▶Buffalo has had issues with running QBS, and Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson is next.
Buffalo has struggled against dual-threat QBS
Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes feels as if he’s back at TCU, where the Horned Frogs would open training camp prepping for the read-option offense to squeeze in extra time for what had been their annual meeting against Air Force.
“Given all the misdirection, and the quarterback having the option to pull the ball and run, it feels a little like college,“Hughes said Wednesday, referring to Buffalo preparing to host Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC divisional playoff on Saturday. “I guess playing in the Mountain West for me has its upside.”
There are, of course, a few big differences he readily acknowledged by noting the Bills (14-3) have less than a week to prepare for the NFL’S topranked running attack, and Jackson is unlike any quarterback Hughes has seen at any level.
“Just his quickness, his agility, I think he’s a a little bit more agile than your Kyler Murray, and probably a little bit more speedy as well,” Hughes said, comparing Jackson to Murray, the Arizona starter. “Whenever you’ve got somebody that dynamic, you need bodies, you need population just to keep him contained. He’s like a bolt of electricity. You don’t want to let that out.”
Jackson, the NFL’S MVP last season, has been on a tear since spending a week on the reserve-covid -19 list in late November.
The fifth-seeded Ravens (12-5) have since won six straight, the last a 20-13 wild-card playoff victory at Tennessee last weekend. It’s a stretch Jackson has combined for 988 yards passing and 11 touchdowns and 566 yards rushing and five TDS.
The Bills are on a seven-game roll after winning their first playoff game in 25 years with a 27-24 victory over Indianapolis on Saturday.
Keeping an immobile Colts quarterback Philip Rivers in check might be one thing. The concern is how Buffalo’s defense has struggled against the run, particularly when facing teams with dual-threat quarterbacks.
The Bills gave up a season-worst 245 yards rushing in a 26-17 loss to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 19, in a game rookie Clyde Edwards-helaire finished with 161 yards rushing.
And Buffalo’s winning streak followed a 32-30 loss at Arizona on Nov. 15 in which Murray had 61 yards rushing and two scores on top of 245 yards passing and a decisive 43-yard touchdown to Deandre Hopkins in the final seconds.
“Yeah, thanks for the reminder, I appreciate that,” Bills coach Sean Mcdermott said sarcastically, when reminded of his defense’s lapses.
“Well, that’s one thing that we’re working on, so we’re going to go practice in a few hours here and work on that.”
If there’s a bright side, the Bills kept Jackson and the Ravens mostly in check in a 24-17 loss to Baltimore on Dec. 8, 2019. Jackson finished with a season-low 40 yards rushing on 11 carries, but burned Buffalo with three touchdowns passing.
Buffalo’s defense isn’t as stout as it was last year after several offseason free-agent departures and run-stuffing defensive tackle Star Lotulelei’s decision to opt out of the season due to COVID -19 concerns. In finishing 17th in the NFL against the run, Buffalo has given up 150 yards rushing five times this season as opposed to four in 2018 and ’19 combined.
Hughes is confident in the defensive game plan and not worried about past defensive struggles.
“We took every game as a way for us to learn, grow and to get better,” he said.