Happy Victory Monday! The Buffalo Bills improved their record to 10-4 after beating the New England Patriots 35-31 on Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium. Buffalo is now one game behind New England in the AFC
East division race and reached 10 wins for the seventh consecutive season.
The injury report was ugly entering Week 15, with cornerback Christian Benford and linebacker Terrel Bernard both sidelined. Luckily, Buffalo received some good injury news, and that was the return of both defensive end Joey Bosa and wide receiver Joshua Palmer.
See the full inactives list here: Buffalo Bills Week 15 inactives at the New England Patriots
Bills Week 15 offensive snap counts (70 snaps)
D.Dawkins T 70 100%
D.Edwards G 70 100%
O.Torrence G 70 100%
C.McGovern G 70 100%
J.Allen QB 70 100%
S.Brown T 70 100%
K.Shakir WR 48 69%
J.Cook III RB 47 67%
D.Knox TE 45 64%
K.Coleman WR 39 56%
T.Shavers WR 35 50%
J.Hawes TE 31 44%
D.Kincaid TE 25 36%
B.Cooks WR 24 34%
J.Palmer WR 23 33%
Ty Johnson RB 18 26%
R.Gilliam FB 8 11%
R.Davis RB 6 9%
A.Anderson T 1 1%
Despite the slow start, the Bills’ offense made the necessary adjustments to turn things around. Buffalo found itself in an early 21-0 deficit nearing the end of the first half, so naturally, it proceeded to score five touchdowns on its following five drives. It’s always a nice sight to see all five members of the offensive line logging every snap because that means they survived another snowy game without picking up an injury.
With Joshua Palmer (33%) back in the mix and the Bills unwilling to dress six wide receivers on top of three tight ends, wide receiver Gabe Davis was the odd man out. It felt like a puzzling move, given that Davis is one of Josh Allen’s preferred targets, especially during broken plays, but it all worked out in the end. It was also clear that the Bills played it safe with Palmer, with limited snaps, as veteran Brandin Cooks (34%) logged one more snap than he did. While Cooks has just one reception for 16 yards in three games with Buffalo, his on-field presence has seemed to open things up a bit for Allen to work his magic. Khalil Shakir (69%) led all pass-catchers in virtually every category — snaps, receptions, targets, and yards. Keon Coleman (56%) ranked second among wide receivers in snaps and has just four receptions for 25 yards and a touchdown across the past three games.
It was another big tight end day for the Bills, as Dawson Knox (64%) hauled in 3-of-4 receptions for 37 yards and two touchdowns. Knox’s second touchdown put him first in franchise history for most receiving touchdowns by a tight end. Buffalo also continues to play it safe with Dalton Kincaid (36%), who logged just 25 snaps and six fewer than rookie Jackson Hawes (44%). All in all, these three guys have come up big when it has mattered the most.
Running back James Cook (67%) totaled 24 touches for 111 yards and three touchdowns. Sunday marked his fifth consecutive game with 100 scrimmage yards and eighth game in which he has eclipsed 100 rushing yards. As magical as Allen has been during these epic comebacks this season, he likely wouldn’t be able to do all of this without Cook’s production. He is just 28 yards behind Jonathan Taylor for the most rushing yards in the NFL.
Bills Week 15 defensive snap counts (52 snaps)
C.Bishop S 52 100%
M.Hairston CB 52 100%
T.White CB 52 100%
S.Thompson LB 51 98%
M.Milano LB 45 87%
T.Johnson CB 41 79%
J.Poyer S 40 77%
G.Rousseau DE 40 77%
J.Bosa DE 39 75%
D.Jones DT 35 67%
L.Ogunjobi DT 25 48%
A.Epenesa DE 23 44%
D.Walker DT 20 38%
D.Williams LB 19 37%
T.Sanders DT 14 27%
C.Lewis DB 12 23%
J.Phillips DT 9 17%
J.Hancock DB 2 4%
J.Andreessen LB 1 2%
Despite allowing 24 first-half points, the Bills’ defense completely stifled the Patriots’ offense in the second half. New England was held to just seven second-half points, and Drake Maye went 5-for-12 for 47 yards and an interception. Sunday marked the first game of the season in which Maye was held under 200 passing yards, a major improvement from the Week 5 matchup, where he threw for 273 yards.
With Christian Benford sidelined, rookie Maxwell Hairston (100%) and veteran Tre’Davious White (100%) started alongside each other for the first time this season. White intercepted Maye in the third quarter on an “arm punt” that was followed up with a 13-play, 91-yard touchdown drive that lasted 6:27. Shoutout to nickel cornerback Taron Johnson (79%), who has noticeably lost a step this season but was the primary defender of Stefon Diggs in the slot. Diggs torched Buffalo in Week 5 for 146 yards, but he was held to just three receptions for 26 yards on Sunday. Safety Jordan Poyer (77%) continues to play at a high level at 34 years old, totaling five tackles and a near-interception that bounced off his hands.
The Bills welcomed back edge rusher Joey Bosa (75%), who logged 39 snaps and totaled a pass deflection and a quarterback hit. Buffalo sacked Maye three times, but the defensive line was quiet. It was the linebacker play, particularly from Matt Milano (87%), that fueled the strong defensive play on Sunday afternoon. Milano led the team with 10 total tackles, while also logging two sacks and two tackles for a loss, and his strong play was much-needed in a game where Shaq Thompson (98%) looked just a step slow.
Bills Week 15 special teams snap counts (28 snaps)
S.Franklin DB 22 79%
J.Andreessen LB 22 79%
R.Gilliam FB 20 71%
C.Lewis DB 18 64%
T.Shavers WR 17 61%
J.Solomon DE 17 61%
D.Williams LB 17 61%
A.Jones DE 16 57%
A.Anderson T 15 54%
J.Hancock DB 14 50%
M.Prater K 11 39%
R.Davis RB 11 39%
D.Walker DT 10 36%
R.Ferguson LS 9 32%
M.Wishnowsky P 9 32%
Ty Johnson RB 6 21%
J.Poyer S 6 21%
S.Thompson LB 6 21% |
G.Rousseau DE 6 21%
D.Dawkins T 5 18%
D.Edwards G 5 18%
O.Torrence G 5 18%
D.Jones DT 5 18%
J.Hawes TE 5 18%
C.Bishop S 5 18%
R.Van Demark T 5 18%
D.Jackson CB 5 18%
S.Van Pran-Granger C/G 5 18%
K.Shakir WR 3 11%
L.Ogunjobi DT 2 7%
J.Phillips DT 2 7%
M.Hairston CB 1 4%
T.White CB 1 4%
Ta.Johnson CB 1 4%
J.Bosa DE 1 4%
