A big step backwards for the Buffalo Bills. One week after one of the biggest and most lopsided upsets in NFL history, the Bills failed to get anything going on offense and allowed more than 400 yards on defense in a 22-0 road loss to the Green Bay Packers Sunday — the first Bills shutout in a decade.
Rookie quarterback Josh Allen took a Lambeau Leap backwards, accounting for three turnovers, including two interceptions and a fumble late in the fourth quarter that stood on review. He completed 16 of his 33 attempts for 151 yards. His 14-first half incompletions were the most by a Bills quarterback in 20 years. He was also sacked seven times for a loss of 64 yards.
“I obviously hate losing, it’s the worst feeling for me,” Allen said. “Being a strong critic of myself, I take it upon my shoulders. As a quarterback you got to move the ball, you got to stay on the field on third down, and I didn’t do a good enough job of that.”
Running back LeSean McCoy, returning after missing last week’s game due to injury, only ran the ball five times for 24 yards against the Packers, but he offered some words of encouragement for his young quarterback.
“I told him, just today, I said ‘hey man, there will be better days. Tuck this one away, learn from it, watch the tape, tomorrow, watch it, and move on Tuesday.’ He’s a good player he’ll be around for a long time so we’ll have better days.” said McCoy.
Tight end Charles Clay was the Bills’ top receiver on the day, going for four catches and 40 yards, and he also reiterated McCoy’s encouragement for Allen.
“He [Allen] comes in and works his tail off every day,” Clay said. “You don’t see a demeanor change or anything like that. I got his back 100 percent. I know we all go out and try to get everything corrected, but he goes out and works his tail off every single day and that didn’t change this week.”
After a strong second half against the Chargers in week 2 and a dominant effort against the Vikings in week 3, the Bills defense also took a step backwards in week 4, allowing 423 yards of total offense.
“We got to ride the wave, we got to weather the storm, it’s a long season and there’s a lot of football left to played,” said Bills safety Jordan Poyer, who picked off Packers QB Aaron Rodgers and recorded three tackles. “Us as professionals got to realize that. Obviously we’re 1-3 right now, nowhere near where we want to be right now, but we got there’s a lot football to be played and we just got to continue to work and get better.”
The Packers dominated all afternoon, winning the yardage battle (423-145) the turnover battle (3-2), time of possession (34:37-25:23) and had more first downs (22-11).
The Bills will try to learn from this disappointing effort and prepare for another tough test when they host the 3-1 Tennessee Titans at 1 p.m. this Sunday.