Bills coach faces the toughest decision in the NFL Divisional Round

It's Divisional Round weekend in the NFL Playoffs. And the Buffalo Bills can smell blood in the water. The Cincinnati Bengals will enter Sunday's game with quite the reputation. They don't flinch. Joe Burrow's cool attitude is reflected throughout the team. They're cool, calm, and collected. They've been here before, too. Last year they made […]

Mauricio Rodriguez Dallas Cowboys News Writer
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Buffalo Bills

It's Divisional Round weekend in the NFL Playoffs. And the Buffalo Bills can smell blood in the water.

The Cincinnati Bengals will enter Sunday's game with quite the reputation.

They don't flinch. Joe Burrow's cool attitude is reflected throughout the team. They're cool, calm, and collected. They've been here before, too. Last year they made it to the Super Bowl as everyone's favorite dark horse contender. Now they're among the AFC's elite.

But the Bills know this isn't the same type of game as what we expected Week 17's Monday Night Football to be. It doesn't even have to do with being the home team, either.

No, the thing is the Bengals are limping into Sunday's win-or-go-home showdown.

They're expected to line up only two of their original starting five up front. They'll be playing Jackson Carman at left tackle even after he lost the starting job at left guard in the preseason.

As long as the Bills' pass rush is able to win against the most banged-up offensive line remaining in the postseason, this one shouldn't be all that close.

But let's pause.

If it sounds too good to be true, it's because it probably is. The Bengals, you see, are still quarterbacked by Joe Burrow. And as you can probably imagine, the young gunslinger gives his team a chance to win it even behind a mediocre offensive line. He already did it last year!

But the Bills have a clear advantage in this game. They're arguably the best roster in football and as long as they figure out how to keep Burrow under siege on Sunday, Buffalo should be advancing to the AFC Championship Game.

Before any of that happens though, expect one Bills coach to be in the spotlight with the biggest decision in the NFL this weekend…

To blitz or not to blitz. A Leslie Frazier decision.

Here's a quick rundown of things we know:

  • The Bills have struggled to rush the passer with four since Von Miller's injury. They've ranked 27th in the NFL in pressure rate since the star's injury.
  • The Bills have blitzed significantly more as DC Leslie Frazier looks for an answer to get pressure. It's worked.
  • Joe Burrow is a certified blitz assassin, ranking #1 in the NFL against the blitz per PFF's offense grade (among qualifying QBs).

He's been so good that defensive coaches have made him the least-blitzed quarterback in the league.

Against the blitz, Burrow has completed 63% of his pass attempts for 955 yards (8.2 per attempt), 12 touchdowns, and three interceptions.

He's earned a 112.3 passer rating in those situations, second in the NFL.

Does Bills DC Leslie Frazier bet on his defensive line to get pressure with four against backup linemen?

Or does he bet on the Bengals' lack of continuity causing enough problems in pass pro communication for the blitz to finally be effective against Burrow?

We'll see what the Bills' plan is on Sunday. But it better work against the one guy who can keep this game close. Otherwise, Joey B might take care of the Bills.

Featured image via JAMIE GERMANO / USA TODAY NETWORK