The Buffalo Bills head into Sunday’s Week 11 matchup against the NFC South-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers having lost three of their last five games, and just struggling to hang on to a chance at their sixth straight AFC East title. Despite being led by reigning NFL MVP quarterback Josh Allen, much of the blame for the Bills’ struggles since winning their first four games has fallen on their passing attack â or lack of an effective one.
It’s not just fans and pundits complaining about the Buffalo passing game. The team’s own coach of nine years, Sean McDermott publicly points the finger in the same direction.
âItâs an important part of our offense,â McDermott said followings team’s humiliating 30-13 loss to the 3-7 Miami Dolphins last week, as quoted by Heavy.com reporter Drake Bentley.
âWeâve got a great quarterback and you want to be able to move the ball two dimensionally. We should be able to move the ball with Josh through the air,” McDermott continued. “But it canât just be one phase of your offense. It starts up front with the line of scrimmage. (Allen) made some amazing plays, which he does. We got to move the chains. Weâre not holding the ball long enough.â
Bills Make Sudden Moves at Wide Receiver Position
With those issues in mind, McDermott and the Bills took a drastic step in an attempt to inject some new energy into the Bills’ aerial attack, only about 24 hours before they were set to kick off at Highmark Stadium against the visiting 6-3 Bucs.
First, at least according to one report which has not been denied by the team, they benched 2024 second-round draft pick Keon Coleman, potentially placing the second-year wide receiver on the inactive list, even though the 22-year-old former Florida State Seminole is fully healthy.
At the same time, apparently to take Coleman’s place in the Bills’ offensive lineup, the team signed former Kansas City Chiefs receiver Mecole Hardman to the 53-man roster.
Hardman Brings ‘Speed and Versatility
Hardman was a 2019 second-round draft pick for the Chiefs out of Georgia, and in his rookie year caught 26 passes for 538 yards and six touchdowns as the Chiefs advanced to what was then their first Super Bowl since 1969.
Hardman, 27, had been out of a job since his release from the Green Bay Packers practice squad on September 23. The Bills signed him to their own practice squad on Monday, then signed him again, to the active roster this time, on Saturday.
“His speed and versatility make him both a vertical threat and a weapon to use on special teams, both areas the Bills need help in,” wrote SB Nation Bills analyst Sara Larson on Saturday. “The Bills have cycled through returners for much of the season, with Brandon Codrington frequently being downgraded to the inactive list as a healthy scratch.”
Hardman Signing Spells End For Codrington
In a corresponding move, the Bills released Codrington on Saturday as well. Because the NFL trade deadline is now history, NFL rules require that Codrington will be placed on waivers before he is fully cut from the team.
The Bills game against Tampa Bay will be televised to most of the country by CBS in the 1 p.m. Eastern time slot. Only the Baltimore and Cleveland markets will not receive the game.
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