Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I can’t believe how poorly this season is going for the Bills.
In today’s SI:AM:
🤑 The numbers behind Jimbo’s bailout
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What’s wrong with Josh Allen?
The Bills are in serious danger of missing the playoffs—and Josh Allen is a big reason why.
Allen threw two interceptions in last night’s 24–22 loss to the Broncos, giving him a league-leading 11 picks on the season.
Allen’s emergence as one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL beginning with the 2020 season turned the Bills into serious Super Bowl contenders. They’ve won the AFC East three years in a row with an offense that has ranked in the top three in scoring each year. But the Bills, who have not lost more than six games in a season since Allen’s rookie year, are an underwhelming 5–5 with a really tough schedule ahead.
The Bills have particularly struggled in the first half of games this season. They scored eight points in the first half last night and seven points in the first half against the Bengals last week. They’ve scored 14 touchdowns in the first half of games this season (tied for eighth most in the NFL) but 17 in the second half (second most in the league). Allen has thrown seven first-half interceptions (the most in the league), compared to four in the second half.
Buffalo managed only one first-half touchdown last night because both of Allen’s picks came before halftime. The first one halted a good Bills drive that had them in the shadow of the red zone early in the first quarter. The second one came on Buffalo’s first play after a Denver field goal stretched the Broncos’ lead to 12–8 late in the half. The Broncos took advantage of the short field and added another field goal as time expired to head into the locker room with a seven-point advantage. Allen had a third turnover late in the third quarter when he botched a handoff to James Cook.
The fumble can be chalked up to a miscommunication between Allen and Cook, but the two interceptions are worrisome. On the first pick, Allen forced a throw into a tight window that was deflected and intercepted by Justin Simmons. On the second, he simply failed to recognize that Fabian Moreau was waiting to jump the route. Those are the kind of poor decisions that Allen shouldn’t be making in his sixth season in the league—and that he hadn’t been making over the previous three years.
Here’s more from Gilberto Manzano:
If Allen is truly one of the best quarterbacks in the league, he has to stop forcing throws and committing killer turnovers. His team also needs to help him out by getting open and catching the ball more often and producing a reliable rushing attack. Star wide receiver Stefon Diggs had a quiet night with three catches for 34 yards.
Buffalo went from a preseason Super Bowl contender to now having to scratch and claw just to make the playoffs. At 5–5, it has the same record as the Colts and Raiders. The Texans currently hold the final wild-card spot in the AFC playoffs with a record of 5–4. The Steelers and Browns (6–3) have the other two spots. So the Bills aren’t too far out of the postseason picture, but their upcoming schedule is a doozy. They’ve got the Jets and their great defense next week and then a road game against the Eagles in Week 12 before their bye week. Their first two games after the bye are against the Chiefs and Cowboys. Those four teams are a combined 25–11 this season. If the Bills are going to make the playoffs, Allen needs to hold on to the ball in those games. As he’s shown in the last 10 games, though, that’s easier said than done.
The best of Sports Illustrated
Kohjiro Kinno
- Stanford soccer goalie Katie Meyer died by suicide last year. Now, her parents believe that the school failed her with its disciplinary process. Greg Bishop has more in today’s Daily Cover.
- Rohan Nadkarni writes that the Clippers’ James Harden experiment has been an embarrassment thus far. Can they finally pick up a win tonight against the Nuggets?
- Richard Johnson breaks down Jimbo Fisher’s buyout with Texas A&M, including when the money is due and where the school is getting the funds.
- Road wins by a trio of top teams made Conor Orr’s NFL power rankings a little more challenging to compile.
- Oilers star Connor McDavid addressed the team’s decision to fire coach Jay Woodcroft, saying the move caught him by surprise.
- Jaguars receiver Zay Jones was arrested on domestic battery charges.
The top five...
… things I saw last night:
5. Josh Hart’s pass to himself off a defender’s back for an open three.
4. Marcus Smart’s assist while lying on the floor.
3. DeMar DeRozan’s spinning assist.
2. The Broncos’ ability to get the field goal unit on the field with the clock running down at the end of the first half.
1. Courtland Sutton’s toe-tap touchdown on a perfect pass from Russell Wilson.
SIQ
MLB will announce the winners of this year’s Cy Young Awards tomorrow. Which team has had the most Cy Young winners?
- Dodgers
- Yankees
- Red Sox
- Phillies
Yesterday’s SIQ: On Nov. 13, 1982, which team handed Alabama its first loss in Tuscaloosa in nearly 20 years?
- Penn State
- Mississippi State
- UAB
- Southern Miss
Answer: Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles, led by quarterback Reggie Collier, held on for a 38–29 win at Bryant-Denny Stadium, snapping Alabama’s 57-game home winning streak. The Tide had not lost in Tuscaloosa since being defeated by Auburn in the 1963 Iron Bowl.
The loss was the final game Bear Bryant coached at the stadium named after him. He retired at the end of the season and died a month later.
Alabama had lost to LSU the week before (in a quasi-home game in Birmingham), snapping an 11-game winning streak against the Tigers. By dropping the next game against Southern Miss, the Tide lost consecutive games for the first time since 1972. They lost the following week, too, 23–22, to Auburn, giving them their first three-game losing streak since ’57. Bryant ended his tenure on a high note, though, beating Illinois in the Liberty Bowl.
