There is something amiss with the Buffalo Bills

They were a playoff team in five of head coach Sean McDermott’s first six seasons with the franchise. The Buffalo Bills have won the last three AFC East titles. The team has won at least 10 games in each of the past four seasons, something the club hasn’t done since 1990-93. If that stretch sounds familiar, those were the Super Bowl years for Marv Levy and company.

Seven games into this season, McDermott’s 4-3 club seems a bit off. A 29-25 loss to the struggling New England Patriots on Sunday was a big surprise. The Bills were down 10-0 after one quarter and even though they managed to take a 25-22 lead with 1:58 remaining and couldn’t stop Patriots’ quarterback Mac Jones and an iffy New England offense. Bill Belichick’s club marched 75 yards in eight plays in only 1:46 to grab the four-point victory.

Yes, talented quarterback Josh Allen still hasn’t really solved his turnover issues. Buffalo has given up the ball 11 times in seven games and nine of those are courtesy of seven interceptions and two lost fumbles by the two-time Pro Bowl signal-caller. However, the real issue may be a defensive unit that has been mediocre at best so far this season. After getting off to a solid start this year, McDermott’s defenders have had its issues.

After limiting each of their first three opponents to less than 300 yards of total offense, Buffalo has allowed an average of 387.0 total yards per contest in their last four outings. The Bills surrendered two offensive touchdowns during their 2-1 start and have allowed nine offensive TDs in splitting their last four games. This season, McDermott’s defense is giving up 128.3 yards per game rushing.

Combine and up-and-down defensive unit that has been iffy against the run with a club that has its issues with ball security and that makes for plenty of inconsistent performances. The Bills have committed three turnovers in their four victories, and given up the football a combined eight times in the losses to the New York Jets (4), Jacksonville Jaguars (2) and New England Patriots (2).

Call them Unpredicta-Bill.