Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane looked to add support for the ground game this offseason. More carries for the running backs and less wear-and-tear on quarterback Josh Allen. In free agency, the club added Damien Harris and well-traveled Latavius Murray.
The former is on injured while the latter hasn't made that much noise to date. He's totaled 42 carries for 147 yards and two scores, plus caught 11 passes for 79 yards. Earlier this week, he made a move that hopefully pays off for Sean McDermott's club sooner than later.
The veteran running back announced a few days ago that he opted to call an offensive players-only meeting, "Something I initiated," explained Murray (via 13WHAM Rochester). "…talked about some things and see how us, as an offense, can make a difference…We can play and beat anybody. A lot of times, it's getting redundant but it's us beating ourselves. So how can we avoid that?"
Bills veteran called players-only meeting at inflection point of 2023 season
Quarterback Josh Allen has once again struggled with mistakes. While he has thrown 18 touchdown passes, he's been picked off nine times and lost two of his three fumbles. Yes, he leads the team with six rushing touchdowns, but consistency has been a major problem for the reigning AFC East champions as of late.
Following the Week 1 Monday night overtime loss to the Jets, McDermott's team went on a three-game tear that saw them score 38, 37, and 48 points, respectively, in wins over the Raiders, Commanders and Dolphins. During that stretch, Buffalo's offensive unit produced 14 touchdowns and the club gave up the ball once.
The Bills have dropped three of their last five games and have totaled 25 points or less in each contest. There has been a total of 13 offensive TDs, but the team has committed nine turnovers. Suddenly, the team has more regular-season losses (4) than they did a year ago (3).
Is it fixable? Something has to change sooner than later. Buffalo's offense has to carry the load, especially with so many key injuries on the other side of the ball. The 10-year running back is certainly hoping to make a difference in more than one way.
"Those guys know I'm coming from a sincere place of us just trying to communicate," added Murray. "Trying to figure out what we can do to be better, what we can control as players,"