With the trade deadline drawing near, the Bills need to make some important adjustments.
The Buffalo Bills defeated the Seattle Seahawks 31-10 on the road on Sunday, advancing to 6-2. The victory extended the team’s advantage in the AFC East to 3.5 games, but it also demonstrated that issues still need to be fixed if they want to have a real chance at winning the Super Bowl.
Before the 2024 NFL trade deadline, Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane made a big impression when he signed wide receiver Amari Cooper from the Cleveland Browns. He has eight days left if he wants to add another high-profile contract to the squad before the deadline of November 5.
However, the Bills’ desire for improvement goes beyond what trades may provide. Actually, head coach Sean McDermott needs to deal with the most urgent problem within.
The Buffalo Bills’ Top Concerns Prior to the NFL Trade Deadline 1. Penalties
Since he first came at One Bills Drive eight years ago, McDermott has always emphasized accountability. However, there are still times when the franchise’s internal issues outweigh any threats from the opposition. Recently, such has been the case.
In the last three games, Buffalo has twice surpassed double-digit penalties. It scored 13 points in Sunday’s victory over the Seahawks and 11 points in a 23–20 victory against the New York Jets. The game would have been much closer if Seattle hadn’t made mistakes that were caused by themselves.
Wins, as usual, make problems like that go unnoticed. The fact that the Bills’ opponents have been given 64 penalties—the most in the league, according to NFLPenalties.com—has also benefited them. That’s
Through eight weeks, the Bills have been flagged for 53 penalties, ranking 10th in the NFL. But the latest surge has propelled them to the top of the standings.
The worst culprits have been Buffalo’s starting offensive tackles. Spencer Brown and Dion Dawkins have both received seven penalty calls. Nobody else is older than three on the roster. Nine flags for false starts, a persistent problem that has to be resolved prior to the playoffs, are included in that total.
Although the roster may need some additions, cutting down on the number of yards given up going forward is the first step towards winning a title.
2. Before the trade deadline, the Bills’ safety play looms large.
The Bills believed that two obvious starters at safety would emerge from a competition that lasted the whole training camp. Rather, Taylor Rapp, Damar Hamlin, Mike Edwards, and newcomer Cole Bishop have all been really outstanding. The starting assignments for Rapp and Hamlin were largely determined by their prior experience in Buffalo’s defensive system.
The group’s Pro Football Focus ratings after eight games are listed below. Bishop and Edwards have only made a few appearances as backups.
Hamlin: 60.5%
Rapp: 60.4.
Bishop: 50.3 Edwards: 64.3
Insufficient. Rapp is a boom-or-bust talent who may end up on either a lowlight or highlight reel. Hamlin’s lack of speed is a major issue in coverage, despite his outstanding football IQ. However, it doesn’t seem like the Bills coaching staff is in a rush to start Bishop or Edwards.
Micah Hyde’s inevitable comeback has been hoped for by the Bills Mafia. Due to previous neck problems, the football fan favorite has not yet made a decision about whether to continue playing. He is still a free agent and stated that he would only play for Buffalo, but it seems less probable that he will play every week. The two most prominent possible trade targets at safety are Andre Cisco (Jacksonville Jaguars) and Budda Baker (Arizona Cardinals).
The greatest teams in the NFL will still find a way to take advantage of the Bills’ zone-heavy, two-high defensive scheme, even though it ultimately relieves a lot of burden on the safeties.
3. Buffalo’s flag issue was overshadowed by Reserve Linebackersoften.
