Buffalo Rumblings
Taking a closer look at position battles and snap counts on both sides of the ball
Your Buffalo Bills hold a 7-2 record after topping the Miami Dolphins, 30-27, on a last-second 61-yard field goal on Sunday afternoon at Highmark Stadium. It certainly wasn’t a stress-free game for Bills Mafia but good teams find ways to win even when things aren’t going as expected. The Bills still hold a four-game lead in the AFC East because the New York Jets won on Thursday Night Football. But, isn’t this one of the most beautiful images you’ve ever seen?
Both teams came into this divisional matchup missing key pieces on both sides of the ball. The Bills ruled out wide receiver Amari Cooper (wrist) after he was seen entering the stadium on Sunday morning with this wrist wrapped. A surprising inactive was cornerback Christian Benford (wrist), arguably the biggest blow because he has been nothing short of elite this season. Additionally, Buffalo’s special teams unit took a hit with fullback Reggie Gilliam (hip) being ruled out after picking up a hip injury during Wednesday’s practice. For all information on the Week 9 inactives, here is the list.
Unfortunately, the Bills came out a bit flat to start the game, going three-and-out on their first drive of the game. Quarterback Josh Allen (100%) was locked in, however, throwing for 235 yards and three touchdowns. Multiple awful penalties took away much more Allen dominance, including an impressive 20+ yard rushing touchdown. On Buffalo’s fourth offensive possession, both tackle Dion Dawkins (100%) and guard O’Cyrus Torrence (100%) picked up back-to-back holding penalties and completely stalled the drive, leading to only three points.
Allen threw his second interception of the season, sadly, and it wasn’t even his fault. Rookie wideout Keon Coleman (79%), who led the team in snaps with Cooper sidelined, beat Jalen Ramsey on a slant route three yards out but bobbled the ball twice, leading to the interception. Coleman injured his wrist on the final offensive possession of the game after none other than Jordan Poyer led with his helmet and drew the game-deciding penalty. He is scheduled to have x-rays on Monday morning to determine the extent of his injury — fingers crossed, Bills Mafia.
Mack Hollins (68%), the unsung hero of the team, operated as WR2 in terms of snaps and hauled in Buffalo’s first touchdown of the game on a fourth down play. Allen targeted nine different pass-catchers and connected with eight of them, with tight end Dalton Kincaid (79%) leading with 10 targets. Wide receiver Khalil Shakir (53%) led the team with six receptions for 50 yards on seven targets.
In Week 2’s matchup in Miami, running back James Cook (55%) had himself a monster three-touchdown day but that wasn’t the case in Week 9. The Dolphins did a good job of limiting the Bills’ usually-humming running game but once rookie Ray Davis (14%) came in here and there to add...
