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New England Patriots: Eye on the AFC East — Buffalo Bills

By Hal Bent

FOXBOROUGH, MA - DECEMBER 23: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots and head coach Sean McDermott of the Buffalo Bills meet on the field after the New England Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills 24-12 at Gillette Stadium on December 23, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MA - DECEMBER 23: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots and head coach Sean McDermott of the Buffalo Bills meet on the field after the New England Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills 24-12 at Gillette Stadium on December 23, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) /
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Buffalo Bills vs New England Patriots
FOXBOROUGH, MA – DECEMBER 23: LeSean McCoy #25 of the Buffalo Bills reacts during the first half against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on December 23, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

OFFENSE:

The Bills struggled mightily on offense in 2018. Josh Allen couldn’t get much going with his rocket-launcher of an arm, but he was surprisingly adept and dangerous with his legs. Buffalo went 5-6 with the rookie under center.

In 2017, it was the running game carrying the team. In 2018, age and injury limited LeSean McCoy (3.2 yards per attempt) and Chris Ivory (3.3 yards per attempt) both. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Bills look for a fresh infusion of youth and talent at the position this offseason.

The offensive line was pretty terrible as well. Left tackle Dion Dawkins, adequate as a rookie, struggled this season. Rookie guard Wyatt Teller was the lone bright for the group, as the rest of the unit were weak run blocking and porous in pass blocking. Even when they gave Allen time to throw, he was tossing balls to a receiving group with no playmakers.

Zay Jones was the Bills’ leading receiver this season, but he is more WR2 or WR3 at best. The Kelvin Benjamin experiment ended badly, as he was released in-season along with veteran Andre Holmes. Robert Foster showed some promise as a big-play threat, whereas core special teamers Isaiah McKenzie and Deonte Thompson showed little when given a chance.

Overall, it was a fairly dismal showing for this team offensively.

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