Buffalo Rumblings
Taking a closer look at position battles and snap counts on both sides of the ball
The Buffalo Bills continue to circle the wagons. Despite dropping two back-to-back games in Weeks 4 and 5, Buffalo has turned it around in dominant fashion, dismantling the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday afternoon, 31-10, and bringing its record to 6-2.
Want to hear even better news? Both the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins (the supposed “threats” to steal the AFC East crown this season) lost on last-second scores, furthering Buffalo’s division lead to four games. If the Bills keep doing what they’re doing, there’s a very good chance the division can be clinched by Thanksgiving.
After last week’s “clean” injury report, naturally, the Bills added some key names to the list ahead of the Week 8 tilt against the Seahawks. Linebacker Terrell Bernard and wide receiver Curtis Samuel were ruled out ahead of kickoff. For more information on this past week’s inactives, here is the list.
For what feels like the first time all season, the Bills didn’t come out flat on offense. Despite the first drive being plagued by penalties, the offense overcame the adversity and still took an early 7-0 lead. Quarterback Josh Allen (91%) was locked in from the start of the game, starting 6-for-6 and eventually finding rookie wideout Keon Coleman (83%), who ‘mossed’ the tallest cornerback in the league for a two-yard touchdown.
Allen sadly threw his first interception of the season after wide receiver Amari Cooper (50%) slipped on a slant route and the Seahawks’ defender jumped it perfectly. Wide receiver Khalil Shakir (58%) was cookin’ — hauling in a career-high 9-of-10 targets for 107 yards, and tight end Dalton Kincaid (54%) finally found the end zone for the first time since Week 3. Even Dawson Knox (54%) was highly effective with two receptions for 50 yards.
When running back James Cook (55%) really gets going, the opposing defense is in for a long go of things. The 25-year-old averaged a whopping 6.5 yards per carry on 17 carries and found the end zone twice. In just seven games this season, Cook has found the end zone eight times after totaling just NINE (!) across his first two seasons in the NFL. Rookie Ray Davis (22%) remains a perfect change-of-pace back for Buffalo, averaging 4.8 yards per carry on six carries. At this point, there should be arguments for Buffalo fielding a top-five running back room.
One not-so-great takeaway from this dominant win is that the offensive line still seems to lack maturity. Buffalo leads the league in false starts (16) and ranks 10th in total penalties (53) despite fielding virtually the same line as last season. It’s concerning that tackles Spencer Brown (100%) and Dion Dawkins (91%) are usually the guys getting flagged for these false starts, each totaling four already this season. The Bills are good enough to overcome adversity throughout a game but it’s not always...
