The Buffalo Bills played their final game of the 2020 season on Sunday night after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs 38-24 in the AFC Championship Game. The Buffalo Bills continued to lean on their stars but also saw other players play big roles on Sunday night.
These are a few things that stood out when looking at the snap counts for the Buffalo Bills against the Chiefs.
Buffalo Bills Offense
The Buffalo Bills this past week continued to play most of the game in 1-1 formation with three wide receivers, one tight end, and one running back. Among the three wide receivers, John Brown played 97% of the snaps, Stefon Diggs followed closely after at 95% and Cole Beasley played 84% of the snaps.
The workload of Beasley is very impressive when considering he announced after the game he has been playing with a broken fibula, which he suffered back in Week 16. It is remarkable for Beasley to have the performance he did in the playoffs while dealing with the injury he was.
One player that saw a significant increase in playing time this past week was T.J. Yeldon, who played 52% of the snaps, which was the same number as Devin Singletary. The veteran running back hasn’t seen much playing time over the past two years but the injury suffered by Zack Moss opened an opportunity for T.J. Yeldon.
Buffalo Bills Defense
For the second time in three games, the Bills leaned heavily on Mario Addison and Jerry Hughes who played 69% and 74% of the defensive snaps respectively. It wasn’t surprising to see the coaching staff look to the veterans to play more in a big game like the AFC Championship Game.
The rotation at defensive tackle looked a little more balanced as Ed Oliver led the way with 57% of the snaps but Harrison Phillips was second at 51%. The play of Phillips in the playoffs was a pleasant surprise and he had some of his best games of the seasons in the last two games.
The Bills also had almost an even rotation at cornerback opposite Tre’Davious White with Levi Wallace on the field for 54% and Josh Norman at 46%. This is something the coaching staff has been doing the entire postseason as they split time between the two players and it certainly raises questions about what the plan is moving forward at the cornerback position and if Wallace or Norman are viewed as the full-time answer.