BILLS OFFENSIVE PLAY CALLING COSTS THEM IN HOUSTON
What was a pretty nice day in Western New York quickly turned gray and gloomy almost immediately as the Bills lost to Houston, on a game-winning field goal with time expiring, 23-20. The overarching theme of the game: Buffalo’s defense gave them a chance to win, but their offense got out-coached.
It’s becoming a trend that the Bills’ offense starts poorly. Buffalo has now been held to just a field goal in the first half in each of their last two games. Yesterday, the offense was at an all-time worst to start the game. For the first time in his career, Josh Allen only completed one of his first nine passes. While it was known that Kahlil Shakir wouldn’t be available since Thursday, the first ten scripted plays looked as if the coaches found out who they had available moments before kickoff. The Bills ended five of their six first half drives with punts.
The Bills’ defense held their own, despite being riddled with injuries. Rookie Safety Cole Bishop made a bad mistake that resulted in a 67-yard touchdown pass, putting Houston up 14-3 in the first half. After that, though, the Buffalo defense held the Texans to three field goals while forcing three turnovers from there on out. The defense kept the game within striking distance for three quarters of the game and given the lineup they were forced to roll with against a deep and explosive Houston offense, that’s a job well done.
However, for the second week in a row, Offensive Coordinator Joe Brady’s play calling was abysmal at a critical moment. Last week, he took the blame for calling a poorly timed and poorly executed trick play at Baltimore that ultimately cost them the game. In Houston, with 40 seconds left and the score tied, the Bills were handed a gift, as the Texans took a penalty to knock them out of field goal range, forcing them to punt. Buffalo got the ball at their own three-yard line and Joe Brady proceeded to call three straight passing plays, all of which were incomplete. That set up Houston for the game winning field goal. When asked about that decision post-game, this is what Head Coach Sean McDermott had to say:
“I love Josh with the ball in his hands, and efficient offense was the right approach there. So again, we learn from that ...Tough situation with them holding three timeouts, and hey, I probably should have run it [on the] first play, just said, ‘hey, where are we now?’ Either way, we're probably going to have to move the chains one time to not give them a chance. But again…that's on me.”
With all of that said, the Bills simply need to make the playoffs to have a chance at their ultimate goal, and to do that, they need to win divisional games. Buffalo has officially entered “must-win” territory as they turn their attention toward the New York Jets.
SABRES LOOK JUST AS SUSCEPTIBLE AS LAST YEAR
It was Deja Vu all over again for the Sabres, who lost their opening two games in Prague against the Devils 4-1 and 3-1, this past weekend
First and foremost, the power play was atrocious. Going scoreless in their six attempts with the man-advantage, Buffalo had too difficult of a time getting into the offensive zone that they rarely had the chance to set up Seth Appert’s new scheme. When they did, some shots were attempted, but nothing more than a shot from distance with nobody in front.
Throughout the two games, the Sabres looked outclassed. Too many errors led to bad turnovers and their goaltenders left to face an odd-man rush. When given proper help defensively, the tandem of Luukkonen and Levi was solid, not allowing an egregious goal against across the weekend.
With the change of coaches and schematics, it is understandable that the players need some time to adjust to their new way of playing, especially given that they barely played in the preseason. That said, the Sabres’ decision making was so slow this past weekend, New Jersey was all over them in all three zones.
It is certainly not time to hit the panic button, but the uninspiring start has Buffalo fans weary of another let down from their hockey team, who have already suffered through the longest span without a single postseason appearance in NHL history. All eyes will be on them Thursday night, as the Sabres try to show the city they can beat an LA Kings team that’s made the playoffs the last three seasons.
MLB PLAYOFFS HAVE BEEN LOADED WITH STORYLINES
The 2024 MLB Postseason has already lived up to the hype, with miraculous games every other night. The New York Mets made the postseason with a win on the final day of the regular season, lifted by a late homerun. In the wild card round, they ousted the Brewers thanks to a top-of-the-ninth homer from Pete Alonso. The Mets are tied with the Phillies one game apiece in the NLDS. The series shifts to Queens for game three on Tuesday at 5pm.
Moving across NYC to the Bronx, the Yankees won their series opener vs Kansas City on Saturday with a historic affair, becoming the first ever postseason game in MLB history to have five lead changes. Despite coming short with runners in scoring position time and time again, the Yankees won it, 6-5. Game two of the ALDS is tonight at 7:30.
A NEW CHAMP WILL CLAIM THE THRONE IN THE WNBA
The New York Liberty got past the thorn in their side this weekend, eliminating the back-to-back champion Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA Semifinal. While playing through injury in game four, league MVP A’ja Wilson scored a team-high 19 points for the Aces, but it was not enough. New York punched their ticket to the Championship series with a 76-62 win on the road.
The Liberty will play the winner of Tuesday night’s series deciding game five between Minnesota and Connecticut.
