Unleashing Josh Allen and getting off to a fast start highlight top storylines for Bills offense vs. Bucs
The Week 11 showdown between the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers is just days away.
The Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are both hoping to bounce back and find a way in the win column on Sunday in Week 11 of the 2025 NFL season.
It’ll feature two quarterbacks from the same draft class in Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield, who both have had interesting careers in the NFL, with Allen finding his home in Buffalo while Mayfield jumped around the league before landing in Tampa Bay.
I spoke with A to Z Sports Tampa Bay writer Evan Winter about the upcoming matchup. Here are some of the biggest takeaways for the Bills offense when it comes to having success against the Bucs defense.
Unleash Josh Allen and the offense
Adam: Let Allen be Allen. Yes, there have been issues in the passing game, which can be attributed to Allen either waiting too long at times or trying to make something out of nothing.
With wide receiver Josh Palmer trending in the right direction for the matchup, along with the recent addition of receiver Mecole Hardman, and a potential elevation of Gabe Davis, Allen will have plenty of weapons and players he has familiarity with in the offense.
Unfortunately, Allen and the offense could be without one of his favorite targets in tight end Dalton Kincaid, who suffered a hamstring injury in the loss to the Dolphins. Letting Allen cook will be the biggest point of emphasis in the game, with a lot riding on some of these receivers to help out the reigning MVP.
There have been a lot of questions about the passing game being broken; now’s the time for Allen and the offense to silence the critics with a monster performance against the Buccaneers. Just, please, don’t throw 160 screen passes in the contest. Air out the offense and start pushing the ball downfield.
Evan: The Bucs know they can’t stop Allen, but they can slow him down, and that is easily their top goal heading into this matchup.
A mobile quarterback is Todd Bowles’ kryptonite. Bowles wants to play aggressive coverage and blitz, but he can’t do it as much against Allen because he can either move the pocket and find someone downfield or just escape the pocket and take off for a big gain.
The best ways to attack Allen are mixing up sim pressures, zone coverage, and high-end pass rush lane integrity. That takes a lot of discipline and effective communication, however, and if that gets messed up it can lead to big plays either way.
The Bucs defense has gone up against two similar quarterbacks in terms of being able to make plays with their legs and through the air: Jalen Hurts in Week 4 and most recently, Drake Maye in Week 10. Those two combined to complete 56% of their passes for 400 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception while adding 16 carries for 75 yards. Most importantly, though, they won their respective matchups against the Bucs.
There’s no question Allen is the best quarterback the Bucs defense has faced this year. It has to find a way to keep him from taking over or else it’ll be a long day.
Bills struggle when playing from behind
Adam: The Buffalo Bills have struggled at times, and it can amount to the team playing from behind. The Bills, led by quarterback Josh Allen, call the fewest passing plays on first down. When it works, it works great, but it was apparent in the Miami Dolphins matchup. This team cannot play from behind.
When running back James Cook gets shut down on early downs, it sets the team up for long conversions, something that the passing game has struggled to do in recent weeks. If the Bills want to be successful, they will need to mix up the game plan. Once the game starts to get too out of reach, it puts the team in a difficult situation, especially considering the lack of separation the receivers have had for Buffalo.
Head coach Sean McDermott always talks about playing good, sound, complementary football. Getting Cook going while not being too one-dimensional with the running game will go a long way toward Buffalo finding success against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
While Cook didn’t have a great performance against Miami, he’s had a monster season, so getting him involved early and often will be paramount. Just maybe offensive coordinator Joe Brady should change up running it on almost every first down, especially if it doesn’t seem to be working and the defense is homing in on it early.
Evan: No NFL team ever wants to navigate a game with its back against the wall, but here’s the thing. Even if the Bills were to get off to a slow start – it wouldn’t matter against the Bucs.
That’s because Tampa Bay is tied for the league lead in touchdowns of 25 or more yards. The defense has allowed eight, so far this year (that’s nearly one per game!) and has allowed the seventh-most plays of 25 or more yards, at 23.
Last week, the New England Patriots rattled off not one, not two, not three, but four plays of 54+ yards against the Bucs defense and three of those went for touchdowns. That’s absolutely insane to think about and is not the trademark of a good defense or even a competent one.
So, sure, the Bills don’t want to get off to a slow start, but they certainly shouldn’t panic if they do.
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