Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills flattened the Pittsburgh Steelers 26-7 on Sunday afternoon, bringing their season record to 8-4. Buffalo now holds possession of the seven seed in the AFC, with the Cincinnati Bengals, New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, and New York Jets all on tap for the final five games of the season.
The Week 13 injury report was rather lengthy, with offensive tackles Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown both sidelined, along with wide receiver Joshua Palmer and tight end Dalton Kincaid. On defense, linebacker Terrel Bernard was unable to suit up after sustaining an elbow injury in Week 12. Second-year wideout Keon Coleman was active for the first time since Week 10, and newcomer Brandin Cooks, who signed with the team last week, was also active.
A.Anderson T 74 100%
D.Edwards G 74 100%
O.Torrence G 74 100%
R.Van Demark T 74 100%
J.Allen QB 74 100%
C.McGovern G 74 100%
D.Knox TE 53 72%
J.Hawes TE 52 70%
T.Shavers WR 45 61%
J.Cook III RB 45 61%
G.Davis WR 43 58%
K.Shakir WR 36 49%
K.Coleman WR 33 45%
Ty.Johnson RB 20 27%
B.Cooks WR 17 23%
R.Davis RB 13 18%
R.Gilliam FB 9 12%
K.Latu TE 4 5%
Despite the 19-point win, the offense certainly still left points on the table. Buffalo’s first five offensive possessions went as follows: Interception, Punt, Punt, Fumble, Field Goal. Allen (100%) has turned the ball over seven times in just the last four games, while running back James Cook (61%) has fumbled twice in the same span. Cook kept the offense afloat; however, the back totaled a career-high 32 carries for 144 yards. Even Ray Davis (18%) joined in on the fun, totaling nine carries for 62 yards. The rushing attack was so efficient that it set a record for most rushing yards in Pittsburgh since Acrisure Stadium was first built in 2001.
It makes sense that the Bills leaned on the running game, too, given that both starting tackles were sidelined and the weather conditions were rather windy. This resulted in spot starts for both Ryan Van Demark (100%) and Alec Anderson (100%). While Anderson had some early hiccups, these two did a solid job in containing Pittsburgh’s powerful edge rushers, and Allen finished the game with zero sacks taken.
As a result of both tackles being sidelined, the Bills’ passing game suffered. Allen threw an interception in a tight window on the first drive of the game and finished with just 123 passing yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Brandin Cooks (23%) expectedly logged the fewest snaps by a wideout, but he hauled in his only target for 13 yards on a third-down play on the first drive. Allen’s interception came while targeting wide receiver Gabe Davis (58%), who finished with just one reception for five yards. The passing game was so lackluster that Cook led all pass catchers in receptions (3) and yards (33), with tight end...
