Josh Allen has had enough good moments behind the Bills’ offensive line this season to know what it can be. He’s also seen the rough edges. Through four games, the protection up front has been uneven, and the next few weeks are about to make that a lot more obvious.
Buffalo’s line entered the season with one notable change. Alec Anderson won the starting left guard job after David Edwards left in free agency for the New Orleans Saints. Anderson beat out Austin Corbett in camp, but Buffalo had some built-in comfort there, since Anderson already had playing time on the offensive line with the team in recent seasons.
Even with that continuity, the unit hasn’t been as steady as Buffalo would like. Gordon McGuinness of Pro Football Focus moved the Bills down two spots in his Week 5 offensive line power rankings, from No. 6 to No. 8, while still keeping them inside the top 10.
" The strength of this Bills offensive line remains at the tackle spots, with Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown the two highest-graded players in the group at 74.8 and 66.9, respectively. The interior has given Buffalo some issues, though, with both Alec Anderson and O’Cyrus Torrence earning PFF grades below 60.0. All three players on the interior have a higher negatively graded play rate than positively graded play rate as run-blockers, while the tackles have a higher positively graded play rate." said McGuinness.
That’s a notable split, especially because Dawkins has had penalty issues this year and hasn’t been dominant in pass protection either. Brown has been the steadier of the two tackles, though he has had his own struggles as well.
The concern gets sharper when you look inside. Anderson and Torrence both landing below a 60.0 grade is not exactly the kind of number that makes Bills fans breathe easy. And while the run-blocking grades raise questions, Buffalo’s rushing production has still been strong: James Cook is third in the league with 421 rushing yards and is averaging 6 yards per carry, which ranks second.
Still, there have been clear moments where the line has let Buffalo down, especially against the Texans in Week 1 and again in Week 4 against the Patriots.
Now the schedule starts asking harder questions. The Bills face the Rams on Monday night, and that front could get even more dangerous if Aaron Donald returns from the back injury that kept him out in Week 4. Six days later, Buffalo gets the Raiders, who have been one of the bigger defensive surprises of the season for the right reasons.
And after the Week 7 bye, the gauntlet really starts: the Ravens, Vikings and Jets in back-to-back-to-back weeks. It’s a brutal stretch, and the Bills’ offensive line is going to be under the microscope. There isn’t much room to dodge what’s coming next.
In Other News...
Bills Offense Has A Growing Problem Defenses Keep Exploiting
The Bills opened the season looking like one of the leagues most efficient offenses, but the last stretch has exposed how quickly things can tilt when defenses start finding answers. Josh Allens recent turnovers have been part of the issue, yet the dip has gone beyond one player. Buffalo has also watched Dalton Kincaid, who gave the passing game an early boost, get effectively taken out of the plan over the last two games.
Joe Brady has made it clear the fix has to come from everyone, not just the quarterback, which is where the challenge gets bigger for Buffalo. If opposing defenses are squeezing Allens options and limiting Kincaids impact at the same time, the Bills need more consistent support across the offense to get back to the level they showed in September and early October. [Read more 🡒]
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 🡒]