Buffalo

Bills

That modest sum actually led all Bills’ wide receivers in receiving yards. That’s because their tight ends combined for almost 140 receiving yards. Davis is not a huge part of this passing game because the Bills seem to rotate all of their wide receivers regularly, but he did play the most snaps and run the most routes of any Bills receiver today. He also has Josh Allen’s trust and caught an important goal-line slant that saw him get tackled at the two-yard line in the first quarter. Still, he shouldn’t be rostered outside of the deepest formats.

Those three targets tied Khalil Shakir for the most among Bills’ wide receivers, so that’s an important piece of context. The Bengals came into today as the worst defense against tight ends, so the Bills peppered all of their tight ends with targets all game. Coleman caught a slant from Josh Allen on an audible in the red zone and was tackled down at the one, but it was a nice sign of trust from Allen in his young receiver. We still wouldn’t be looking to pick him up in redraft leagues.

Shakir worked himself open on a second-quarter play when Josh Allen bought extra time and rolled out to the sideline before threading the needle to the fourth-year receiver for a beautiful touchdown. Shakir was a bit of an afterthought today since the Bills attacked the Bengals with their tight ends all day. The matchup and snowy conditions were a big factor in Shakir’s limited usage; however, he did get tangled up with his own offensive lineman in the third quarter and came up hobbling, so keep an eye on the practice report this week.

Kincaid returned for the first time since injuring his hamstring in Week 10 and made an immediate impact. The Bills featured their tight ends heavily this weekend against the Bengals, so Kincaid didn’t see a full complement of snaps, but he looked healthy and should be right back on the TE1 radar for the remainder of the season.

The Bengals came into the day as the worst defense in the NFL at defending tight ends. That proved true in Week 14 as the Bills’ three tight ends combined for 11 catches, 137 yards, and two touchdowns. Knox was the surprising leader of the group this week, but we wouldn’t expect that to continue in the weeks ahead. This was mainly about the matchup and the snowy conditions, so don’t go chasing this on the waiver wire.

Coming off a historic performance against the Steelers, this was not quite the rushing performance many expected against the Bengals. Cook looked good, but found running room hard to come by throughout the day. He had a tough sequence in the third quarter where he ripped off a great run down the sideline, but had the ball knocked loose as he stretched for a touchdown at the 1-yard line. That run was called back for holding, and then two plays later, Cook lost a fumble for real that the Bengals recovered in the end zone. That seemed to seal a loss for the Bills before they pulled off a miraculous comeback. Cook remains an RB1 for fantasy, but he has struggled to find the end zone over the last few months, scoring four touchdowns in seven games since the team’s bye. Things won’t get easier next week against the Patriots.

To put it plainly, Allen was everything for the Buffalo offense on Sunday. He bought extra time in the pocket, threaded touchdown passes into tight coverage, made excellent throws while rolling to the boundary, and ripped off a few huge runs, including a career-long 40-yard touchdown run. Allen hasn’t been the efficient passer that we’ve gotten used to in previous seasons, but he looked every bit the MVP in this one. Things will get much tougher next week in New England, but this was a huge game for Allen and the Bills, who now have a 95 percent chance to make the playoffs.

Bishop appeared to suffer a lower-body injury at the end of Week 13’s win over the Steelers, but didn’t miss any practice time this week. Then, in the second half of Week 14, he was seen repeatedly running in place on the sideline and trying to get loose. Unfortunately for him and the Bills, he was then taken into the locker room. Cam Lewis has come in to replace him, and newly-signed Darnell Savage could potentially step in next week if Bishop has to miss any time.

The Bills’ offensive line held up well last weekend, even with Brown and left tackle Dion Dawkins (concussion) out. Dawkins is back for this one, but the Bills will still be down their starting right tackle in a snow game, where they could rely on James Cook and the rushing attack a lot. Joey Bosa continues to be week-to-week, but his loss is a big one for this pass rush, and Shaq Thompson will start again with Terrel Bernard out.

Kincaid will be active for the first time since Week 10. The Bills can certainly use him with Josh Palmer (ankle) out, and their WR corps lacking consistent producers. Kincaid was the Bills’ most reliable receiving option prior to injury, and with snow falling in this one, he could be heavily targeted over the middle of the field. For what it’s worth, Bills beat writer Joe Buscaglia predicted that Kincaid would play under 50% of the snaps today but would be on the field in most passing situations. Kincaid is probably somebody you want to start unless you have a locked in top five TE option.