probably expected, and the interior has been the biggest source of inconsistency as the offense tries to find a steadier rhythm.
Alec Andersons move into the starting left guard job gave the group a clear new look after David Edwards departed in free agency, and now the line is about to be tested in a hurry. The Bills are staring at a stretch that includes the Rams, Raiders, Ravens, Vikings and Jets, a run of opponents that can expose protection issues and force Buffalo to answer some early questions about how reliable this front really is. [Read more 🡒]