It was another big win over a big rival last Sunday
The Buffalo Bills pulled out a gritty 30-27 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. After taking the lead in the fourth quarter, Buffalo could not prevent Miami from tying the game with under two minutes to go in regulation. Then, the improbable happened: embattled kicker Tyler Bass drilled a franchise-record 61-yard kick with five second to go, sealing the victory for the Bills.
Buffalo had plenty of players come up big on Sunday. Here’s how our five players to watch performed this week.
QB Josh Allen
It was another week of Josh Allen doing Josh Allen things. He scrambled for big first downs, and it even appeared for a moment that he’d tied O.J. Simpson for second place on the Bills’ all-time rushing touchdowns list when he broke free for a ridiculous 21-yard rushing touchdown.
A phantom holding call on right guard O’Cyrus Torrence wiped that out, though, and while Buffalo had to settle for a field goal, Allen had to remain in third place in rushing touchdowns. No matter, as he threw three passing touchdowns in the second half, with one each going to wide receiver Mack Hollins, running back Ray Davis, and tight end Quintin Morris. Those touchdowns moved him past Joe Ferguson into second place all-time in touchdown passes in franchise history. Allen now has 184 passing touchdowns. He needs 53 more to tie Jim Kelly for the most in Bills’ history.
As for Sunday, Allen was a dog as usual, completing 25-of-39 passes for 235 yards, three scores, and an interception when Keon Coleman dropped what easily would have been a fourth touchdown pass. Allen rushed twice for seven yards.
WR Khalil Shakir
Buffalo’s best receiver remains Shakir, who can run every route necessary and who is a YAC machine. Shakir caught six passes for 50 yards. He was targeted seven times. His most impressive plays came on screens out of the slot, as he turned one-yard passes into 10-yard gains with regularity.
Shakir is dangerous from wherever he lines up, and he was the second-most targeted receiver in the game for the Bills, trailing only tight end Dalton Kincaid — who saw a game-high 10 passes come his way. Shakir leads the Bills in receptions (42) and receiving yards (471) this season.
DT Ed Oliver
There were good and bad moments for Oliver, who was unable to notch a sack in the game. Buffalo’s only sack came from defensive end Greg Rousseau, who continued his string of excellent performances by making seven tackles, three of which went for a loss, and hitting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa once, as well.
Oliver, for his part, had just one tackle and a quarterback hit, as he saw double-teams inside for much of the day. There seemed to be a few plays were he was a little too aggressive in trying to make stops, which led to some big cut-back lanes for Miami’s speedy running backs.
Oliver needs to remain patient and remember that much of what a defensive tackle does is to open up lanes for his linebackers to shine.
LB Terrel Bernard
Thankfully, Bernard was able to play in Week 9. It would have been rough watching Baylon Spector try to keep up with all of Miami’s motion and speed over the middle. Instead, Bernard notched eight tackles, which was more than anyone on the team other than fellow linebacker Dorian Williams, who had 12, and safeties Damar Hamlin and Taylor Rapp, who had 10 apiece.
Bernard didn’t make any splash plays, but he made plenty of good, solid plays. Sometimes, those are all you need to win a game. While it was Taron Johnson giving the Bills the “punch” they needed to start the second half, having Bernard back this week was a huge stabilizer for the defense.
CB Christian Benford CB Kaiir Elam
I should have checked with Rachel Auberger about Benford’s wrist injury before staking my claim that he’d play a big part in the game. This is why I can’t be trusted! You know who can be trusted, though, is Elam, who stepped up and played quite well overall last weekend.
Yes, he was beaten by Tyreek Hill on a double-move late that set the Dolphins up for a score; however, he recovered so well on the play that he barely missed breaking up the pass. Elam also dislocated his shoulder on the play, but after popping it back into place, he wore a harness and returned to play.
Elam was solid in run support on the edge, as well, which is usually a place where he struggles mightily. Elam had five tackles, including one for a loss, in his first start of the season. He also recovered the fumble Taron Johnson forced on Raheem Mostert to jump-start the Bills early in the third quarter.
Elam hasn’t been what the Bills wanted when they selected him in the first round in the 2022 NFL Draft, but he’s a good athlete whose best ball is ahead of him. Elam showed his worth this weekend as, at worst, a solid insurance policy.