Buffalo Bills: Rookie Report from playoff win over Colts

The Buffalo Bills got some big performances from their rookies against the Indianapolis Colts.

Over the course of the regular season, the Buffalo Bills have seen players from their rookie class step up at different points. This past week against the Indianapolis Colts was no different as two rookies, in particular, made plays that were major contributors to the Bills ultimately coming away with the win.

This is a recap of how each rookie did in their first career playoff game.

A.J. Epenesa

Since the bye week, the coaching staff has been getting A.J. Epenesa on the field for roughly 30% of the defensive snaps. However, this week the Bills relied more on their veteran defensive ends as Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison played over 75% of the defensive snaps.

This didn’t leave much left for A.J. Epenesa who played 28% of the defensive snaps against the Colts. He finished the game with one total tackle.

It will be interesting to see if this is a one-time thing or if Epenesa is going to see his snaps limited during the course of the playoffs.

Zack Moss

While he started the season slow, in the second half of the year Zack Moss became a much bigger part of this offense. He had a stretch from Week 13-16 where he had 12 or more carries. This past game against the Colts he looked to be on his way to double digit carries but unfortunately suffered an injury that forced him to leave the game.

The news didn’t get any better on Monday for Moss as it was reported the rookie would miss the remainder of the playoffs due to the ankle injury.

Gabriel Davis

The return of John Brown meant Gabriel Davis moved down the depth chart and went from playing almost every snap to playing 54% against the Colts. However, even with the decrease in snaps, he didn’t see much decrease in targets as he had four, which is only one less than the final three games of the regular season when he had five in each.

Davis in particular made two key plays on the final drive of the first half with two spectacular sideline grabs that accounted for 37 and 19 yards. Those plays were key to the Bills 96-yard drive that ended with a Josh Allen five-yard rushing touchdown.

Even with John Brown back, Gabriel Davis looks like he will continue to get opportunities to make plays in the playoffs with the Baltimore Ravens up next.

Tyler Bass

The rookie placekicker has been locked in over the second half of the year and this past week against the Colts was no different as he made three extra point attempts and two field goal attempts from 46 and 54-yards out.

The field goal attempts, in particular, are worth noting because this was one of the big reasons the team made the switch at the position this offseason. While Stephen Hauschka was a good kicker, he lost leg strength and struggled with kicks over 50 yards.

However, with Tyler Bass in the role now the coaching staff the scoring range is extended, and when faced with field goal attempts over 50 yards they can feel confident in Bass’ ability to make those kicks.

Reggie Gilliam

After missing the final two regular season games for the Buffalo Bills, Reggie Gilliam was active and returned to his role as a key part of special teams. He finished the game playing 16 special teams snaps (62%) while also playing two offensive snaps.