It’s Victory Monday for the Buffalo Bills after their close 33-30 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, and now they can enjoy their bye week that is coming up this week. With their 5-1 record, they remain on top of the AFC East and they are entering a week where they should benefit from the week off.
They have been dealing with key injuries, and there is so much that the coaching staff will need to look at and evaluate going into Week 8 against the Baltimore Ravens. Even though this win wasn't the most inspiring win that they have put together, it's important to celebrate it. Wins in the NFL are never easy, yet the Bills seem to find different ways to make the impossible look simple.
Coming out of this game, the Bills have a handful of winners that helped them win this close win...but they also have some members that could have easily cost them this game.
Bills' winners and losers from close Week 6 win over Raiders
Winners
QB Josh Allen
In Week 5, we saw Josh Allen utilize his legs in crucial situations to help the Bills beat the Rams. This time against the Raiders, it was his arm that got the job done as he passed for 255 yards and 2 touchdowns, which included a ridiculous 12-yard touchdown pass to Keon Coleman where Allen flicked the ball forwards high into the air and landed in Coleman’s hands.
Allen has just 5 carries for 1 yard in this game, but it was great to see him protect the football and not make any unnecessary plays that could have easily cost the Bills a drive, or even the game.
WR Keon Coleman
The absence of DJ Moore definitely does hurt the overall production of the Bills' offense, but it's been giving Keon Coleman the chance to step up in which he has. He has now caught a touchdown pass in three consecutive games, making him the first to do so since Gabe Davis in 2023, per the Bills' PR X account.
He finished as the team's leading receiver with 4 catches for 59 yards, and he has been a problem for secondaries this season in terms of them holding him in his routes that have led to penalties that have benefitted Buffalo. Coleman has been more valuable than people are giving him credit for.
S Cole Bishop
It was not a great day for the Bills' secondary overall, but Cole Bishop had a handful of great plays which included 2 key pass breakups. He also added on 7 total tackles.
Bishop hasn't become the big breakout star under Jim Leonhard that fans were hoping to see sooner than later, but his performance against the Raiders could be the start of him turning things around for the better.
K Tyler Bass
Fun fact: Tyler Bass had half of the points that the Raiders had in total. Bass scored 15 points himself, going 3/3 on PAT attempts, and then going perfect on field goal tries (4/4). Bass remains perfect on the year on field goal tries and the trust for him is as high as it has ever been. He has been very impressive this season.
CB Christian Benford
Benford has a solid pick-me-up game after a rough start to his season. He was solid in man-to-man coverage and he even had a few good lockdown plays on star tight end Brock Bowers. While there is a clear CB2 battle going on between Davison Igbinosun and Maxwell Hairston, Benford has to continue to be the CB1 for the Bills and lockdown an opponent's best receiving threat.
LB Dorian Williams
The Bills' linebacker room has been a problem this season, but Dorian Williams stepped up in a big moment in the second half that was one of the turning points of the game in favor of the Bills. He recorded his first career interception, and it led to the Bills getting a touchdown to go up 23-13.
Losers
S C.J. Gardner-Johnson
Even though the Bills got the win and that it should be the biggest headline, the Bills have a situation on their hands with safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who was ejected after it was reported in a pool report (per Matt Parrino) that he had spit on tight end Brock Bowers. That led to him being ejected, and now the NFL, and possibly Joe Brady, will have to address this issue.
Gardner-Johnson wasn't playing great at all, and then this happens...it's a terrible look for him.
WR Joshua Palmer
It's seriously time to have the conversation about Joshua Palmer. He is not effective and after two touchdowns in the first two games, he is almost nowhere to be found. Once in awhile, he will have a big catch just like he did against the Raiders with a 37-yard grab from Josh Allen.
He then dropped his second target that hit him in the hands, and then was never targeted again. Palmer is not helpful at all for this offense, and the Bills must seriously consider making him an inactive in Week 8 and earning a roster spot back.
The entire secondary
Going into this game, we knew that the Raiders were not afraid to push the ball down the field. That's exactly what they did as Kirk Cousins threw for 313 yards and tossing 2 touchdowns (and the 1 interception to Dorian Williams). Buffalo's secondary, both before and Gardner-Johnson's ejection, was struggling and they couldn't seem to come up with a stop.
They gave up a ton of big plays down the field, including a 44-yard touchdown pass from Cousins to Tre Tucker that gave the Raiders a little bit of life near the end of the 4th quarter. This pass-defense continues to be the biggest liability and it almost cost them in this game.
The entire pass rush
While Buffalo's secondary was the Achilles heel, there was almost no pass rush from the guys up front. While Greg Rousseau managed to get a batted pass attempt, the Bills didn't record one sack. They did manage to record 6 QB hits, but the pass rush was almost nowhere to be found and it hurt the secondary. It was a bit of complimentary football between the two units, just in a bad way.
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