Buffalo Rumblings
Happy Victory Monday! The Buffalo Bills defeated the Cleveland Browns, 23-20, on Sunday afternoon to increase their record to 11-4. It wasn’t pretty, but good teams find ways to win, and Buffalo finds itself with its sixth-consecutive 11-game win season.
Entering Week 16, Buffalo had to scramble to find a replacement kicker for Matt Prater, who suffered a quad injury that forced him to the sideline, with Michael Badgley receiving the spot start. Linebacker Terrel Bernard returned after a four-game absence, as well as wide receiver Mecole Hardman Jr. after a short stint on Injured Reserve. To make room for Hardman, wide receiver Keon Coleman was the odd man out yet again.
See the full inactives list here: Buffalo Bills Week 16 inactives at the Cleveland Browns
D.Dawkins T 50 100%
D.Edwards G 50 100%
O.Torrence G 50 100%
C.McGovern G 50 100%
J.Allen QB 50 100%
S.Brown T 48 96%
J.Palmer WR 35 70%
D.Knox TE 34 68%
J.Hawes TE 32 64%
T.Shavers WR 29 58%
J.Cook RB 28 56%
K.Shakir WR 24 48%
D.Kincaid TE 19 38%
Ty.Johnson RB 16 32%
B.Cooks WR 12 24%
R.Gilliam FB 11 22%
R.Davis RB 8 16%
A.Anderson T 2 4%
R.Van Demark T 2 4%
The Bills’ offense logged just 50 snaps, the lowest total since October 2023. Buffalo ranks second in the NFL in time of possession, but Cleveland controlled the ball for most of the game, despite turning the ball over twice. Josh Allen (100%) might not be featured on Myles Garrett’s record-breaking highlight tape, but he also didn’t add to his own. Allen totaled just 147 yards and zero touchdowns, and even scared all of Bills Mafia when he ran to the locker room before halftime with one cleat off to receive x-rays on his foot.
Running back James Cook (56%) carried the offense despite barely logging over 50% of the snaps. Cook carried the ball 16 times for 117 yards and two touchdowns, including a 44-yard house call on Buffalo’s opening possession. Sunday marked Cook’s ninth game in 2025 where he eclipsed 100 rushing yards, and he leads the NFL in yards, with Jonathan Taylor yet to play.
Considering Allen had an abysmal game, his pass-catchers did, too, with wide receiver Khalil Shakir (48%) leading in receptions, yards, and targets. Allen’s usual go-to target, tight end Dalton Kincaid (38%), was targeted just once, and he failed to get his second foot down on the play. Tight end Dawson Knox (68%), who entered Week 16 coming off back-to-back strong outings, hauled in just one of two targets for 10 yards, and his drop was a touchdown.
It is intriguing to see wide receiver Joshua Palmer (70%) presumably back to full health, as he led all pass-catchers in snaps. However, he caught just one pass for two yards. Wide receiver Tyrell Shavers (58%) logged six fewer snaps than Palmer and was quiet on Sunday, too, with just one reception...
