It wasn’t the prettiest win for the Buffalo Bills, but all that matters is that they came out with the victory and now they are sitting at 12-3. While it is still a long shot for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs, the Bills are still in the race. However, that could come to an end if the Kansas City Chiefs win on Christmas Day.
The Bills welcomed in the New England Patriots, who have a tough present but a possibly bright future at quarterback with Drake Maye. The Patriots took an early 14-0 lead and the Bills had no answers early on for New England. Then the Bills scored 24 unanswered points to eventually pull out the close 24-21 win.
There was more to be disappointed in rather than be excited about, but there were players who stood out in the Buffalo victory. At the same time, there were two specific players who didn’t live up to expectations and played a role in how the Bills barely hung on to win.
Winners:
RB James Cook
Instead of Josh Allen, running back James Cook was the star for the offense for the Bills. He finished the game with 126 total yards and 2 total touchdowns. According to the Buffalo Bills PR X account, Cook is the first Bills running back since LeSean McCoy (2016) to have back-to-back 100+ rushing yard games and the first to do it since Josh Allen back in 2018.
His highlight play of this game came in the second quarter off of a 46-yard touchdown run that got the Bills on the board. Without Cook’s effort, there is no way the Bills win this game or even find their way into the endzone.
K Tyler Bass
It was a rough start for Tyler Bass at the start of the season. At one point, the Bills brought in competition for him and that seemed to motivate Bass because now he is making nearly everything. This game was no different.
In the cold and frigid weather, Bass managed to go 3/3 on PATs and he also booted a 50-yard field goal to give the Bills their first lead of the game in the third quarter. Seeing Bass perform well in these weather conditions is reassuring that he should be good to go come playoff time.
Bills O-Line
The Bills finished with 172 yards on the ground and this run-blocking offensive line played a major role in that success. There were a handful of plays where guys like Alec Anderson and O’Cyrus Torrence helped create a hole to allow the ball-carrier to run wild at the second and third levels.
While they did give up one sack for the first time in almost a month, the pass protection was solid as well. Credit has to go to the big guys upfront in this win.
Losers:
WR Khalil Shakir
As we like to call him “Mr. Reliable”, Khalil Shakir didn’t have his typical production that he usually has. He was targeted six times but only brought in two receptions for 22 yards. He wasn’t able to get open inside or outside the numbers like we know he can, which limited Josh Allen in the passing attack.
The Bills passed in 29 times and for Shakir to not get more involved definitely hurt this offense this week.
CB Kaiir Elam
With Rasul Douglas out for the second straight week, Kaiir Elam got the nod as the replacement for him. He had a little bit of a rough game against New England, but he really hurt the Bills on the Patriots’ final offensive drive.
It seemed like the Bills were getting called for everything. They were called for seven penalties alone on that drive and Kaiir Elam was responsible for two of them including one in the endzone that allowed New England to restart their downs at 1st-and-goal.
Elam has had a big up-and-down career with the Bills and has not panned out as a great first-round pick.