Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills came into their final regular-season game against the New York Jets with a playoff berth clinched. The Bills were guaranteed a wild card spot, but whether they would end up the five, six, or seven seed was still up for grabs. After the Houston Texans came from behind to beat the Indianapolis Colts during the early games on Sunday, Buffalo knew they could only be trendy and end up the six or seven seed.
Well, thanks to a loss by the Los Angeles Chargers and a dominant victory by the Bills, we now know that Buffalo is the six seed and heading to Duval County, FL to face off against the Jacksonville Jaguars next Sunday afternoon. The Bills didn’t play most of their starters in Week 18, instead letting the reserves do the heavy lifting. The Jets were no match for Buffalo’s backups, as the Bills racked up 470 total yards while allowing a season-low 122 yards to a Jets’ offense playing plenty of backups, as well.
Our five players to watch not only played on Sunday, but they played well. Here’s how our five players to watch performed in what will likely be the final game ever played at Highmark Stadium.
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QB Mitchell Trubisky
After Josh Allen took the first snap, extending his league-leading consecutive start streak to 135 games (122 regular-season games plus 13 playoff games) by handing off to James Cook III, he jogged off the field and ceded the reins to Trubisky. The backup delivered one of his finest career performances against an overmatched Jets defense.
Full disclosure: I couldn’t watch much of the first matchup between these two teams. I was coaching my eight-year-old son’s soccer team in the fall, and we had a game at the same time as the first matchup.
Watching on Sunday, I was stunned by just how bad the Jets are. Trubisky moved Buffalo’s offense like Shakira — wherever, whenever — throwing for 259 yards and four touchdowns while completing 76% of his passes. Trubisky threw a few near-interceptions, which would have broken the Jets’ season-long streak without one, but New York was unable to secure any of the “turnover-worthy plays.”
Trubisky showed off his mobility, as well, scrambling once for nine yards, but also in moving in the pocket to buy time for his receivers to separate. His touchdown passes went to tight end Dawson Knox, running back Ty Johnson, wide receiver Gabe Davis, and running back Ray Davis.
Is Trubisky someone who can lead a team to contention over the course of a 17-game schedule? Perhaps not. However, he proved once again that he is more than capable of stepping in and leading an offense in the short term when called upon.
RB Ray Davis
What a day for Buffalo’s third running back. Davis has had a difficult season, with a far more limited (read: nearly non-existent) role on offense this year. However, he had a career day on Sunday.
Davis handled the vast...
