Brandon Beane Has Failed Josh Allen, and the Bills Are Paying the Price

At some point, you have to stop blaming Josh Allen for everything that goes wrong with the Buffalo Bills and start looking at the roster around him.

Yes, Allen deserves criticism for what happened against the New England Patriots. His interception late in the game was a terrible decision. He had opportunities to reset, take what the defense was giving him, or simply throw the ball away. In Year 9, "I have to be better" can't always be the end of the conversation.

But Allen is also being asked to be Superman because the roster around him isn't good enough.

And that's on Brandon Beane.

I've spent years giving Beane the benefit of the doubt. There was always the possibility that Sean McDermott simply wasn't getting enough out of the players Beane was bringing into Buffalo. Maybe the defensive players needed the right system. Maybe the young guys needed time. Maybe the next draft class would fix the problem.

At this point, I'm done making those excuses.

Look at what the Bills have invested in their defense through the draft. Seven of their last eight draft picks in rounds 1-3 have been defensive players, yet we're still sitting here talking about a defense that has been one of the worst units in the NFL.

Houston scored 31 points. Detroit scored 31. The Chargers scored 16, but New England just put up 29. The Bills are giving up third-and-longs, fourth-and-shorts, and critical conversions over and over again.

Greg Rousseau and Deone Walker have been excellent. The problem is that they can't do everything themselves.

The back seven has become a massive problem.

Maxwell Hairston has struggled. Cole Bishop has barely made an impact. The Bills are still trying to figure out their cornerback situation, and Kaleb Elarms-Orr can't even get on the field consistently. Terrel Bernard hasn't looked like the player we saw before his injuries, and there are too many other positions where Buffalo simply isn't getting enough production.

And that's what makes some of Beane's decisions so frustrating.

The Bills had an opportunity to address the cornerback position with Joey Porter Jr. available for what appeared to be a relatively low price. They didn't do it. Instead, they went into the season hoping the players already on the roster would be enough.

They aren't.

That's the problem with this entire roster build. Beane has had Allen for years, and yet Buffalo continues to find itself in situations where Allen has to play nearly perfect football for the Bills to beat good teams.

That's not sustainable.

Allen isn't going to make the perfect decision every snap. He's going to take chances. He's going to make mistakes. That's part of being Josh Allen.

But he shouldn't have to be Superman every week just for this team to have a chance.

If Buffalo loses Allen, this doesn't suddenly become a great football team with one missing piece. It becomes a roster with serious questions at quarterback, wide receiver, offensive line, and defense.

That's the uncomfortable truth.

Beane has done a lot of good things during his time in Buffalo. But at some point, the results of the roster have to matter more than the excuses for why the roster hasn't worked.

The Bills have a future Hall of Fame quarterback and someone they're unlikely to ever see again. They should be doing everything possible to build a team worthy of him.

Right now, I'm not convinced they're doing that.