Following the Buffalo Bills' frustrating one-point loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Bills Mafia is understandably worried. The Bills' offense struggled mightily, getting shut out for 54 minutes of game time.
Nonetheless, the Bills did find a brief moment of respite in the passing game, as Josh Allen connected on a few deep throws. Tyrell Shavers caught one, though the drive fizzled out afterwards as Allen was stopped at the one-yard line on fourth down four plays later. But that was just one of two catches for the young wideout.
It was veteran receiver Brandin Cooks who made multiple explosive plays downfield for the Bills, catching a 50-yard bomb in the first half and a 36-yard pass on the final drive of the game to set up first and goal.
While two of the three deep passes Allen connected on didn’t lead to points, it’s no less impressive that Buffalo tapped into a missing piece of the offensive attack despite all the pressure Allen was under from the Eagles’ front four. And after a string of lackluster outings from Cooks, it was a pleasant surprise for him to show up in the clutch for the Bills' offense.
Brandin Cooks finally flashes downfield juice Bills offense has been missing
For Cooks, who caught four passes for 101 yards, it was his strongest performance since 2023, his first season with the Dallas Cowboys. Cooks hadn’t topped 50 yards in a game since Week 16 of that year, and his season-high this year was just 26 yards.
Of course, the Bills are hopeful that this is a sign that Cooks can be a more featured threat in the offense.
“He had some juice in some downfield passing game. Made a really good catch there in that fourth quarter. We’re gonna need more of that going forward,” Allen said after the game.
Before Week 17, Cooks had five targets, but just one catch for 13 yards, which happened to be his first snap as a Bill. While Cooks isn’t the only receiver the Bills picked up mid-season, he’s the only one who has been consistently active in recent weeks, unlike Gabe Davis and Mecole Hardman.
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Of course, Buffalo would like to see more players get involved in the downfield passing game. Josh Palmer has been active in recent weeks, but he hasn’t had more than 21 yards in a game since October. Then there’s Keon Coleman, who can’t seem to get a helmet on Sundays anymore.
It’s not exactly ideal to lean on a 32-year-old wideout as the No. 1 downfield target in Cooks, but if he’s the only one who can rectify his struggles and come up with a big game when Buffalo needs it most, it’s the best hope the Bills’ offense has in the postseason this year.