5 Positives and negatives for the Buffalo Bills going into the offseason

Buffalo Bills Positive: Breakout Performers on Offense

The Bills significantly boosted their offense down the stretch when they put Devin Singletary, Gabriel Davis, and Ryan Bates into more prominent roles on offense. Each player performed well, and they are all young, so they will have a chance to establish themselves as critical parts of this team for years to come.

For example, from Week 1 to Week 13, the second-year wide receiver Gabriel Davis never played more than 52% of the snaps. Then from Week 14 on, he played more than 70% of the snaps in every game and came down with four touchdowns in five games. Then in the Divisional Round, Davis went nuclear on the Chiefs. He showed every part of his arsenal; route running, speed, size, and hands, and had one of the greatest playoff games we’ve seen from a receiver with 201 yards and an NFL record four touchdowns.

Devin Singletary never saw more than 75% of the snaps from Week 1 to Week 13, but then he finished his season by playing over 75% of the snaps in 6 of the last seven games, including 100% of the snaps against the Chiefs. After years of shuffling the backfield, the Bills finally committed to Singletary, and he rewarded them by going over 90 total yards four times in that span.

Ryan Bates got his first full-time reps at the left guard position during the Week 16 game against the Patriots, which coincided with the Bills offensive line playing their best game of the season. Bates stayed in the lineup from that point forward, and the Bills went four straight games without allowing a sack before they finally surrendered two against the Chiefs.

All three players broke out down the stretch, which led to the Bills playing their best football of the season from week 15 on; all three players are young and should only get better.