Jan 19, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) celebrates with Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir (10). Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Why was the Bills' offense so conservative?

Originally posted on Buffalo Bills on SI
By Anthony Miller | Last updated Jan 19, 2025 10:30 PM ET

The Bills' close 27-25 win over the Ravens Sunday vaulted the team into an AFC championship game showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs, but some felt Buffalo left some meat on the bone with their conservative offensive approach.

Overall, the Bills showed that the play calling focused more on running the football, as Buffalo hit it hard on the ground 36 times. Josh Allen had 22 pass attempts, as the game plan appeared to be to hand the ball off.

When the Bills did pass the ball, Allen was not throwing it deep. He only completed three passes that were over 10 yards, with his longest pass being a 34-yard completion to Khalil Shakir early in the first half. The rest of Allen's throws were short passes or screen plays, as his average completion in the game was just 5.8 yards.

Part of the problem with offensive coordinator Joe Brady's play calling was he wasn't getting his wide receivers involved enough. Keon Coleman and Amari Cooper combined for just two targets, with Coleman catching one for five yards.

There was plenty of running the football for Buffalo, with James Cook leading the way with 67 yards on 17 carries. Cook's backups Ray Davis and Ty Johnson had more success, with just nine total carries between them, as each averaged at least six yards a carry. Having 147 yards on the ground sure helped make the decision to run the ball easier. That led to Buffalo winning the time of possession with over 31 minutes with the ball to Baltimore's over 28 minutes.

Sean McDermott had some conservative moments with his game situational decisions, with the biggest one coming late in the game. While the decision paid off, on the second to last drive of the game, the Bills had a fourth and goal at the 2-yard line with a 5-point lead and about 3:30 to go.

McDermott took the points and allowed the Ravens to tie the game with the field goal and an eight-point difference. If it hadn't been for a Mark Andrews drop on the two-point conversion at the end, many in the media would be criticizing McDermott for playing it safe.

These conservative plays and moments made some wonder why Buffalo's game was such a safe one. The weather sure had a part to play in that, with snow and cold weather games being more favorable for the team that can run the ball. Buffalo's established running game made it easy to keep control of the clock but gave Baltimore chances to tie or win without aggressive playcalling.

Buffalo only went for it on fourth down once in the game, and the Bills converted on it. It will take more of those types of aggressive calls to help them upset the number-one seed Chiefs next week if Buffalo wants to get back to the Super Bowl for the first time in three decades.