The Bills are using their bye week to do "self-analysis," as coach Dick Jauron called it.
And for them it means analyzing two areas of major weakness: third-down conversions on offense and stopping the run on defense.
"We look at ourselves, obviously," said Jauron, whose team is 3-5 at the break and in danger of missing the playoffs for a 10th consecutive season. "We do a self-analysis and then we look at our problem areas and we've got a lot of them."
Buffalo has converted 27 of 104 third-down tries, just 26 percent. If the season ended today, in would be the second-worst percentage in team history.
Meanwhile, the Bills continue to rank last in the NFL in run defense, allowing an average of 174 yards per game. Buffalo's last three opponents have gained 414, 425 and 439 total yards.
Because the Bills can't stay on the field or get off the field, opponents are averaging 71 total plays per game to their 58.
"Right now, before we talk about red zone and all that other stuff, it's staying on the field and keeping our defense off the field and the third down stuff will be a big deal just because every time you convert a third down you get three more plays," said quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who went 2-1 starting in relief of Trent Edwards (concussion), who is expected to start at Tennessee on Nov. 15.
"If we get a couple of those third-and-2s, third-and-3s, we're guaranteed at least three more plays on the series, keeps our defense off the field, and gives us more of a chance to get the ball in our guys' hands."
Buffalo converted just 2 of 10 third downs in a 31-10 loss to Houston last Sunday and the Bills were on the field for a mere 20:52. What really puzzles the coaching staff is that there were few third-and-long situations: 6 of the 10 third downs were 5 yards or shorter. The Bills made none of them. On the season they are 3 of 19 in third-down situations 3 yards or fewer. That's 16 percent. A good offense would convert upwards of 60 percent.
"Our third-down situations were not insurmountable. We just failed to do it," Jauron said. "We go through them and look at them all and there's something - it's always something. We've kind of got to stop doing the 'somethings' and make the plays."
The Bills will look to add more terminology and more twists into their attack. They ran back-to-back Wildcat formations against the Texans but without success. They added more motion in their backfield.
What hurt on many of the third-and-short situations against the Texans was handling the blitz. The pressure caused Fitzpatrick to make several erratic throws. Everything comes back to Buffalo's plan to tear apart its line and start three first-time starters.
"Third down is definitely going to be key," wide receiver Lee Evans said. "We left our defense out there for a lot of plays last week, so third down is the key. I think if we can handle third down, which we were in a lot of manageable situations last week, if we can handle third down we'll be a little bit better."
As for run defense, rest and recovery may be the only hope at this point. Two of the team's top tacklers - linebacker Kawika Mitchell and cornerback Leodis McKelvin - are out for the season with knee injuries, while defensive tackle Kyle Williams (knee) and strong safety Donte Whitner (ankle) remain sidelined with injuries.
Six other current defensive starters are banged up as well.
The Texans turned last Sunday's game into a rout by ramming the ball down Buffalo's throat in the second half. Backup running back Ryan Moats scored three fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns.
"We're much better than that, we fight much harder than that," Pro Bowl defensive tackle Marcus Stroud said. "I'm a competitor. I'm going to compete to the end. I never want to walk off the field and feel like somebody imposed their will on us and that's what I felt they did in that game."
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