Turns out it’s not just the New York Jets that have had issues with their offense in 2023.
The Buffalo Bills turned heads Tuesday morning with the firing of offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey following the team’s 24-22 loss to the Denver Broncos in which the offense turned the ball over four times and struggled on third down.
Dorsey had been with the Bills since 2019 when he was named the quarterback coach of the organization and helped Josh Allen become an All-Pro quarterback with breakout seasons in 2020 and 2021. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2022 following Brian Daboll’s hiring as head coach of the New York Giants.
Since Dorsey’s hiring, the Bills offense has struggled to find the kind of consistency that was their calling card for several years. Allen has been among the league leaders in turnovers, while the offense has struggled to find any sense of a running game. Despite that, Buffalo still ranked first in offensive success rate, seventh in scoring drive rate, and third in EPA per play.
In Dorsey’s place, Joe Brady, the successor at QB coach will take the helm to solve Buffalo’s offensive problems particularly when it comes to turnovers. Brady has experience as a play-caller – the latest of which came when he was offensive coordinator under Matt Rhule in Carolina.
Who do the Bills play in their first game with a new play-caller? That will be the Jets.
Buffalo still has plenty of offensive firepower that will make life difficult for a Gang Green defense that has been excellent against top quarterbacks this season. In Week 1, with Dorsey as the play-caller though, the Jets held the Bills to a measly 16 points and four turnovers forced.
At just 34 years old, Brady is a young offensive mind who should be able to offer a different scope to what the Bills want to do on offense. That leaves the Jets in a difficult situation heading into their matchup in Week 11. While New York has had success against Josh Allen, Brady will have a lot more weapons to pick and choose to target than he had in a barren Carolina offense.
Anytime an organization makes a sweeping change to things in their coaching staff, it’s usually a sign of that team responding in a big way the week after. New York has already experienced something like that last week. In their 16-12 loss to the Raiders, Las Vegas was in their second game with interim coach Antonio Pierce. Pierce is now 2-0 as an interim head coach.
While Brady doesn’t have the best track record as a play-caller, new eyes on the offense could lead to improved efficiency from Buffalo. That leaves the Jets with a difficult task in front of them to try and study an offense that could look completely different at home on a short week.
Even the best defenses in the world can sometimes struggle when they don’t have the proper preparation. This will be a big week for defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich to show his chops with his adjustments and in-game play-calls.
