Bills Central

Buffalo Bills receive strong caution from former NFL player

A former NFL player has spoken out with major caution about the Buffalo Bills entering Week 16.

Evan Massey

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir (10) celebrates his touchdown, during the second half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024.
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir (10) celebrates his touchdown, during the second half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. / Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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The Buffalo Bills have been one of the best teams in football throughout the course of the 2024 NFL season. Entering their Week 16 matchup against the New England Patriots, they hold an 11-3 record and are without a doubt one of the top Super Bowl contenders.

Unfortunately, there is a potential issue that has been rising over the last couple of weeks.

Against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14, the Bills' defense gave up 44 points and the team lost even though the offense scored 42. Last week, against the Detroit Lions, Buffalo gave up 42 points, but were able to score 48 to pull off the win.

Obviously, come playoff time, the defense can't keep playing like it has the last couple of weeks. They have had games this season where they have given up anything that opposing offenses have wanted.

That could very well end up being a fatal flaw.

Former NFL wide receiver Andrew Hawkins spoke out with some caution about the Bills due to the way that their defense is playing.

"This is a bad point in the season for this to be such an issue," he said.

Hawkins is right. This is the time of year where teams need to be fine-tuning the details and getting better. Defensively, Buffalo simply has not gotten better.

That being said, they have had games where the defense has shut opponents down. They have given up 20 points or less in six games this season. In addition to that, they have only given up 10 points in five of those games.

Looking ahead to the playoffs, there is a good chance that the Bills will end up facing off against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs at some point. Making that game end up being an offensive shootout could be dangerous. Mahomes doesn't lose those games very often.

There are other teams in the AFC who are more than capable of outscoring Buffalo in any given game.

Hopefully, the Bills can figure out their issues on defense and get stronger come playoff time. Josh Allen and the offense are capable of putting up huge offensive numbers, but the defense has to be ready if the offense has an off game.

Only time will tell, but this is certainly an issue to keep an eye on and a definite cause for concern.

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Evan Massey
EVAN MASSEY

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