Tag: dawson knox

5 takeaways from the Bills’ 31-17 postseason win over the Steelers

5 takeaways from the #Bills’ 31-17 win over the #Steelers:

The Buffalo Bills are moving on in the NFL playoffs.

The Bills topped the Pittsburgh Steelers by a score of 31-17 in the NFL’s Wild-Card round.

Here are five takeaways from the Bills’ playoff win over the Steelers at Highmark Stadium:

Bills vs. Steelers: Dawson Knox touchdown opens scoring

Knox scores:

That’s exactly the way the Bills would have drawn that one up.

After forcing the Steelers to punt on their opening drive on offense, the Bills took their first attempt with the ball all the way to the house.

A first possession that took more than five minutes off the clock, the Bills took a 7-0 lead in the Wild Card on the Steelers with a catch by tight end Dawson Knox. From 10 yards out, quarterback Josh Allen found Knox wide open in the corner of the end zone.

Check out the score in the clip below:

[lawrence-related id=130612,120409,120388]

What we learned from the Bills’ win over the Dolphins

What we learned from the #Bills’ win over the #Dolphins:

The Buffalo Bills (11-6) successfully ran the table into the end of the regular season to secure a playoff spot after a rough start that saw them at 6-6 and on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.

Five straight wins later, and they are the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs and once more winners of the AFC East.

Buffalo’s start against Miami in the final game of the regular season was another ugly one that saw several turnovers in the first half.

After that, the Bills’ defense and depth players at positions on both sides of the ball stepped up, including an acrobatic heads-up touchdown by WR Trent Sherfield, a franchise record-long 95-yard punt return, and score by WR and return man Deonte Harty, and a game-sealing interception by S Taylor Rapp.

With that, here are three things we learned from Sunday’s win over the Dolphins:

Report card: Bills top Dolphins, 21-14

Report card: #Bills top #Dolphins, 21-14:

The 2023 NFL regular season has concluded and the Bills completed an eventful five-game winning streak to enter the playoffs with a fourth straight AFC East crown and the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoff picture.

Here is the BillsWire’s Week 18 report card for the Buffalo Bills (11-6) following the team’s 21-14 win over the Miami Dolphins (11-6):

Instant analysis, recap of the Bills’ win over the Dolphins

Instant analysis, recap of #Bills’ win over #Dolphins:

The Buffalo Bills ended their 2023 campaign with a 21-14 win at the Miami Dolphins.

Buffalo’s victory gives the Bills their fourth-consecutive AFC East crown.

Multiple turnovers slowed both high-powered offenses over a scoreless first quarter. Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa’s opening drive was cut short by a Christian Benford interception. Tagovailoa tried to hit receiver Tyreek Hill deep, but the Bills defensive back cut underneath Hill on the slightly underthrown ball.

The Bills (11-6) offense responded with a solid 12-play drive. However, confusion and chaos occurred as quarterback Josh Allen tried to beat the Dolphins (11-6) pass rush. As Allen retreated, he tossed an ill-advised pass into the end zone. Dolphins corner Eli Apple cradled the pass and Buffalo’s initial drive was instantly stopped.

Allen tossed his second interception on the Bills’ next drive. Buffalo moved into Miami territory but stalled out at the 35-yard line. The Bills took a gamble and went for the fourth-down conversion. Under duress, Allen rolled to his right and chucked a pass into the end zone. Miami safety DeShon Elliott came away with the ball.

The offenses settled in from there.

First, Miami scored on an 11-play drive. Miami utilized the ground game a bit more. Rusher De’Von Achane ran for a 25-yard touchdown. Miami used misdirection and fakes to get the Bills defense off-balance. Achane’s speed and change-of-direction earned him additional yards for his carries.

Buffalo responded with a seven-play scoring drive. The Bills finally saw a big play head toward No. 1 receiver Stefon Diggs’ way, as he caught a spectacular 36-yard pass to bring the Bills within a shadow of the goal line. Allen threw a pass that was deflected. Wideout Trent Sherfield tracked the ball and toe-tapped as the ball fluttered toward the back of the end zone.

The Dolphins motored back down the field on a nine-play series. Hill scored on a three-yard touchdown reception. Hill was matched one-on-one against Benford, and Tagovailoa hit the wide receiver on a quick-timing route to give the Dolphins the lead 14-7.

With under two minutes in the half, the Bills moved quickly down the field. Allen was decisive with his passes on the drive. Running back James Cook, however, dropped a touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone.

On the final play of the half, Allen found receiver Ty Johnson, who was stopped at the one-yard line. The Dolphins entered the half up by a touchdown.

The second half started in a similar way as the start of the game. The defenses locked down the offenses. Both teams were forced to punt on the initial drives of the second half.

Buffalo’s offense seemed to have something great on their second series of the half. The Bills had a nice mix of play calls by coordinator Joe Brady. Allen had the offense moving methodically down the field. On the 13th play of the drive, Miami defensive tackle Christian Wilkins forced an Allen fumble.

The Bills came away with no points. Special teams shortly after decided to flex their muscle.

Deonte Harty added some juice to the defensive stalemate with an electrifying 96-yard punt return to tie the game.

Buffalo’s defense continued to slow the Miami offense. That included a fumble recovery.

Finally, the Bills inched ahead on the scoreboard.

On a eight-play scoring drive, things culminating with a five-yard reception by tight end Dawson Knox. The drive was aided by two big pass plays: A 26-yard tumbling-backward reception by tight end Dalton Kincaid and a 28-yard Khalil Shakir reception on the sideline. With seven minutes remaining, the Bills lead 21-14.

From there, the defense locked Miami down. Multiple three-and-outs were forced and the game was put on ice by Taylor Rapp. The Bills offense turned the ball over on downs while up a touchdown.

Miami had a chance, but a late interception by Rapp ended it, giving the Bills the win.

Here’s the rest of Bills Wire’s instant recap following a 21-14 win over the Dolphins:

Bills vs. Dolphins: Josh Allen finds Dawson Knox for go-ahead touchdown

Knox for the go-ahead TD:

The potential game-winning touchdown came from Dawson Knox for the Bills against the Dolphins.

Tied at 14, the Bills broke the deadlock in the red zone with a pass from quarterback Josh Allen to the tight end. There is still work to do to kill off the game, but the Bills are ahead late thanks to the score.

Check out Knox’s touchdown grab in the clip below:

[lawrence-related id=130068,130065,130021]

Bills have seven players named as 2024 Pro Bowl alternates, here’s who

#Bills have seven players named as 2024 Pro Bowl alternates, here’s who:

The 2024 AFC roster for the Pro Bowl only had two Buffalo Bills players included on it.

Offensive lineman Dion Dawkins and running back James Cook were the two initial ones. But it’s likely they won’t be alone at the end of the day.

Once the All-Star game rolls around, players eventually end up dropping out. Some due to their team playing in the Super Bowl, others relating to injury… or they don’t just don’t feel like it.

Regardless, Buffalo did see seven players end up on the list of alternates. There are different levels of alternates, ranked from first to fifth.

Here’s the full list of Bills alternates for the 2024 Pro Bowl:

PFF: 5 worst-graded Bills players on offense in Week 17

PFF: 5 worst-graded #Bills players on offense in Week 17 vs. the #Patriots:

The Buffalo Bills won a tight 27-21 final in their Week 17 matchup against the New England Patriots.

The Bills (10-6) had a few players that stood out above the rest in this one. On offense, the Bills were led by tight end  Dalton Kincaid.

But not everyone played as well as him. Buffalo will hope some efforts improve throughout the rest of the 2023 season as they aim to secure a postseason spot.

According to Pro Football Focus, they’ll need these players to start playing at a high level.

Here are the five worst-graded Bills players on offense against the Patriots (4-12) in Week 17:

What the Bills said about chance to win AFC East now: ‘Resilient nature on display’

What the #Bills said about chance to win AFC East now against the #Dolphins next weekend: ‘Resilient nature on display’

Regardless of the way the job got done, it did.

It was an up-and-down 27-21 win over the Patriots in Week 17. There have been bumps in the road along the Bills’ four-game winning streak, too.

But none of that matters. It just is a fact: The 2023 AFC East winner will be determined between the Bills and Dolphins next weekend in the NFL’s regular season finale.

After topping the Pats, the Bills locker room reflected on how far the team has gone and where they are now–within a win of a division title. A trigger word used by many was “resilience.”

Find a roundup of clips from in the Bills locker room on their upcoming chance to win the AFC East crown against the Dolphins below:

How the Bills changed their entire offense and ran all over the Cowboys

How the #Bills changed their entire offense and ran all over the #Cowboys:

Generally speaking, when Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen completes seven of 15 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown against a team like the Dallas Cowboys, you don’t expect a 31-10 win in Buffalo’s favor. But that’s exactly what happened last Sunday, and the Bills’ run game is worthy of our attention. 

New offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who’s been in that position since mid-November following the firing of Ken Dorsey, had already put some new much-needed wrinkles in the passing game. But what Brady did against the Cowboys was a different level of sea-change in philosophy. Brady and the Bills went into this game with a clear vision of how to disrupt Dallas’ defense with the run game, which was unusual for a number of reasons.

Coming into this game, the Cowboys had allowed an EPA per rushing attempt of -0.11, sixth-best in the NFL. Their 4.1 yards per carry allowed, 2.2 yards after contact allowed, and 10 rushing touchdowns allowed were all among the NFL’s best. Now, the Bills’ EPA per rushing attempt of 0.04 was already the NFL’s best, but they had managed just 2.2 yards after contact per attempt, and while their 15 rushing touchdowns was a nice figure, 11 came from quarterback Josh Allen, so it wasn’t as if Buffalo’s rushing attack with James Cook as the lead dog was scaring anybody.

Where Brady and his staff may have seen their openings was in the Cowboys’ fronts and overall defensive philosophy. Through the first 14 weeks of the season, Dallas had faced just 337 rushing attempts this season, because their offense has been so explosive. And under Dan Quinn, the Cowboys aren’t focusing on the run in an old-school sense. They had put eight or more defenders in the box against 142 rushing attempts this season through Week 14, fifth-highest in the league, but it’s not a heavy run defense, and that’s especially true since defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 14 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Without Hankins on the field this season, the Cowboys have allowed 5.3 yards per carry. With Hankins on the field? 4.2.

Moreover, per Sports Info Solutions, the Cowboys have had six defensive backs on the field for 221 opponent rushing attempts, which is wildly out of whack from the rest of the NFL. The New England Patriots rank second with 43. The number is a bit skewed because most advanced metrics sites have misclassified Markquese Bell as a safety when he’s more of a linebacker, but even so… Bell is a 6-foot-3, 205-pound player, so it’s not as if he’s thumping down on run fits at a Mike Singletary level.

Factoring all that in, Brady’s decision to completely turn his team’s offensive philosophy on its head was still quite revolutionary. Through Week 14, the Bills ran the ball on 37.9% of their offensive snaps. Against the Cowboys, they ran by design on 71% of their plays against the Cowboys, the highest rate for any team in any game this season. The aforementioned James Cook ran 25 times for 179 yards, 7.2 yards per attempt, 3.52 yards after contact per attempt, one touchdown, seven runs of 10 or more yards, and eight forced missed tackles.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell,” the guys got into this difference in approach, and all the reasons it worked so well.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

[anyclip-media thumbnail=”https://cdn5.anyclip.com/_hCRiowBgv6pOedh2gq8/1703133752944_248x140_thumbnail.jpg” playlistId=”undefined” content=”PHNjcmlwdCBzcmM9Imh0dHBzOi8vcGxheWVyLnBvcHRvay5jb20vYW55Y2xpcC13aWRnZXQvbHJlLXdpZGdldC9wcm9kL3YxL3NyYy9scmUuanMiIGRhdGEtYXI9IjE2OjkiIGRhdGEtcGxpZD0ibDV1ZWd1dGpuNTN1ZXozd2d6eWU2emxlbmF6Z280ankiIHB1Ym5hbWU9IjE5OTgiIHdpZGdldG5hbWU9IjAwMTZNMDAwMDJVMEIxa1FBRl9NODMyNSI+Cjwvc2NyaXB0Pg==”][/anyclip-media]

You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Now, let’s get into the thick of this new Bills run game.