Buffalo Bills: Breaking down the rookie class performance in Week 13

Dec 7, 2020; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Gabriel Davis (13) scores a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 7, 2020; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Gabriel Davis (13) scores a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

This is how the rookie class performed in Week 13 for the Buffalo Bills.

While it was relatively all good for the Buffalo Bills in their 34-24 win over the San Francisco 49ers, the same can’t be said for the rookie class. This is how each rookie did in Week 13 for the Buffalo Bills.

A.J. Epenesa

The coaching staff appears to be committed to giving their second round pick as much playing time as they can after Trent Murphy was inactive for the second straight week. This should come as no surprise that this correlates with the second straight week that he has played over 35% of the defensive snaps.

He finished the game with one total tackle but no pressures or sacks.

Zack Moss

The one rookie who would like to forget this week’s game is running back Zack Moss. The Bills third round pick had seen an increase in playing time and work in recent weeks, even out snapping Devin Singletary.

However, on the team’s second drive, Moss took a handoff from Josh Allen that he mis-timed and fumbled, which set up the 49ers for their first touchdown of the game. He would end up playing only 11 snaps and had three carries for nine yards.

On Tuesday, Sean McDermott talked about the lesson Moss had to learn and hopefully this is only a one time thing for the rookie.

Gabriel Davis

This was the second game in a row that Gabriel Davis replaced John Brown in the starting lineup and had another productive game. He finished with three receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown, which is the second straight game with a score.

On the season, Davis has 35 receptions for 422 yards and leads the team in receiving touchdowns with five. The emergence of Davis this season should give the coaching staff confidence that moving forward he can be a starter in this offense.

Tyler Bass

The early season butterflies are clearly gone for Tyler Bass and he is playing at a very high level, which is perfect timing heading into the final stretch of the regular season and hopefully the playoffs.

Bass against the 49ers was two for two on field goal attempts and three for three on extra point attempts. He has now gone three straight games without a miss and has only missed one field goal attempt in the past five games.

Reggie Gilliam

The undrafted free agent continues to be a key part of the special teams unit as he played 13 special teams snaps, which was about 54% of the team’s total. However, he also started to see a few more snaps on offense.

This week, he was on the field for seven snaps or about 10% of the offensive plays for the Buffalo Bills. He didn’t receive any targets but it is good to see the coaching staff trying to work him more into the offense.

Schedule