Column: Does the Bills play calling need to be better?

If you are a Bills fan and you say that you haven’t been frustrated with offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and his play calling at times this year, then you would be lying. He’s had some great games and great situational play calling, but in the narrow victory over the Dolphins last week, it revealed some major flaws in Dorsey’s play calling and gameplanning.

In that game, it seemed like most plays called for verticals downfield, even in situations where it seemed like they needed to run the ball and drain the clock. Granted, part of it is Josh Allen’s decision making, but when given that option, Allen can’t help but show off his arm strength.

One of my favorite plays from the game was another play that was supposed to be a deep shot. Allen had protection, and decided to dump it off the TE Quintin Morris underneath. He had a catch and run of 12 yards on the play. That is something I want to see more of: taking the check down option and moving the ball consistently down the field, taking time off the clock and keeping the defense on their toes. Allen thrives when he can complete quick passes and take the occasional shot downfield.

A sequence in which I wanted to rip my hair out was early in the 4th quarter. Right after the Dolphins scored a TD to cut it to a three-point lead, the Bills started off the drive with two deep shots in a row that were overthrown, and then the 3rd and 10 play was another sack. A 3-and-out and a punt back to the Dolphins.

It’s almost like they want to score a TD on every play instead of having a nice consistent drive down the field. I hope that there is a different game plan this week against the Bengals, a team that the Bills need to keep off the field as long as they can.

The Bills need to stick to the run game. A nice mix between Devin Singletary and James Cook, getting them in space and moving down hill, will open up a lot in the passing game. And this is a matchup where we may see more designed runs from Allen. This is the playoffs. It’s win by any means necessary, and Allen is the best runner on the team a lot of times. More designed runs and more creativity all around is what the offense needs.

That may be tough to hear when the Bills have scored 30+ points the last three games. Don’t get me wrong, I love the deep shots and big plays downfield, but it just seems like that has been the theme of the offense far too often, and it’s putting Allen in tough positions and forcing more plays that results in turnovers, which puts the defense in bad positions.

That is exactly how the Dolphins stayed in the wild-card game. A lot of short fields leading to points without asking their offense to go on sustained drives.

Against the Bengals, I don’t think they will get away with three turnovers. I’d love to see more underneath throws. Cole Beasley, Stefon Diggs, Khalil Shakir, and even the tight ends and running backs can all catch the ball short and make a play after the catch. With these weapons, they shouldn’t be making mistakes. If the Bills play a clean game, I think they will come out on top, but it won’t be easy for Dorsey and he has a big challenge ahead.