After the Buffalo Bills’ Week 9 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, running back Latavius Murray held a players-only meeting for the offense to help reset the focus. Days later, that storyline has been buried by another brutal loss, questions about Buffalo’s proclivity for turning the ball over, and, of course, the firing of offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey.
The Bills, who lost 24-22 on Monday Night Football to cap off Week 10, are at the lowest point of the head coach Sean McDermott era. No longer are they a team on the rise or a Super Bowl favorite. Buffalo is struggling to keep its head above water and is already drowning under the waves of championship aspirations.
The Bills turned the ball over four times (and recovered their own fumble once) in a sloppy game that has put a pause on all things playoffs.
Murray spoke about Buffalo’s inconsistencies after the loss.
“We’re just beating ourselves,” Murray said. “Can’t do that. It’s hard to win. Just can’t beat ourselves.”
Despite some flashes from the Denver Broncos defense—and a circus play out of the mid-2010s Seattle Seahawks highlight reel—Denver didn’t bring its best. An average showing from the Bills offense would have resulted in a win. Avoiding absolute catastrophe on special teams would have done the same.
Murray acknowledged that the turnover issue is compounding.
“Definitely, you don’t want it to snowball,” he said. “For us, it has. So, we got to figure out when things go wrong, how to bounce back a lot quicker.”
To his credit, Murray spoke to the media when several teammates like Gabe Davis and James Cook reportedly declined. That’s not an indictment on them as much as it is a testament to Murray’s leadership. The oldest running back in football took one for the team, even if his performance shouldn’t have demanded it.
On Monday, Murray rushed nine times for 68 yards. It was the most open field he’s seen in weeks and culminated in a goal-line touchdown, something he’s struggled with this season. Murray was able to keep the rushing offense somewhat viable while Cook was temporarily benched.
“It takes everybody, it takes everybody to lock in and move on and just take it one play at a time,” Murray said. “That next drive, that next series, it takes everybody. So we gotta get back to work. Everybody has to take accountability and let’s figure it out together.”
Murray will be tasked with leading the locker room into a Week 11 contest with the New York Jets. Without any semblance of legitimate quarterback play, New York offers little but a strong defense and is Buffalo’s last “easy” game until Week 17 against the New England Patriots.
As fans have seen three times this season, against the Jets, Patriots, and Broncos, “easy” is a meaningless word when offensive discord takes hold.
It goes without saying that things need to change, quickly, in Western New York.
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