The Buffalo Bills used their sixth starting combination along the offensive line Sunday.
It’s not one they’ll be eager to go back to any time soon.
After receiving word sometime between 9 and 10 a.m. Sunday that guard Jon Feliciano had tested positive for Covid-19, Bills coach Sean McDermott had to quickly pivot.
“We just communicate what the options are to the coaches after that,” McDermott said. “Sometimes those options are pretty obvious, sometimes they’re not obvious, and so we just try to help work through some of those situations and, again, I applaud the players and the coaches.”
With Feliciano joining Dion Dawkins on the Covid list, the Bills opted to move rookie Spencer Brown from right tackle to the left side. Daryl Williams then moved from right guard to right tackle, with Ike Boettger and Cody Ford joining center Mitch Morse on the interior.
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If there’s one big takeaway from Sunday’s game, it’s this – the Bills need Dawkins back as quickly as possible. The ask of moving Brown to the left side was far too much.
“It’s not easy for any player, young or veteran in this case,” McDermott said. “You study one side of the deal and who you may play against on this side, and then all of the sudden you’re playing against maybe someone else on the other side. So it’s a little bit different, especially when it’s the morning of the game.”
The Bills didn’t learn of Dawkins’ positive test until Friday morning, giving Brown just one half-speed practice to prepare for the position change.
“I honestly didn’t play left tackle until I got to training camp when Dion had Covid,” Brown said. “So that was really my first long tenure, I guess, of playing left tackle and then not having done it for four months I went out there on Friday. Friday was my first day of actually doing it and usually it’s kind of like a walk-through, slowed-down type day. I was taking live reps and just getting the feel of things. I was telling rushers, ‘Hey, give me this and give me this.’ I was just preparing as much as I could with the reps that I got and then pregame I got a little more reps so it might have been limited, but that’s no excuse. You have to go out there and play. That’s what we did.”
The results were not pretty. He took a whopping five penalties – a borderline unbelievable amount.
“It can’t happen and going into the next week if Dion is back, hopefully he is – I don’t know his situation – but if not, I’ve got to go into next week and I’ve got to learn how to play left tackle just a little bit better and get the penalties down,” he said. “Because obviously it hurts teams and kills drives. Can’t happen.”
Quarterback Josh Allen was sacked a season-high four times. Allen, however, recognized the less-than-ideal circumstances his guys up front were working with, and was complimentary of the job the line did.
“I haven’t watched the tape, but I thought the guys played really well,” he said. “They got after it in the run game. Pass protection was really good. Early on, I’ve got to find some completions, some quicker completions to help our guys out, but that’s a good defense. We just played a really good front, too, with how quick they are, so happy with how our guys played.”
Allen’s right in the sense that the run game was a positive. Devin Singletary gained a season-high 86 yards on 22 carries, providing the offense with an element it has far too often lacked this season.
“Motor was great, breaking tackles, extending runs,” Brown said, referring to Singletary’s nickname. “I think the O-line covered the ball well, getting extra yards after the end of the runs. It’s just the effort and execution was better. I look forward to the next week for sure.”
As does the rest of Bills Mafia. With first place on the line in the AFC East, the hype for the rematch against the Patriots is sure to reach a fever pitch by Sunday – if it hasn’t already – even if the players try to do their best to downplay things.
“Going against the Patriots, it’s going to be just another week for us, honestly,” Brown said. “Don’t want to hype any more than it is. I mean, we’re professionals and just go into every week and prepare like you do every single week. Then go in there and execute and communicate and then just come out with a win. That’s the goal.”
Good luck selling that “just another week,” line, Spencer. This is New England. This is the evil Bill Belichick, the coach who has provided two decades of torture for Bills fans. It was thought that New England’s dynasty was dead and buried last year, but a promising rookie quarterback and a heavy investment in free agency have resurrected the franchise.
A loss Saturday to Indianapolis, however, brought the Patriots back to the pack, and set up a situation in which the Bills control their own destiny in the AFC East. Beat New England, and then take care of business in two home games against Atlanta and the Jets – games the Bills will be comfortable favorites in – and the division championship belongs to Buffalo for a second consecutive year.
Just another game? Hardly.
With “normal” conditions expected in Foxborough, the Bills can utilize a more traditional game plan for their rematch after wind gusts of 50 mph in the first meeting between the teams made throwing the ball a supreme challenge.
The status of Dawkins and Feliciano remains unknown. If they are symptom free, it’s possible they can make it back before Sunday. Given what’s at stake – and what we saw from the offensive line against the Patriots – the Bills will want all hands on deck against New England.
