The Buffalo Bills (5-1) had to be feeling good about themselves after coming off an overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams, but on the road to the Super Bowl, every game is important. Buffalo continued their west-coast road trip with a matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders (3-3) and the Bills did what they needed to do to leave Sin City with another win.
The Bills beat the Raiders 33-30 on Sunday in a game where neither offense had trouble getting whatever they wanted so it fell on Buffalo to be the one to make the last play. Bills quarterback Josh Allen had one of his better games of the season as he completed 23 of his 33 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns while running back James Cook kept the pressure on Las Vegas' defense with 22 carries
for 95 yards and one touchdown.
Buffalo's defense has had better days as it allowed Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins to throw for 313 yards and two touchdowns, but the Bills did hold Las Vegas' running game to just 65 yards on 3.3 yards per carry. After Sunday's victory propelled the Bills to a 5-1 record, here is Bills Wire's stock report for the team following the win over the scrappy Raiders:
Stock Up: QB Josh Allen
Allen did not make much happen on the ground against the Raiders despite the fact that there were opportunities to do so, but that makes this game more impressive to see from the superstar. Allen was able to spread the football to many players within the receiving corps and he did so while making good decisions, delivering good passes to his teammates, and protecting the football.
Stock Down: WR Khalil Shakir
This was an interesting game to see from Shakir given that he got open enough to garner some targets, but he wasn't able to rip off many big plays when Buffalo needed it. Shakir has been more involved in the Bills' offense over the past couple of weeks, but that's what made this game disappointing as he seemed to revert back to his early season form where he didn't make much of an impact.
Stock Up: S Cole Bishop
Bishop is still growing into his role as one of the safeties that the Bills will be able to rely on for the next few years, but his talent in games like this is too much to deny. Bishop will make mistakes as a young player, but with his sure-tackling ability and his ability to get his hands on some footballs within the defensive coverage scheme is helpful for Buffalo in their pursuit of getting to the Super Bowl.
Stock Down: LB Greg Rousseau
Rousseau has been one of the best defensive linemen/linebackers in the NFL this season and it's due to how well he has been rushing the passer for a Bills defense that wants to apply as much pressure as possible. The disappointing news is that in a game where Buffalo was struggling to separate from an upstart Raiders team led by quarterback Kirk Cousins, Rousseau wasn't able to have that kind of impact on Las Vegas' offensive line.
Stock Up: RB James Cook
Cook has been one of the best players on the Bills roster over the past few seasons and it's because of his ability to be dominant running the football whether he gets plenty of carries or not. While head coach Joe Brady had something to say about Cook fumbling the ball as much as he did last week, Brady went back to Cook to be the steadying force within the offense.
Stock Down: WR Skyler Bell
Bell is still just a few games into his rookie season after the Bills selected him with a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, but with Buffalo still looking for receiving production, Bell's inability to step up was disappointing to see. At this point in the season, the passing games is concentrated around Dalton Kincaid, Khalil Shakir, and Keon Coleman, but Bell has a chance to make some headway into the rotation, but he has to be ready to make plays.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Stock up, stock down following the Bills' 33-30 win over the Raiders
