Buffalo Bills vs. Cincinnati Bengals Notebook: Coaching, Pass Rush Key in Week 9 Loss

The Buffalo Bills kept it competitive but ultimately fell short against a Cincinnati Bengals team that looked more polished and playoff-ready. What went wrong in Week 9?

It feels like this Buffalo Bills team is capable of just two outcomes on any given Sunday. Either every facet of the offense is clicking and complementary football allows them to dominate their opponent or they look like a poorly-coached team that ultimately presents as a paper tiger during the playoffs.

In Sunday’s 24-18 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the latter was apparent, thrusting Buffalo back into the logjam of Wild Card contenders it attempted to flee.

Quarterback Josh Allen was his usual self, looking good both as a passer and runner on his way to a 300-all-purpose-yard performance. He was fooled by a split-safety look that presented as Cover 2 and threw an interception, but other than that was largely the star fans expected him to be.

Elsewhere, things didn’t go according to plan. What can be taken away from the loss?

Allen hands the ball off to Cook for one of his six attempts on the night / © Katie Stratman, USA TODAY

1. Respect Lou Anarumo.

Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo is the best defensive coordinator in the sport. Cincinnati finds itself facing the league’s top offenses frequently, whether it be in November or January, and Anarumo continues to make their collective lives hell.

That trend continued on Sunday. Despite decent yardage totals, Buffalo managed to score just 18 points. The rushing offense wasn’t there early, adding to the game script to make the Bills one-dimensional.

From there, Anarumo forced the ball away from star receiver Stefon Diggs. He would eventually put his fingerprints on this game, hauling in a touchdown catch and a two-point conversion, but six catches for 86 yards is an acceptable line for Anarumo to surrender.

Forcing targets to receivers Khalil Shakir, Gabe Davis, Trent Sherfield, and an assortment of other weapons meant forcing Buffalo to beat them with lesser talents. Cincinnati won most of those matchups, despite tight end Dalton Kincaid’s strong day, and came out on top.

Fans of any team, but especially Buffalo, should be concerned if Anarumo is on the opposite sideline in a playoff game.

2. Who’s to blame for a poor running game?

Part of Anarumo’s success was his limiting of the Bills’ ground game. Running back James Cook had six carries for 20 yards, Latavius Murray had two for four, and in the end, it was Allen who led the team in attempts and yards (eight for 44 and a score).

This team isn’t going to win many games with such a pathetic rushing attack. Cook’s inconsistencies between the tackles continue to show up, and while the offensive line didn’t have a banner night, Cook is called on to be a playmaker. He wasn’t on Sunday.

However, there are way too many issues with this offense to pin the blame on Cook. At this rate, the addition of Leonard Fournette won’t mean anything—this is more than a talent issue.

Calling just eight runs to non-Allen Bills didn’t show merely an unwillingness to pound the rock. It was a manifestation of the lack of confidence Buffalo has in its rushing attack and how eager they are to push the panic button that is Allen running all over the place.

The Bills' run game was limited against the Bengals, not only in its production but in its concepts, too. The immediate pivot to leaning on Allen for everything helped Anarumo win his battle with offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and put the Bills behind the eight ball.

This has gone on too long, with too many of the same mistakes, to not cause concern about who is making the crucial decisions.

3. Cincinnati took advantage of a lackluster pass rush.

This is the ninth Bills notebook of the season, but likely the first that criticized the pass rush. The four-man rush has been impressive for most of the season, through injuries and quasi-recoveries alike. The biggest reason Buffalo has been able to stay afloat on defense amidst its misfortunes was a pass rush that consistently made life easier for everyone else.

Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow, one of the smarter pre-snap passers in the league, made it fruitless. He was sacked just once and pressured a few more, but the unit failed to put a stamp on the Week 9 contest.

Burrow threw hot well, got rid of the ball quickly for most of the night, and—when he needed to—scrambled with little issue.

The Bengals’ superstar is seemingly back to full health and his evasive ways followed suit. Buffalo couldn’t hit a moving target and while they may have beaten Cincinnati a month ago, it was too much to overcome on Sunday.

The Bills defense won’t last without strong play from its pass rushers. Week 9 was the first time it came back to bite them, but with Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and Kansas City Chiefs passer Patrick Mahomes left on the schedule, things could get ugly, fast.