What an embarrassing loss for these Buffalo Bills. There\u2019s no excusing a blowout defeat at this point in the season. But that only tells half the story in losing 30-13 to the Miami Dolphins. To be clear, Miami was ready, and they play a pretty great game of football most of the afternoon. The score somehow still doesn\u2019t tell the full story of just how awful the Bills played.<\/p>\n
The defense has been an issue all season, so expecting magic two weeks in a row was essentially a lottery play. When you consider the massive amount of injury bleed, the writing was on the wall for a potentially awful outing. Yes, giving up a back-breaking 59-yard house call to running back De\u2019Von Achane is inexcusable, but this loss is squarely on the offense \u2014 and coaching. Then defensively late, as they wilted to contact. From penalties to turnovers, every promising moment seemed to be wiped away by mistake after mistake.<\/p>\n
Looking for silver linings still? It\u2019s best to head over to the Buffalo Bills official coverage for anything other than the fact that this hurts the Dolphins\u2019 first-round pick next April. You could also always turn on Heidi.<\/p>\n
Why does this Bills team struggle so much?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not any one thing, and the concerns will be difficult to wash away completely in one offseason. It\u2019s not going to be a fun week for general manager Brandon Beane. There will be calls for his job after failing to land a trade for wide receiver Jalen Waddle, the guy who just torched rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston and Buffalo\u2019s defense for five catches, 84 yards, and a touchdown.<\/p>\n
What unfolded in South Beach is ultimately on head coach Sean McDermott. He\u2019s the one person with the longest tenure outside of ownership. To go in at halftime down 16-0 meant McDermott had to give a speech that rallied his players, and coached some real and positive urgency in their play. It seems that happened, at least with running back Ray Davis who shot out of a cannon on the kickoff return out of halftime. But remember, that return was nullified and penalized thanks to a costly penalty by usually trustworthy tight end Jackson Hawes.<\/p>\n
Offensive coordinator Joe Brady seems lost in his game plan, and doomed when tight end Dalton Kincaid isn\u2019t available (which is trending too often). When the best wide receiver is only catching swings and screens at the line of scrimmage, it demands a lot of work after the catch. It doesn\u2019t make a ton of sense when Josh Allen\u2019s arm exists, but the truth is that no wide receiver is consistently or reliably catching downfield passes. That\u2019s why Kincaid is so important, and why his current injury-prone status is a concern.<\/p>\n
Further on Kincaid, many believe that his emergence would see the team move on from tight end Dawson Knox. That doesn\u2019t seem wise to me, even when considering the cap savings. Tight ends are too important to this team\u2019s run game, and Knox is just far more available than Kincaid until proven otherwise.<\/p>\n
The lack of fire and urgency was rampant on Sunday afternoon. Were they just uninterested in playing a game in warm weather? There\u2019s no excuse for running clock to end the third quarter when every snap meant so much to struggling outfit. They weren\u2019t winning the game on that play, but deciding those seconds didn\u2019t matter spoke a lot about how serious they approached the situation.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s also take a moment to call out the two-point try issues. There may be no other team as unlikely to convert a two-point conversion as the 2025 Bills. There\u2019s zero creativity and a clear lack of killer mentality in these moments. Against the Dolphins, Allen had a clear lane to the end zone if he tucked the ball and ran. Instead, he asked Khalil Shakir to make a lot of magic happen in the field of play before he could even sniff the end zone. That\u2019s unacceptable. Whether due to play calls or execution, none of it\u2019s good and all of it needs to change. It\u2019s essentially the overflow from Buffalo\u2019s clear struggles in short yardage situations this season.<\/p>\n
Similarly, why is running back Ray Davis the go-to for an onside kick attempt? It\u2019s all too cute. It needs to end.<\/p>\n
Common themes in Week 9 were that of unpreparedness and being outmatched in almost every facet. At some point, there will be major questions to ask when wondering what\u2019s in store for the legacy of this era\u2019s most significant Bills players and coaches.<\/p>\n
A fair warning to those looking to clean house in the front office: It can and often does get much worse than what McDermott and Beane have accomplished with the Bills. McDermott is in Marv Levy territory for what he\u2019s meant to the franchise\u2019s success. Fans, however, must be willing to accept early playoff exits and tough salary cap situations. Moving on from one or both could hurt their chances as much as folks are ready to believe it will fix the issues. It would shock me to see co-owner Terry Pegula move on from McDermott and Beane, knowing what he\u2019s found as owner of the Buffalo Sabres. There\u2019s no right answer at this point, but it may be a topic to revisit down the road.<\/p>\n
Josh Allen is in a real slump<\/p>\n
The reigning NFL MVP isn\u2019t having the best season of his professional career. Josh Allen has played a lot of ugly football in 2025, but most weeks have seen him able to rise above the roster limitations. There have also been a number of incredible moments, such as his fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1, and a classic Allen game in Week 9.<\/p>\n