An often non-existent rushing game has been problematic for the Buffalo Bills throughout the season.
And Buffalo hardly found success running the ball on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, but it was hardly a problem, as Bills quarterback Josh Allen scorched the befuddled birds to the tune of 415 yards and three touchdowns through the air for a 44-34 Buffalo win and a Seahawks defeat that exasperated coach Pete Carroll.
"So out of character across the board, I don't even recognize us," Carroll said after of the loss, via KOIN News' AJ McCord.
The 44 points scored by the Bills were the most against the Seahawks since Carroll's arrival in 2010 (and he was recently extended through 2025). During that span, Carroll's defenses have allowed 40 or more points five times now and Seattle is 0-5 in those games.
It's a trend that doesn't bode well for the 2020 Seahawks (6-2), who have scored 34 points in each of their losses this year and allowed an average of 40.5 points. In other words, if the opposing offense is hot, if Russell Wilson isn't cooking at his best, the Seahawks can be outscored and conquered.
That's what occurred Sunday, as Wilson's MVP campaign likely lost a little in the polls, but a 34-point output still shouldn't be the stuff of losses.
But that's the trend for Seattle. Dead last in the NFL in total and passing defense, the Seahawks lived down to those statistical rankings in Week 9.
The Bills rushed just 19 times for only 34 yards. It might well have thrown off the Seahawks a bit, but it was hardly some sort of subterfuge that should have confounded the Seahawks for a full 60 minutes.
"These guys didn't even try to run the football today," Carroll said, via NBC Sports Northwest's Joe Fann. "We didn't expect that to happen. We didn't think they would totally abandon the running game. We had a real nice plan for how they were gonna run it. We have to be able to adapt better."
Allen was the sixth QB this year to throw for 300 or more yards against the Seahawks' porous defense, so at this point it's to be expected. Even the return of Jamal Adams didn't bode well. Adams had 1.5 sacks as Seattle had seven, but against the sturdy Allen it did little to slow down the passing attack.
High-flying as the Seahawks have been on offense, they can't win every shootout and Sunday was evidence to that.
