Buffalo Bills midseason report card: Running backs have been elite, receivers need to do more
One of the first things Sean McDermott said after his team beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday is that the Buffalo Bills are not where they need to be.
One of the first things Sean McDermott said after his team beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday is that the Buffalo Bills are not where they need to be.
But they are getting closer.
With nine weeks of the NFL season in the books, the Bills and every other team have reached the halfway point.
With a 6-2 record, the Bills are a half-game behind the New England Patriots in the AFC East and hold the No. 5 seed in the conference’s playoff standings.
The Bills entered their bye in Week 7 on a two-game losing streak, but have emerged from the break with two straight wins, including arguably their most complete effort of the season against the Chiefs.
“It's really the piece that we are learning about ourselves is how we need to do things collectively as a team in order to put ourselves in a position to play good football and to play winning football,” McDermott said. “Whether that means we win or not … the results sometimes can be variable. But we have to put ourselves in that position. There is how that gets you there. That's one of the things that I believe our team is learning right now.”
The second half of the schedule starts Sunday in South Florida against the Dolphins, but first, here is a position-by-position report card on where the Bills are midway through the year.
Quarterbacks: B
Josh Allen has not been bad by any stretch, but he’s also not played up to his MVP level of a year ago. Here is where he ranks in the rudimentary passing stats: 1,833 yards (15th), 13 touchdowns (tied for 13th), 157 completions (21st), 223 attempts (23rd), 8.2 yards per attempts (tied for fourth), four interceptions (tied for 18th), 17 sacks (tied for 13th), 107.0 passer rating (seventh). He does have seven rushing touchdowns, which we have to factor into our overall evaluation.
Digging a little deeper, Allen ranks 23rd in air yards per attempt, according to Next Gen Stats, at 7.5. So he’s not pushing the ball down the field, although that can be as much scheme and play design as it is an unwillingness to throw deep on Allen’s part. Backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky has appeared only in mop-up duty.
Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
Running backs: A
This should really read, James Cook: A. He has been the Bills’ running game, ranking second in the league in rushing yards with 867, behind only the Colts’ Jonathan Taylor, who has 895. Cook has been everything the Bills could have asked for and more after signing a contract extension. He has 221 rushing yards over expected, according to Next Gen Stats, which leads the league.
It’s not a stretch to say it’s been Cook, and not Allen, who has been Buffalo’s offensive MVP to this point. That’s a good thing, because the Bills aren’t getting much from their other running backs. Second-year veteran Ray Davis has become a forgotten man in the offense, with just 22 carries for 46 yards – an average of just 2.1 per rush. Ty Johnson has 17 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown. Reggie Gilliam’s role at fullback has increased to the tune of 24% of the offensive snaps to this point. He’s been a big key to the running game’s success.
Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
Wide receivers: C-
Where do we even start? Outside of one great quarter against the Ravens, Keon Coleman’s season has been a disappointment. He’s got 29 catches for 284 yards and two touchdowns. Joshua Palmer has missed the past two games with an ankle injury. Signed because he was thought of as a separator, his average separation is just 2.2 yards, according to Next Gen Stats, which is the worst number on the team. Palmer has 14 catches for 234 yards and has yet to catch a touchdown. The Bills surely expected more when paying him $12 million annually.
Curtis Samuel has been a disaster of a free-agent signing. When he’s on the field, and not a healthy inactive, he’s given the team just four catches for 41 yards. Elijah Moore has filled the gadget receiver role, while Tyrell Shavers mostly has been asked to block. The one receiver living up to expectations is slot Khalil Shakir, who has 38 catches for 399 yards. A whopping 354 of those yards have come after the catch, a category in which Shakir ranks second in the league.
Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
Tight ends: A-
It’s been the breakout season fans were hoping for last year from Dalton Kincaid. He leads the team with 411 receiving yards on 27 catches, a healthy average of 15.2 yards per catch. Kincaid is catching nearly 82% of his targets (33 total) and might rank second in reliability in the passing game behind only Shakir. No. 2 tight end Dawson Knox has nine catches for 118 yards and a touchdown, while rookie Jackson Hawes has added seven catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. That’s a great level of production collectively from the group.
The Bills have used packages with all three tight ends on the field at the same time, which gives them a run-pass option that has given opposing defenses trouble.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Offensive line: A
Allen has been sacked 17 times, which is more than he was all of last season. Buffalo’s sack percentage is 6.9%, which ranks 13th in the league (a lower number is better). Still, not all of those sacks can be placed on the line. Bills quarterbacks have been pressured 70 times, which is No. 3 in the league behind only Pittsburgh (60) and Seattle (65). On average, it takes 2.79 seconds for pressure to appear, which ranks No. 9 in the league.
As run blockers, the Bills have been stuffed just 12.5% of the time, which ranks No. 3 in the league. The Bills run the ball on 51% of their plays, which makes them the most run-heavy team in the league by percentage. They average 161.5 rushing yards per game, a full 17 yards per game better than any other team in the league. They are successful on 49.2% of their run plays, again the top number in the league. This is an elite rushing team, led by an offensive line that has stayed mostly healthy – right tackle Spencer Brown is the only starter to have missed a game, and he missed just one.
Harry Scull, Buffalo News
Defensive line: B
The Bills are generating pressure on 38.4% of opponent pass plays, according to Next Gen Stats, which ranks No. 6 in the league. However, opposing quarterbacks are holding the ball for 2.90 seconds, which is the third longest, which could explain some of that. Individually, Joey Bosa has been excellent, with 35 total pressures, which ranks 12th in the league. On the down side, Bosa has missed 10 tackles, according to analytics website Pro Football Focus, which is way too high of a number for a defensive lineman. Greg Rousseau got off to a slow start, but he’s come on of late. He’s got four sacks and 27 total pressures.
It would be nice to see his sack total hit double digits this year. The line has had to deal with injuries to defensive tackles DaQuan Jones, Ed Oliver and T.J. Sanders and, most recently, Michael Hoecht. Considering all the moving pieces, it’s held up pretty well. The run defense remains an issue, but that’s on the linebackers as well as the defensive line. Speaking of which …
Derek Gee, Buffalo News
Linebackers: D
It’s been a tough year for both starters, Terrel Bernard and Matt Milano. They rank No. 129 and No. 149 out of 153 players graded at the position by Pro Football Focus. That is a huge reason for some of the defense’s struggles. Milano can’t stay healthy, missing four complete games and the equivalent of another by missing two halves because of a pectoral injury. He has been an absolute liability as a run defender when he’s on the field. Bernard also is struggling as a run defender, with a missed tackle rate that ranks among the highest in the league. Their regression is a major concern for the defense. Shaq Thompson has stepped into the lineup and played pretty well when called upon, although he’s now dealing with a hamstring injury.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Secondary: C-
The safety duo at the start of the year, Taylor Rapp and Cole Bishop, was off to a horrific start. Bishop, however, played the best game of his career against the Chiefs, providing some hope that he’s turned a corner. Rapp, meanwhile, is on injured reserve following knee surgery that is expected to keep him out for the season. Jordan Poyer and rookie Jordan Hancock are rotating in Rapp’s place. At cornerback, first-round draft pick Maxwell Hairston’s debut in Week 8 after a knee injury started him on injured reserve at the beginning of the season has energized the group. Hairston’s elite speed has made an immediate impact.
Christian Benford ranks No. 150 among 189 graded cornerbacks by Pro Football Focus, as he’s struggled to back up an excellent 2024 season. The same can be said for nickel cornerback Taron Johnson, which helps explain some of the secondary’s issues during the first half of the season.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Specialists: B
Veteran Matt Prater has been solid in place of the injured Tyler Bass at kicker, although he missed a 52-yard field goal last week against the Chiefs that could have iced the game. The Bills have had to use three punters this season, although Mitch Wishnowsky, who currently has the job, has looked pretty good, with a 41.9-yard net average and nine of 14 punts being placed inside the 20-yard line. Long snapper Reid Ferguson has been solid.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
