Buffalo Bills vs. Oakland Raiders: Risers and Fallers
By DJ Eberle
Risers
Tre’Davious White
Without E.J. Gaines, it was clear extra pressure was put on Tre’Davious White. And the rookie delivered.
White spent most of his time shadowing Amari Cooper and held the talented wide receiver in check all afternoon. Cooper finished with just five receptions for 48 yards on 10 targets.
In fact, on six targets, wideouts facing White only caught three passes for 26 yards. The rookie even registered one pas defense.
Derek Carr registered 61.8 passer rating when targeting White, who is putting up a good case for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Matt Milano
Matt Milano has created a good problem for the Bills coaches to have when Ramon Humber returns in the near future, which could be as soon as Thursday.
The rookie, who got his third career start in Week 7, has done a good job replacing the injured linebacker and that continued this past Sunday.
After finishing Sunday with a 40-yard fumble recovery for his first-career touchdown and four tackles, Milano sits 14th among linebackers according to Pro Football Focus.
Milano’s performance has impressed his teammates, including fellow linebacker Preston Brown.
“He’s doing a great job, finding the ball, scoring touchdowns, getting picks,” Brown said, via BNBlitz.com. “He’s doing something every week, so it’s great to have a playmaker back there. That was definitely a turn in the game right there.”
Milano has made it extremely hard for his coaches to take him completely out of the rotation when Humber returns.
Cordy Glenn
Boy, it’s been good to have Cordy Glenn back in the lineup.
The star left tackle played his best game of the year this past Sunday, and one of the best league-wide.
In 28 pass blocking snaps, Glenn scored a 97.3 pass blocking efficiency score by PFF and only allowed one hurry. He earned a 77.7 in run blocking as well.
Impressive to say the least.
Glenn has provided stability to the offensive line in both the passing game and running game. The Buffalo offense is at its peak with Glenn in the starting lineup.
Micah Hyde
With his league-leading fifth interception of the season against the Raiders, Micah Hyde continues to prove why he was the best free-agent signing in the entire NFL this offseason.
Hyde shut down Oakland pass catchers all day.
In 49 snaps in coverage, he allowed three receptions for seven yards on five targets.
Without Jordan Poyer in the starting lineup, Hyde stepped up and filled the void in the secondary. Trae Elston did play well replacing Poyer too.
His interception came on a Preston Brown tipped pass.
Jordan Mills
Jordan Mills had a tough day in the office scheduled this past Sunday, facing talent pass rusher Khalil Mack.
But the right tackle kept Mack quiet.
The Raiders pass rusher finished with just two tackles, and one quarterback hit. Midway through the third quarter, Mack had just one tackle.
For a player that has struggled much of the season, it was an impressive day.