ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills had two offensive game plans in Saturday's 32-29 win over the Miami Dolphins, and they'll need to be prepared again when a powerful winter storm is expected to hit the Great Lakes region late this week, ahead of the Bills Week 16 matchup in Chicago against the Bears on Saturday.
"This time of year, especially, where we're at here - it'll be kind of similar to this week - we'll do the same thing, just so we're not putting ourselves in tough situations," Bills offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey said.
"For last week, if there was snow accumulating on the ground, certain cuts with the receivers and tight ends, we didn't want to make... We took our game plan that we had, and then we just cut out certain things and just had those in case we needed it for footing reasons."
Dorsey said at the end of the game, when the snow started to coat the field, at Highmark Stadium, they didn't really need the 'snow' game plan.
Last season, in an early December home matchup, with the wind whipping in Orchard Park, the New England Patriots and coach Bill Belichick bested the Bills' weather-ready game plan, only attempting three passes on the way to a Patriots' 14-10 win.
"We always try to make sure we've got those contingency plans. If it's a high-wind game, we'll do the same thing," Dorsey said.
"Typically by the end of the week, off of one game plan, we might have four or five separate things, different game plans, if we have weather issues."
Whatever the offensive game plan was for the Bills on Saturday night against the Dolphins - and no matter where the offense seemed to sputter in the third quarter - Josh Allen and the Bills offense still put up 32 points.
Allen threw for 304 yards, ran for 77 more, then threw four touchdown passes.
"I thought that was a great lesson for us that he does have that ability to play in different elements, whether it's windy, rainy, snow, whatever it might be," Dorsey said.
"I think that's a big advantage for us to be able to do those different things that keep us balanced, instead of forcing us into a one-dimensional game."