Bills' cornerback Taron Johnson discusses what looks like a potential Achilles heel of the Buffalo defense
The Buffalo Bills were able to pull out a 30-27 home victory over the AFC East rival Miami Dolphins, compliments of a game-winning 61-yard field goal from Tyler Bass to send Bills Mafia home happy.It was a good performance that saw plenty of offense. Any time you play a division rival, you expect the game […]
The Buffalo Bills were able to pull out a 30-27 home victory over the AFC East rival Miami Dolphins, compliments of a game-winning 61-yard field goal from Tyler Bass to send Bills Mafia home happy.
It was a good performance that saw plenty of offense. Any time you play a division rival, you expect the game to be tightly-contested, especially the second time playing in a season, as the Bills and Dolphins were on Sunday.
What wasn't ideal, though, was the run defense.
Early in the season, Buffalo struggled mightily to stop the run, which was low-lighted by the Baltimore Ravens and Derrick Henry running all over them in what was the Bills' worst loss so far this season. Henry ran for 199 yards and a touchdown, lifting the Ravens to a 35-10 victory.
In recent weeks, the run hasn't been such an issue for the Buffalo defense. Last week, against the Seattle Seahawks, the Bills held the Seattle duo of Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonet to a paltry 28 rushing yards on 12 attempts – 2.33 yards per carry.
In this matchup with Miami, the issues against the run returned. Devon Achane and Raheem Mostert consistently made life difficult for the Buffalo defense. Achane and Mostert combined for 119 rushing yards, running at a robust 5.4 yards per carry clip.
"I just feel as though they have really great weapons on the outside. So, kind of playing like, kind of letting them run the ball, just not giving up explosive plays," cornerback Taron Johnson said after the game. "I mean, we still gave up, I think, too many, but just making sure we limit those explosive plays."
It's an interesting quote, and it largely worked. It sounds like the plan, going in, was for the Buffalo defense to test the patience of the Miami offense. Keep everything in front of them, limit the abilities of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle to make them pay on the outside, and trust that they can rally to the ball to limit big runs.
While Mostert and Achane averaged over five yards per carry, the longest run of the game went for only 16 yards, and Hill and Waddle hardly made an impact before late in the game.
The passing attack of Miami, which was highly efficient, did hit their groove after halftime. Hill and Waddle each made their presence felt with Tua Tagovailoa back under center, with Hill finishing with four receptions for 80 yards, and Waddle caught a goal line touchdown. Achane also made an impact through the air, catching eight passes for 58 yards and a score.
The "bend but don't break" defense got dangerously close to breaking, but key turnovers gave the ball back to Josh Allen and the offense, who were able to outgun Miami in the end.
Buffalo will travel to take on a floundering Colts team next Sunday that struggled to generate much of anything on Sunday Night Football, but they will continue to be tested on the ground, this time by the likes of Jonathan Taylor.
Follow along all season for all the latest Buffalo Bills news. You can also find me on X @JonHelmkamp.
