The Buffalo Bills were one of the best offenses in the NFL in 2023.
That, of course, is in large part to having the best dual-threat quarterback in the game under center in Josh Allen, but also because they were able to find balance.
The Bills finished second in the NFL in EPA per rush last season. And while a lot of that has to do with their amazing quarterback, James Cook was also fourth in the league in rushing. On top of that, he was clearly a focal point for offensive coordinator Joe Brady once he took over in Week 11.
From Weeks 1-10, Cook didn't have a game with 20 or more carries- he had two in the first give games with Brady calling plays, including a 179 yard performance against the Dallas Cowboys.
Buffalo also leaned into allowing Josh Allen to run the ball more once Brady took over as the play caller. Allen didn't have a game with more than eight runs under Ken Dorsey- he had five in the second half of the season with Joe Brady calling plays.
That is when the Bills are at their most dangerous. When they can get a good run game going, both from Cook and Allen, that will open up what they can do in the downfield pass game. Allen will still be Allen and launch missiles downfield, but with a consistent run game to open up opportunities downfield, those passes will have a higher chance of being completed. Especially with how much the Bills run out of 10 personnel (one running back, no tight ends). From Weeks 11-18, the Bills were second in the NFL in 10 personnel, and had zero or one tight end on the field for 74 percent of their plays- they were seventh in rush success rate in that span.
Having to account for the possibility of Cook and Allen running, as well as spreading the defense out and forcing them into nickel and dime packages are the situations the Bills will try to force defenses into. Force teams to tackle your massive cyborg at quarterback and powerful running back with smaller defensive backs. That philosophy led to the Bills having the second-highest success rate when it came to running against light boxes.
We'll talk about how the passing game complimented the run game later on in the week, as well as how it evolved under Brady, but fully expect the Bills to lean into spreading out defenses and running into smaller defensive backs and light boxes. It made the offense better, and let Buffalo lean into what Josh Allen does well as a dual-threat quarterback.
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