ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Bills tight end Dawson Knox wasn’t surprised to hear about Josh Allen accepting the blame for Buffalo’s sudden offensive trouble.
What Knox wanted to make clear following practice on Wednesday is how unfair it is for the quarterback to shoulder the entire load.
“He’s got the weight of the whole city on his back, and he takes the losses very harshly. But it’s on all of us,” the sixth-year player said.
“There’s plays I wish I had back blocking-wise. There’s routes I could have done better. I guarantee you, everybody on this team would say there’s stuff they regret,” Knox added. “That’s what makes him such a great leader. He does take responsibility for the loss. But it’s definitely not just on him.”
While there's plenty of blame to go around, what’s not in question is that an efficient offensive attack that played a major role in Buffalo’s 3-0 start has been stymied during two straight losses.
And things don’t get easier, with Buffalo preparing to face the Jets (2-3) on Monday night, and a New York defence that has limited the Bills to 20 or fewer points three times in splitting the past four meetings.
“When you lose two games, there’s always going to be a concern, but inside this building, there’s not. Inside this building, we believe in who we have,” offensive co-ordinator Joe Brady said Monday. “The sky hasn’t fallen.”
It just seems that way, especially following a 23-20 loss at Houston.
Coach Sean McDermott put the ball in Allen’s hands with the game tied at 20 with 32 seconds left. The quarterback threw three straight incompletions out of his end zone, allowing the Texans to get the ball back in time to run one play and set up Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 59-yard field goal as the clock expired.
"I’ve got supreme trust (in McDermott)," Allen said of a coach who was second-guessed for not attempting to run and drain the Texans of their timeouts. “And it says a lot of how much trust he has in me down there in that situation, and I’ve got to find a way to convert."
The incompletions capped an outing in which Allen finished 9 of 30 to post the lowest completion percentage of his career.
Slow starts have become an issue. After outscoring its first three opponents by a combined 68-27 in the first half, Buffalo has been outscored 31-6 in the opening 30 minutes of its past two outings.
First-down production is down, with the Bills combining for 28 in their past two games after totaling 51 in their first three.
Allen’s numbers have plummeted. After combining for nine touchdowns (seven passing, two rushing) in the first three weeks, he's managed one TD passing the past two.
Allen also is coming off two of the worst games of his seven-year career. His 42 yards passing in the first half of a 35-10 loss at Baltimore two weeks ago matched the second-lowest of his career.
“Well, I’ve got to be better,” Allen said. “Just making sure we’re on the same page, and it starts with the quarterback. That’s on me.”
Allen began the season with a retooled receiver group featuring three free agent additions, rookie Keon Coleman and third-year player Khalil Shakir.
Allen effectively spread the ball in opening the season with 10 players having at least two catches through three outings. At Houston on Sunday, with Shakir sidelined by a right ankle injury, Buffalo receivers caught four of 18 targets.
“There’s no doubt there is a concern,” McDermott said. “That said, I’m confident in those guys, confident that we can put them in positions and use their talents and their potential.”
Allen, on Wednesday, acknowledged he’s still in the discovery stage with the newcomers.
“It’s hard to know everybody,” he said, before maintaining his confidence in the group.
“We’ve shown it before, the first couple of weeks and had a great training camp,” Allen said. “I got no doubt and I got a lot of trust in these guys.”
Notes: McDermott said safety Taylor Rapp has been cleared from the concussion protocol after missing one game. ... Shakir, DT Ed Oliver (hamstring), RB James Cook (foot/toe) and WR Curtis Samuel (foot) did not practice. ... RB Darrynton Evans (hamstring), who opened the season on IR, resumed practicing in opening a three-week window for the fourth-year player to be activated.
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John Wawrow, The Associated Press