The Buffalo Bills walked into Week 16 thinking they had an easy win on their hands. They were facing a Cleveland Browns team that came into the week 3-11 and just got blown out by the Chicago Bears, 31-3, last week. But this game was anything but easy for the Bills.

The Bills built a 20-10 lead heading into halftime, but the Browns mounted a comeback to cut the lead to three in the middle of the third quarter. The Bills were able to get enough stops to come away with a 23-20 win, but for a Bills team that’s vying for a Super Bowl, this was not the kind of game you want to see them have two weeks before the playoffs begin.

When they’re playing their best, the Bills are hard to beat, but we’ve seen them struggle a handful of times this year. This team has its issues, and a lot of them reared their ugly heads this week. I identified some of the Bills’ major weaknesses, which have raised a lot of questions about what their ceiling is this year.

This run defense is…not good

The Bills have a massive problem defensively. They are horrible against the run. They give up 144.3 rushing yards per game (30th) and 5.4 yards per carry (31st). They have been gashed time and time again by opposing running backs, which has hurt them, as their pass defense ranks second in yards allowed and ninth in yards per attempt.

Their run defense was a HUGE reason the Browns were able to be competitive in this game. Despite the gruesome injury to Quinshon Judkins, who rushed for 22 yards before exiting, the Browns ran for 160 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries (5.2 yards per carry). To make matters worse for Buffalo, Cleveland entered this game rushing for 92.4 yards per game (29th) and 3.8 yards per attempt (29th).

Unfortunately for the Bills, the AFC has some pretty solid running backs in the playoffs. TreVeyon Henderson, Travis Etienne, and Omarion Hampton instantly come to mind, but even someone like RJ Harvey is coming along at the end of the year.

The Bills need to figure something out against the run, or else they will not be making a Super Bowl run in the postseason.

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Not having a true WR1 is going to haunt Buffalo

Not having an elite X receiver is really going to hurt Buffalo in the playoffs. I’ve been saying it all year, and thought they’d make a move for a receiver at the deadline, but they didn’t, and it’s going to cost them.

This offense is great, but only because Josh Allen is great. Khalil Shakir is good and all, but he’s not a WR1. I mean, Keon Coleman, who they drafted 33rd overall two years ago, has been a healthy scratch in three games this year. Allen completed a pass to three receivers this year: Shakir, Tyrell Shavers, and Josh Palmer. They combined for 57 yards in the win.

This has been a problem ever since Stefon Diggs left, and they have refused to solve it. They need to make a trade, draft, or sign someone this offseason, because if they don’t, they’ll waste another year of Allen’s prime.

Josh Allen has to be 100 percent for this offense to reach its potential

Josh Allen exited this game for a little bit after suffering a foot injury. He got X-rays, which were negative, and was cleared to return to the game, but he didn’t look like himself.

In the second half, Allen and the Bills scored three points. They punted or turned it over on downs four times in the final 30 minutes, and they just looked completely out of sync. I’ll give credit to Cleveland’s defense. They were able to put Allen under pressure and make some plays, but they were heavily aided by Allen’s injury.

The Bills’ offense is a shell of itself when Allen isn’t 100 percent. I don’t think his injury is a concern long-term, which is good, but any sort of wear and tear could kill their season.