The Buffalo Bills narrowly defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 33-30 in Week 6 and improved to 5-1 on the season. The Bills remain atop the AFC East with their win and now head into their bye week with a few things to clean up.
Buffalo was without wide receiver DJ Moore for the second consecutive week, causing the Bills to heavily rely on the run game with James Cook, who delivered in a big way.
A few defensive players stepped up in the win, but aside from them, the secondary and third-down defense continued to display their flaws, getting picked apart through the air for yet another week.
Below is my stock up and down from Buffalo’s Week 6 victory:
Stock up
QB Josh Allen
It’s Josh Allen. If the Bills win, it is likely because of him, and this game was no different. Allen finished with a 112.6 passer rating, completing 23 of his 33 pass attempts for 255 yards and two touchdowns.
He was not a weapon rushing today but used his legs several times to escape the pocket and throw the ball downfield, including his flip pass on the run to Keon Coleman for a touchdown.
James Cook was once again the workhorse back for Buffalo as he totaled 22 rushes for 95 yards and a touchdown. He was also vital through the air, tallying three receptions for 58 yards.
The biggest stat of the day for Cook was no fumbles. Heading into this game, his four fumbles this season lead all running backs, so he made sure to have both hands on the football in this one.
Keon Coleman continues to stack good games. In this outing, he led Buffalo in receiving yards with 59 on four receptions, along with a receiving touchdown. Coleman now has three consecutive weeks with a touchdown grab and has shown what he can do with Moore out.
Dalton Kincaid turned 27 during the game, and he was targeted heavily. Kincaid was targeted eight times and hauled in seven of them for 38 yards.
He had a touchdown reception called back for offensive holding on guard O’Cyrus Torrence. Kincaid needs to keep getting looked at because his production is there. He did go out for a moment with a rib injury but returned shortly after.
Bills kicker Tyler Bass was perfect today, and has been all season long on field goal attempts. Bass drilled all four of his field goal attempts and all three extra point attempts, as he is now 13-for-13 on field goal attempts this season.
The Bills defense struggled seemingly all game but did force a turnover late in the third quarter, as Dorian Williams jumped in front of a Kirk Cousins throw intended for Michael Mayer. Buffalo then scored a touchdown off the turnover.
Stock down
The Bills acquired veteran safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson this off season to pair alongside Cole Bishop, however, before halftime in this one, he was ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct after he appeared to spit in the direction of Brock Bowers.
Buffalo was forced to play Damar Hamlin and rookie Jalon Kilgore in place of him, which did not help the Bills in a close matchup.
After the game, Gardner-Johnson said, “I gotta be a better player; I gotta be a better vet. I let my emotions get the better of me and I hurt my team.”
Buffalo’s secondary struggled once again in coverage, allowing Las Vegas 313 yards through the air. Cousins had a target open seemingly all game; completing 23 passes and two touchdowns.
Tre Tucker was the leading receiver who caused trouble for the Bills secondary, scoring twice for the Raiders and catching five targets for 97 yards. Right behind Tucker in receiving, the tight ends were running wild as Mayer had seven receptions for 95 yards and Brock Bowers had four receptions for 70 yards.
This secondary is not good enough, and there must be a change somewhere, whether within the scheme or personnel, if this defense wants to win games for the offense.
Third-down defense
“The Bills struggled to get off the field on third down.”
Have you heard that before? Buffalo allowed the Raiders to convert on seven of their 12 third downs, 58%, including a third-and-thirteen.
Buffalo has to clean things up defensively during the bye week, and it starts with defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.