Buffalo Bills: 5 players who stood out in Week 16 against the Patriots

Isaiah McKenzie

The Buffalo Bills were going to be without two of their top wide receivers in this game with Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. They were going to need someone to step up and help Stefon Diggs if they wanted to have success against this defense.

Isaiah McKenzie got the opportunity and absolutely seized it with a career game with 11 receptions, 125 receiving yards and one touchdown. It was a remarkable game considering McKenzie had seven receptions and 38 receiving yards this season entering Week 16.

One of the things that were noticeable in this game was that McKenzie brought a little more speed than Beasley. He was getting a little deeper on his routes with an average of 7.3 yards before catch and 4.1 yards after the catch. These are both higher averages than Beasley’s season averages of 4.7 yards before the catch and 3.8 yards after the catch.

It is hard to imagine that McKenzie would surpass Beasley on the depth chart but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him involved more in the offense the rest of the year.