Buffalo Rumblings
Taking a closer look at position battles and snap counts on both sides of the ball
The Buffalo Bills have now extended their winning streak to five games after defeating the Indianapolis Colts, 30-20, on Sunday afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium. This was the first time that Buffalo has won in Indianapolis since 1998! I have even better news, too, as the New York Jets got embarrassed by the Arizona Cardinals and dropped to a 3-7 record, furthering Buffalo’s AFC East lead to 5.5 games.
Things can’t always be perfect in Buffalo, however, as multiple key players were ruled out ahead of the Week 10 matchup. Wide receivers Keon Coleman and Amari Cooper are both dealing with wrist injuries and were ruled out, leaving the Bills’ wide receiver room quite thin. Additionally, fullback Reggie Gilliam has been dealing with a hip injury and has missed the last two games. For all information on the Week 10 inactives, here is the full list.
The offensive line continues to be undisciplined. Offensive tackles Spencer Brown (89%) and Dion Dawkins (100%) have totaled 10 and 9 penalties, respectively. Offensive guard O’Cyrus Torrence (99%) has even joined in on now, leading the team in holding penalties with three. It’s going to be hard to win games consistently when penalties constantly stall drives. Brown rolled his ankle in the fourth quarter, which will be something to monitor this week in practice — offensive tackle Ryan Van Demark (12%) replaced him at right tackle for the final nine snaps.
We saw some glimpses of the “same old” quarterback Josh Allen (99%), who threw two interceptions and looked noticeably flustered without talented receiving options. Nonetheless, Allen was still effective on the ground, totaling eight carries for 50 yards and a touchdown. Plus, he spread the ball around to seven different pass-catchers. With Coleman and Cooper on the shelf, wide receiver Khalil Shakir (72%) found himself as the true main option in the passing game, and he finished with six receptions for 58 yards. Wide receiver Curtis Samuel (89%) logged one more snap than Mack Hollins (88%), which was surprising considering his lack of production and usage through the first nine weeks. Both were quite effective, each totaling four receptions for a combined 121 receiving yards. It was interesting to see wide receiver Tyrell Shavers (8%) elevated from the practice squad over K.J. Hamler, but Buffalo seems to have one too many undersized gadget-type players at the moment.
Tight end Dalton Kincaid (24%) was expected to step up on Sunday against Indianapolis’ porous defense against tight ends but he picked up a knee injury and couldn’t return. It’s painful to realize that he injured his knee while trying to haul in a wide-open but overthrown ball by Allen. His injury will perhaps be the most important to monitor this week but Dawson Knox (70%) is more than capable of stepping up in his absence.
Running back James Cook (55%) had...
