The Buffalo Bills (4-1) are no longer undefeated after dropping their Week 5 matchup on Sunday Night Football to the New England Patriots, 23-20. This marks Buffalo’s first regular-season loss at Highmark Stadium since Week 10 of the 2023 season against the Denver Broncos. The all white rivalry jerseys and whiteout crowd weren’t enough to top the young, rising Patriots’ squad.
It was another uncharacteristic game for the Bills, as they turned the ball over three times (two fumbles and one interception)
and were penalized 11 times for 90 total yards. Quarterback Josh Allen has thrown an interception in back-to-back games, including five straight games against the Patriots.
The injury report has not been kind to the Bills so far this season, with defensive tackle Ed Oliver still sidelined after an injury sustained in practice following the Week 1 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Rookie defensive tackle T.J. Sanders was also unable to suit up for Week 5, leading to practice-squad call-ups for both Zion Logue and Phidarian Mathis. Linebacker Dorian Williams was ruled out with a knee injury, and wideout Elijah Moore was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. Rookie edge rusher Landon Jackson suited up for the first time in his career.
If you’re interested in seeing the full inactive list, check it out here.
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Bills offensive snap counts (68 snaps)
D.Dawkins T 68 100%
D.Edwards G 68 100%
O.Torrence G 68 100%
C.McGovern G 68 100%
J.Allen QB 68 100%
S.Brown T 68 100%
J.Cook RB 49 72%
K.Shakir WR 43 63%
K.Coleman WR 42 62%
D.Knox TE 38 56%
D.Kincaid TE 37 54%
J.Palmer WR 35 51%
C.Samuel WR 33 49%
J.Hawes TE 20 29%
T.Shavers WR 17 25%
Ty.Johnson RB 12 18%
R.Gilliam FB 8 12%
R.Davis RB 6 9%
The Bills had five offensive possessions in the first half, which went like this: fumble, punt, fumble, field goal, punt. Quick math tells me that there are only three points at home in the first half against an inferior team. The first drive was looking good until offensive coordinator Joe Brady got a little too cute by trying a handoff to tight end Dawson Knox (56%), who bobbled the ball and fumbled. The fumble was given to Josh Allen (100%), unfortunately, marking his third turnover of the season and first multi-turnover game since Week 10 of last season against the Indianapolis Colts. He also threw a bad interception in the third quarter after a promising seven-play, 52-yard drive.
Wideout Keon Coleman (62%) fumbled a ball in the second quarter on the Bills’ 11-yard line, but luckily, the defense held New England to just a field goal. Admittedly, I expected head coach Sean McDermott to send Coleman to the bench for a drive or two, as he has done in the past with running back James Cook (72%). However, that didn’t seem to be the case despite Week 5 marking the first game that Coleman had not led the Bills’ pass catchers in snaps this season. Khalil Shakir (63%) recorded just one more snap than Coleman and led the team in targets with nine. Both Joshua Palmer (51%) and Curtis Samuel (49%) reeled in two receptions each, with Samuel scoring Buffalo’s first touchdown of the game in the opening drive of the second half.
Tight end Dalton Kincaid (54%) had a career game, however, hauling in all six of his targets for 108 yards, marking his first career 100-yard game. Three of Kincaid’s top-five career games have come against the Patriots (108 yards, 87 yards, 75 yards). We didn’t hear rookie Jackson Hawes’ (29%) name often, primarily due to the fact that the running game couldn’t get going. Cook totaled 15 carries for just 49 yards, but it was hard for him to get going when the Bills’ offense was so undisciplined with penalties.
Buffalo committed eight first-half penalties, tied for the second most since McDermott became head coach in 2017. I’m not one to blame the referees, but it felt like the crew was looking for a flag every single play, and most of them were called on the Bills. From holding calls to illegal formation calls, the Bills continuously shot themselves in the foot.
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Bills defensive snap counts (60 snaps)
T.Bernard LB 60 100%
T.Rapp S 60 100%
C.Benford CB 59 98%
C.Bishop S 59 98%
T.White CB 59 98%
D.Jones DT 44 73%
G.Rousseau DE 42 70%
S.Thompson LB 40 67%
Ta.Johnson CB 39 65%
D.Walker DT 36 60%
J.Bosa DE 33 55%
M.Milano LB 32 53%
A.Epenesa DE 29 48%
Z.Logue DT 18 30%
P.Mathis DT 17 28%
L.Jackson DE 16 27%
J.Andreessen LB 9 15%
C.Lewis DB 5 8%
J.Solomon DE 3 5%
Overall, this was a solid game for the defense. It held the Patriots to just 71 rushing yards after allowing 100+ rushing yards in each of the first four weeks. But, penalties were an issue just like they were on offense. Cornerbacks Tre’Davious White (98%) and Christian Benford (98%) struggled, particularly White, who was covering former Bills wideout Stefon Diggs the majority of the time. Diggs certainly got his revenge, hauling in 10-of-12 targets for 146 yards, and was routinely cooking White on broken plays.
The defensive line applied pressure consistently but failed to hold the edge on multiple passing downs, resulting in big plays from quarterback Drake Maye, who looked a little Josh Allen-esque on Sunday. Buffalo totaled four sacks and six tackles for a loss, with edge rusher Greg Rousseau (70%) leading the way with one sack and two tackles for a loss. Joey Bosa (55%) thankfully saw fewer snaps in Week 5 after logging at least 70% of the snaps in back-to-back weeks. The 30-year-old didn’t show up on the stat sheet, however, and routinely failed to hold the edge properly. With T.J. Sanders sidelined, rookie defensive tackle Deone Walker (60%) logged 36 snaps and totaled a half-sack and one tackle for a loss.
Linebacker Dorian Williams did not suit up, so veteran Shaq Thompson (67%) drew the start, and looked good doing it. He finished with five total tackles, one sack and one tackle for a loss, and should receive strong consideration to start alongside Terrel Bernard (100%) moving forward. Linebacker Matt Milano (53%) left the game early after seemingly re-aggravating his pectoral injury, resulting in nine snaps for Buffalo Joe Andreessen (15%).
Rookie edge rusher Landon Jackson (27%) totaled 16 snaps in his first NFL game but failed to show up on the stat sheet. Javon Solomon (5%) took the backseat on defense, totaling just three snaps.
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Bills special teams snap counts (25 snaps)
J.Andreessen LB 19 76%
S.Franklin DB 19 76%
R.Gilliam FB 18 72%
J.Ingram DB 16 64%
J.Solomon DE 14 56%
C.Lewis DB 14 56%
T.Shavers WR 14 52%
J. Ciarlo LB 14 52%
D.Walker DT 10 40%
M.Prater K 9 36%
A.Epenesa DE 8 32%
T.Johnson RB 7 28%
D.Jones DT 7 28%
T.Bernard LB 7 28%
G.Rousseau DE 7 28%
D.Hamlin S 7 28%
C.Benford CB 7 28%
M. Wishnowsky P 6 24%
R.Ferguson LS 6 24%
S.Thompson LB 5 20%
J.Hawes TE 5 20%
C.Samuel WR 5 20%
C.Bishop S 5 20%
L. Jackson DE 5 20%
R.Davis RB 4 16%
A.Anderson T 4 16%
R.Van Demark T 4 16%
O.Torrence G 4 16%
D.Dawkins T 4 16%
D.Edwards G 4 16%
S.Van Pran-Granger C/G 4 16%
K.Shakir WR 4 16%
T.White CB 2 8%
T.Rapp S 2 8%
T.Johnson CB 2 8%
M. Milano LB 2 8%
J.Bosa DE 1 4%
Z. Logue DT 1 4%
Cornerback/return specialist Brandon Codrington was a healthy scratch for the second consecutive week, resulting in more punt returns for Khalil Shakir (16%) and kick returns for both Ty Johnson (8%) and Curtis Samuel (20%). It is starting to feel like Codrington’s time is up in Buffalo, but we will see how the team handles roster movement for Week 6 against the Atlanta Falcons.
Linebacker Jimmy Ciarlo (52%) was signed to the 53-man roster following the placement of cornerback Dorian Strong on injured reserve, and logged 14 snaps in his first regular-season game with the Bills. Newly-acquired punter Mitch Wishnowsky (24%) punted just twice and averaged 35 yards per punt.
