NFL Player News

Carter, Jaelan Phillips (ankle), and Nakobe Dean (hamstring) were all ruled out and should all get better around the time Philadelphia’s first Wild Card playoff report comes out. Until then, it will be Philadelphia’s reserves dealing with Josh Johnson, Chris Rodriguez, and “Bill” Croskey-Merritt. Week 18 is here.

Stidham has not thrown an NFL pass since 2023, but after the jaw-dropping reveal that Bo Nix (ankle) will miss the remainder of the playoffs after breaking a bone deep in overtime, Payton announced that Stidham will start the AFC title game. Sam Ehlinger is the only other quarterback on the roster. Stidham has a 1-3 career record as a starter with a 59.4 percent completion rate, eight touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Whoever wins the Patriots/Texans game on Sunday will almost undoubtedly be favored next Sunday.

Mims had topped 30 yards receiving only twice during the regular season, but he showed up big when the Broncos needed him most. Both Pat Bryant (concussion) and Troy Franklin (hamstring) left this game early, and Mims stepped up to fill their shoes. His biggest catch was a go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter. After the Bills had to bring in fourth-string cornerback Dane Jackson, Mims burned him on a corner route and hauled in a tough over-the-shoulder catch in the end zone. It’s unclear if either of Franklin or Bryant will be cleared to play next week, so Mims may be relied on heavily again, but with Bo Nix out for the remainder of the season, it’s hard to get excited about this Broncos passing attack.

Cooks made two spectacular almost catches. On one of them, he caught the ball while twisting on the sideline, and his knee came down in bounds, but his wrist landed a fraction of a second earlier and landed out of bounds. The other play was far more controversial. It seemed like Cooks had hauled in a 44-yard pass to set the Bills up for a game-winning field goal in overtime, but the ball was stripped away by a Broncos defender. The Bills believed Cooks was down by contact before the ball was stripped loose, but the call was not reviewed, and the Broncos would then drive for a game-winning field goal of their own. The 32-year-old came on down the stretch for the Bills, showing that he still has enough deep speed to make big plays. He finished the season with 24 catches on 36 targets for 279 yards and no touchdowns in 15 games with the Bills and Saints. Some team will sign him in free agency and give him a role as a deep threat.

Shakir led the Bills in catches and targets, as he has for much of the season. Shakir made a few big catches, including one for 46 yards, but the Broncos’ defense is fast and hard-hitting, and prevented him from ripping off chunks of yardage on most of his receptions. Shakir finished the regular season with 72 catches on 95 targets for 719 yards, all of which led the team. He also had four touchdowns, but the Bills’ lack of other receiving weapons forced them to use him as a quick-hitting screen receiver more often than you’d like to see. Hopefully, a more dynamic receiving room in 2026 will open up more opportunities for Shakir to be a trustworthy WR3 in fantasy.

It is an absolute shockwave after the Broncos survived the Bills in overtime of the Divisional Round. Nix reportedly hurt the ankle on the second-to-last play of regulation. Jarrett Stidham would seem to be in line to start the AFC Championship game at home against the winner of Patriots/Texans next Sunday. Nix’s season ends with a 3931-25-11 passing line in the regular season, along with a 279-3-1 game against the Bills in the Divisional Round. Nix didn’t exactly take a notable step forward in his second season, but he was clutch — he led the league with seven game-winning drives — and he’d already shown enough talent to be a low-end franchise quarterback in his rookie year. Assuming this injury isn’t something that will sideline him for multiple months of the offseason, he’ll likely enter 2026 as a low-end QB1 in fantasy circles.

The one target that will stand out the most is Josh Allen missing Knox for what could have been a game-winning touchdown in the final seconds of regulation. It’s a pass the two have connected on multiple times throughout the years, but the ball simply sailed over Knox’s head and into the end zone. On the season, Knox played in all 17 games, five more than his tight end teammate Dalton Kincaid, totaling 417 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 36 catches. The 29-year-old is set to make $10.7 million next season, but the Bills could opt out of that deal and take $7.4 million in dead cap if they wanted to. It’s a situation to monitor this offseason, but that’s a large dead cap hit for a team to take.

Kincaid was the Bills’ most impactful receiver in this game and during the year as well. The team was far more efficient offensively when he was out there. Unfortunately, he battled injuries yet again and played in just 12 games. He had 39 catches for 571 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. The advanced metrics loved his game as well, highlighting tremendous separation scores and yards per attempt. Kincaid has all the talent to be a clear TE1 in fantasy football and the top receiving option in Buffalo, but the injuries have made it hard to rely on getting that production from him.

Davis was technically the Bills’ backup running back, handling the second-most carries and gaining 275 rushing yards on 4.7 yards per carry over the season. However, Ty Johnson was used far more often in the red zone and had 24 catches to Davis’ 10. Davis did emerge as an elite kick returner, leading the NFL in yards per return at 30.4. That just won’t provide much fantasy value heading into next season.

Cook also added 24 receiving yards on two carries. He looked tremendous for much of the game against the second-best run defense in the NFL. Unfortunately, he was held in check for much of the fourth quarter, and he lost a crucial fumble in the first quarter as the Bills were driving to go up 14-3 and take a stranglehold on the game. The Broncos then drove down the field for a go-ahead score, and the dynamic of the game changed drastically. It was a tremendous season for Cook, who led the NFL with 1,621 rushing yards on 5.2 yards per carry. He also had 12 rushing touchdowns and 291 receiving yards with another two touchdowns. He was clearly the second most important player on the Bills offense and is an RB1 for fantasy next season.

McLaughlin appeared to be the choice to attack the Bills’ weakness on the outside of their run defense. He gained over five yards per carry, but Sean Payton went away from him almost entirely in the second half. It remains to be seen how Payton will split the carries between McLaughlin and RJ Harvey next week, but McLaughlin appeared to be the more dynamic runner tonight.