Tag: Khalil Shakir

Bills’ Terrel Bernard breaks down matchup vs. Chiefs’ Travis Kelce

Bills’ Terrel Bernard breaks down matchup vs. Chiefs’ Travis Kelce

The Bills beat the Chiefs 30-21 at home on Sunday.

The contest that saw the teams’ final scores roughly on average for the season so far also had significant takeaways on and off the field.

But the biggest one belonged to Buffalo linebacker, Terrel Bernard.

With 1:07 left to play in the fourth quarter, the Bills’ defensive captain and play caller took away a Patrick Mahomes pass intended for Kansas City tight end and MGMT “Electric Feel” fan Travis Kelce for an end-game interception.


The entire Buffalo defense ran down to celebrate with him in the end zone after getting in front of Kelce to grab the ball out of the air.

“The main thing is just having awareness of him, “ Bernard said about covering the Chiefs TE to WIVB. “Pre, post-snap, trying to get guys around him as much as possible, playing within our scheme and our system still but understanding he’s going to be one of the first options every pass play.”

It was the second interception for KC’s Mahomes, whose first and last throws in Sunday’s game were caught by Buffalo.

Bernard, who was out during the last meeting between the clubs in January’s divisional round of the playoffs, also had eight tackles and a sack on the day to go with the big-time turnover.

“I think having that awareness, [defensive coordinator] Bobby [Babich] did a great job in the gameplan, all the coaches did, putting him in our minds all week and knowing where he was at and where he was going to be, what he likes to do in certain spots. I think that was a huge factor, and everybody playing to the details of the defense.”

Everything has changed for Kelce since his last matchups against the Bills in which he seemed unstoppable.

He may just want to shake it off, knowing all too well that Bernard and the Bills defense held him to only two catches for eight yards receiving.

But with the win the Bills now have a better shot at a No. 1 seed and a first-round bye, the Chiefs do as well although they are not out of the woods yet.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was complimentary of the Bills when asked what his takeaways off the field were from the loss.

“Things you can learn, the main thing is that they’re a good team and, if you have a few mistakes in there, they can capitalize on them,” Reid said.

The teams could face off again in the postseason, and time will tell which club will play host to the other if they do.

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Bills’ Josh Allen plays it cool after Chiefs: ‘It’s another Week 11 win’

Bills’ Josh Allen plays it cool after Chiefs: ‘It’s another Week 11 win’

Buffalo beat Kansas City in exciting fashion on Sunday.

The club topped the Chiefs 30-21 at home in Orchard Park in front of Bills Mafia on the same field where KC ended its postseason run last year.

Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen put his superhero cape on for the Bills offense when it mattered most, breaking tackles and shaking off defenders for a 26-yard touchdown run on 4th-and-2 with 2:17 left in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.

After the game ended thanks to a win-sealing interception by Terrel Bernard on defense, Allen was asked about his scoring play by CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson.

“Yeah, appreciate Coach McDermott for trusting the offense going out there,” he said. “We had a man play, they dropped out to zone and they had something good for it. I was just trying to make a play and help our team win a football game. You know, some things we need to clean up, some throws I wish I had back, but we’re going into the bye week 9-2…we’ll take it.”

Allen was sacked zero times for the first time against Kansas City since the 2021 regular season, and the team put up their 30 points without key players on offense in receiver Keon Coleman, tight end Dalton Kincaid, and offensive tackle Spencer Brown.

He finished the day Sunday 27-for-40 with 262 yards, a touchdown, and an interception passing to go with another 55 ground yards with the TD.

The scoring rush was his latest in a career highlight reel of making little-to-no/probability plays.

In fact, per NFL Next Gen Stats, there was only a 1.2% chance of scoring a touchdown on the play once he tucked the ball to run.

The Bills hosted their AFC rivals for their fifth regular-season meeting with the QB under center.

The club is now 4-1 in those matchups, becoming the only team in the NFL to log four victories against Chiefs QB and State Farm insurance enthusiast, Patrick Mahomes.

The squad improves to 9-2 overall headed into their bye week. It’s the franchise’s first time at 9-2 since the 1992 NFL season.

The Bills have treated division games as “counting double” but had previously struggled to translate that in conference matchups that could have a bearing on No. 1 seeding and a first-round bye come playoff time.

But not this time.

The final points were roughly on average for what the two teams have put up throughout this season thus far, and it was the Chiefs’ first time giving up more than 28 points in 31 games and the first time allowing 30 points on offense since 2022.

And while Buffalo continues to have success against Kansas City during the regular season, Allen knows they need to beat them in the playoffs and spoke to that while answering whether it was just another Week 11 win for Buffalo.

“It is, it’s another Week 11 win,” he added. “Knowing how things usually play out we’ll probably see this team again at some point. We’ve got to get there first so like I said, we’ll enjoy this bye week and go into the next week after that and put together a good game plan and try to go 1-0.”

WATCH: Bills players play ‘Pizza Log Roulette’

WATCH: Bills players play ‘Pizza Log Roulette’

Buffalo Bills players recently took some time to have some fun in their practice facility.

The team was able to enjoy one of the City of Buffalo’s finest treats. No, we’re not talking about buffalo wings with blue cheese or beef on weck. We’re talking about pizza logs.

Players such as Dawson Knox, Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, and others spun a wheel to determine which flavor of pizza log they would try.

Watch the video below:

Report card: Bills top Seahawks, 31-10

Report card: Bills top Seahawks, 31-10

The Buffalo Bills put together a nearly flawless road performance against the Seattle Seahawks in NFL Week 8 action. The Bills won easily 31-10.

The Bills (6-2) broke the spirit of the Seahawks (4-4), as the home team saw their frustrations turn inward with on-the-field fighting.

Buffalo opened the scoring with a two-yard touchdown reception. The Bills added a second score just before halftime, a 12-yard pass from quarterback Josh Allen to tight end Dalton Kincaid.

Buffalo’s defense suffocated the Seattle offense. The Bills only allowed a field goal in the first half.

The dominance continued into the second half, as Buffalo added two more touchdowns to expand the lead. Running back James Cook scored a pair of rushing touchdowns to put the game away for the Bills.

The Bills were in complete command all game. Buffalo outgained the Seahawks by a nearly two-to-one margin (445-233 yards). Buffalo had 29 first downs to Seattle’s 17.

Here’s how Bills Wire graded the win over the Seahawks:

Allen had himself an afternoon. He was efficient and effective, going 24-of-34 for 283 yards and two touchdown passes. The only blemish on Allen’s solid performance was that he threw his first interception on the season.

Rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman was impressive, reeling in a short contested-catch touchdown in the first quarter. He continues his ascent with Buffalo, catching five passes for 70 yards. Khalil Shakir had another impressive game, leading all receivers with nine catches for 107 receiving yards.

Kincaid found the end zone as well, topping off a solid four-catch afternoon. Both of tight end Dawson Knox’s receptions went for longer than 20 yards.

Cook had a tremendous afternoon, averaging 6.5 yards per carry. All told, Cook rushed 17 times for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Rookie Ray Davis added 29 yards on six carries. The offensive line was impressive, as they continually won the battle at the point of attack all afternoon. It was an overwhelming performance by the group, as they completely wore down the Seahawks in the trenches.

The Seahawks entered the game leading the NFL in passing yards. The Bills kept the Seattle offense from getting into any meaningful rhythm.

While quarterback Geno Smith was efficient with a 21-of-29 day, the Seahawks signal-caller never really had a chance to push the ball down the field. The absence of receiver DK Metcalf was noticeable, but even Metcalf would’ve had trouble with the way Buffalo’s secondary played. Buffalo gave up 90 passing yards during garbage time, which makes their performance even more remarkable.

Buffalo’s defensive line smothered Seattle’s runners all game long. Seattle’s running backs managed only 16 yards on 12 carries. Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet were complete nonfactors throughout the game. This was an exceptional performance by the unit.

Kicker Tyler Bass was perfect on the afternoon, hitting all four PATs successfully. He added a short 27-yard field goal to his ledger as well. Punter Sam Martin averaged 49 yards on three punts. Both Bass and Martin were solid through rainy conditions.

Mack Hollins recovered a muffed punt late in the game. The play effectively sealed the game for Buffalo, as the Bills moved into victory formation shortly after.

The unit did take two penalties on returns, which hurt a bit. However, with such a dominant game in other aspects of play, the miscues did not cause massive harm.

Let’s give it up for the staff on this one. The entire game plan worked smoothly Sunday afternoon. Buffalo took control of the game early and imposed their will on the Seahawks.

Offensive coordinator Joe Brady put together another game plan that saw success both through the air and on the ground. The Bills kept drives going, completing 8-of-15 third downs. Multiple receivers were involved in the passing attack, which gave Allen several good options in the aerial attack. The run game controlled the point of attack, and the run calls were effective.

Defensively, coordinator Bobby Babich and head coach Sean McDermott put together a plan that stunted the Seattle offense. Without Metcalf, the Seahawks were without their most dynamic player. The Bills shut down all other options on offense. After Buffalo gained the lead, the run game was out of the equation.

The only flaw for Buffalo was their issue with flags. Once again, the Bills saw plenty of time with the refs. In this game, the Bills took 13 penalties for 85 yards.

Bills’ Josh Allen: Team ‘found a way’ to win vs. Jets

Bills’ Josh Allen: Team ‘found a way’ to win vs. Jets

The Bills defeated the Jets 23-20 on Monday Night Football this week to take a first-place lead in the AFC East as the only team in the division with a winning record.

QB Josh Allen and company bounced back from their first two losses of the season in back-to-back weeks by returning to their scoring ways early.

After scoring a touchdown and a field goal, Buffalo appeared headed into halftime with a 10-point lead.

That is until four-time NFL MVP and South American tea enthusiast Aaron Rodgers threw a signature 52-yard Hail Mary touchdown as the clock ran out to end the first half.

“Yeah, obviously kind of a gut punch,” Allen said postgame about Rodgers’ latest feat. “Going in thinking you’re gonna have a two-score lead there and they catch a Hail Mary.”

But the Bills fought back into the game in the second half.

The offense added two more touchdown tosses later in the contest, tying the game at 20 points each before a Tyler Bass field goal gave Buffalo a lead they would not lose the rest of the way.

“Fighting through adversity, getting in at halftime, regrouping, saying let’s just control one play at a time,” Allen added. “We didn’t score as many points as I’d like in the second half, but found a way.”

Allen went 19-of-25 passing for 215 yards with a 127.9 rating and two touchdowns in the air plus one on the ground.

“I wanted to come out and play a clean game and get through my reads quickly” Allen continued.

His teammates had faith in his ability to bounce back from the consecutive losses.

“We totally expected him to be able to flush that (loss),” left guard David Edwards said via The Buffalo News. “Some of the plays he made – awesome.”

The Bills improved to 4-2 atop their division, and have still never lost three straight games with Allen at quarterback. His playmaking has had a substantial impact on the win column this season.

“He’s just Josh Allen,” tight end Dalton Kincaid noted as well. “He can do miraculous things with the ball in his hands.”

The leadership of the club’s quarterback in gutting out the win was noticed and credited by his head coach as well.

“A good division win on the road,” head coach Sean McDermott said to the media. “Last three games in a row on the road, thought it was a gritty win led by Josh. Offense got off to a good start, established the line of scrimmage, really in the game.”

Allen realizes the importance of the division matchups “counting double” in their postseason implications, a concept that may begin to apply to key matchups against the AFC’s top playoff contenders on the Bills’ schedule as well.

“Our No. 1 goal is making the playoffs and you do that by winning your division,” Allen said. “We understand the gravity of this type of game, us being 4-2 with a 2 1/2-game lead with a head-to-head win, as opposed to being 3-3 and in second place.”

Bills’ Josh Allen post-Texans loss: ‘This isn’t a defining moment in our season’

Bills’ Josh Allen post-Texans loss: ‘This isn’t a defining moment in our season’

The Buffalo Bills could not complete a come-from-behind win in Houston against the Texans on Sunday, falling to an AFC playoff contender for the second consecutive week.

Buffalo’s second loss of the year ended with a final score of 23-20 in NFL Week 5 thanks to a 59-yard game-winning field goal by Houston kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn.

59 yards had significance more than once during the game.

On a 1st-and-20 in the first quarter, Bills quarterback Josh Allen threw a deep shot downfield to receiver Mack Hollins, who lost some acceleration watching the ball overhead and missed what could have been a 59-yard catch with a clear path to the endzone off the fingers of his extended hands.

Allen had the least productive outing of his career and his worst since he made his debut in 2018, completing a career-low 30% of his passes while going 9-of-30 for 131 yards and a touchdown with 54 yards rushing. 49 of those yards came courtesy of a single scoring play by WR Keon Coleman, and 82 yards of that production went scoreless.

“Starts with making better decisions on my part,” Allen said after the game. “I know I didn’t complete the ball at a high rate. I put the ball in harm’s way, especially in that first half.”

The Bills QB found himself on the wrong side of history, recording the lowest completion percentage in a game with at least 30 pass attempts in the last 30 seasons, per ESPN Stats & Info.

The offense struggled on first down and was also without their leading receiver this season, Khalil Shakir, who was out with an ankle injury. Without him, they looked one-dimensional, as the rest of the receivers struggled to get open or catch passes, only hauling in four catches.

“I would have hoped for more, honestly,” head coach Sean McDermott said to the press. “I’m sure those guys feel the same way.”

Coleman had two catches for touchdowns in the last few games, though the Bills’ other significant 3-year $24 million offseason addition to the receivers group, Curtis Samuel, has yet to make a meaningful impact. There remains a clear need for a reliable deep threat and target in the passing game that can take the top off defenses, perhaps setting the stage for a signature Brandon Beane trade acquisition.

“We missed by a little bit,” Allen added of the offensive effort. “We were off slightly. That’s something I have to clean up. I’m proud of how we responded in the second half … we gave ourselves a chance to win the football game.”

Coleman took responsibility on the receiver’s side after only hauling in the scoring catch, missing another target, and getting flagged for offensive pass interference on a play as well.

“It was all self-inflicted,” Coleman said. “Mostly on me and the communication and doing what I need to do.”

He also spoke in support of his QB.

“I would never, ever criticize Josh ever,” he added. “He is the heartbeat of our offense and our football team. We go as he goes. He is the man. I could easily point to myself on one of those third downs, not being able to pick up one of the stunts. So, this game is not on Josh.”

Allen stood by his teammates as well.

“I’m proud of how we responded in the second half,” Bills QB Josh Allen said. “Got on our horses and gave ourselves a chance to win a football game.”

Even with the worst passing percentage performance of his career and an underwhelming lack of help, the Bills came back to tie the game twice and could have at least put the game into overtime by running out the clock.

“This isn’t a defining moment in our season,” Allen noted. “It’s a chance to learn and grow from this. That’s what we’re going to do.”

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Bills’ Sean McDermott takes responsibility for Texans loss: ‘That’s on me’

Bills’ Sean McDermott takes responsibility for Texans loss: ‘That’s on me’

The Buffalo Bills lost to the Houston Texans 23-20 during their NFL Week 5 road game on Sunday.

It was the Bills’ second loss of the season, coming in back-to-back weeks against AFC playoff contenders.

And like the week prior, coaching decisions once more came under question following the matchup.

The Bills came back from being down 20-3 and scored 17 straight points to tie the game with under four minutes to play.

Houston QB C.J. Stroud was flagged for intentional grounding making it fourth-and-15 to take the Texans out of field-goal range with under a minute left in the game. They punted, placing the Bills at their own three-yard line.

Three straight incomplete passes later, and the Bills had neither converted a first down nor run off the game clock, instead punting to give Houston the ball back with a chance to win.

One Houston made good on.

Buffalo could have run the clock down to have a chance to keep the game tied and go to overtime, a missed opportunity that proved costly.

“That’s on me, the end-of-game situation on offense,” head coach Sean McDermott said after the game “We’re in a tough situation … they were holding three timeouts, they got a good field goal kicker. We needed to run the clock and move the chains, and that’s on me. We didn’t do that there, and that’s my fault.”

Buffalo had a chance to keep a drive alive and potentially take a lead when they started a drive on their own three-yard line with under a minute left on the game clock.

But failed to do so.

“Coach is gonna trust us to go out there and do that,” Allen said. “Obviously would love to convert there and hindsight’s 20-20, but yeah.”

Allen threw three straight incomplete passes and the offense wasn’t able to get a first down or run out the clock.

“I love Josh with the ball in his hands — you know I do,” head coach Sean McDermott said postgame. “And again, efficient offense was the right approach there, and … I didn’t have us do that. And so again, we learned from that. Tough situation.”

McDermott and his staff have notably been scrutinized after their game and clock management near the end of the contest.

“… You go back and forth, and, hey, I probably should have run it on the first play and just said, ‘Hey, where are we now?'” He added. “Either way, we’re probably gonna have to move the chains one time, right? To not give them a chance. But again, those are situations and that’s on me.”

“It sucks to lose any game, but especially when you come back all the way through, felt like we had good momentum going into the second half, into the fourth quarter there, but it’s the NFL. It’s a tough League,” LB Terrel Bernard said.

After Houston returned Buffalo’s punt 13 yards to their own 41-yard line, they gained 5 yards on the next play, which set up a 59-yard game-winning field goal.

On that last play before the kick, Bills linebacker Dorian Williams was late to get on the field before the snap, and corner Rasul Douglas noted postgame Williams may not have known the play call.

“We were trying to go nickel defense, and Dorian was on the side,” McDermott explained. “We didn’t have the communication we needed right there, and so because of that, he was late onto the field and getting the call in that situation.”

It was the latest instance of some drop-off in play by the Bills players.

“Overall we’ve been a little bit off our game from what we executed in the first three games,” McDermott added.

Defensive end A.J. Epenesa shared it was important that the team not “ride the roller coaster” of emotions following the two losses.

“Right now, we’re at a low,” he said. “We’ve lost two games, but we’ve got to try to stay as consistent as possible. We’ve had a lot of success on this team. We do a lot of great things. It’s just us shooting ourselves in the foot. It’s us making mistakes, which is allowing these teams to beat us. We’ve got to clean those things up.”

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Bills QB Josh Allen’s 52-yard tightrope pass had this unique stat

Bills QB Josh Allen’s 52-yard tightrope pass had this unique stat

The Buffalo Bills experienced the first loss of the season, falling 35-10 to the  Baltimore Ravens.

While the Bills certainly had their struggles during the game, quarterback  Josh Allen did take several big shots downfield.

While receiver Keon Coleman and tight end Dalton Kincaid missed on some contested jump balls that would have made for some big time plays, the game had some highlight reel plays as well.

Those highlights were headlined by Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who managed to complete his latest jaw-dropping play.

On a 3rd-and-5 possession in the third quarter, Allen threw a lofty pass 52-yards for a completion to receiver Khalil Shakir.

What’s more, the play featured some interesting Next Gen Stats that stood out…

Allen was less than a yard from the sideline when he completed the throw before going out of bounds, and Shakir adjusted to haul in the catch for the big gain.

While the play was a big one on its own, it also puts Allen into an interesting category.

Since his rookie season in 2018, the Bills QB has completed 6-of-7 such passes within a single yard of the sideline on plays he’s extended.

What’s more, those went for 118 yards with 3 touchdown scores.

While evading tackles to accomplish such a feat on passes within a yard from going out of bounds is, in and of itself impressive, it’s the basis for comparison that goes even further as to distinguish how special that ability is.

On passes within less than a yard of the sideline, the rest of the NFL is only 1-for-16 on such attempts.

Allen’s been impressive overall so far this season, ranking in the top ten of passers in the league in completion percentage as well as touchdowns, and going for 198 straight pass attempts without an interception.

Ravens put the entire NFL on notice with dominant 35-10 win over Bills in Week 4

Baltimore Ravens put the entire NFL on notice with dominant 35-10 win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 4

The Ravens were a 0-2 team searching for an identity and were heading to Dallas for a must-win matchup against the Cowboys.

After holding on to defeat Dallas, Baltimore took another big step and put the entire league on notice with a dominant 35-10 win over the Buffalo Bills at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday night in front of a raucous crowd.

Josh Allen was 16-29 passing for 180 yards but was sacked three times on the night and finished with a 73.9 rating before exiting midway through the fourth quarter as Baltimore had a 25-point lead.

For the Ravens, it was all about the running backs as Derrick Henry logged 24 carries for 199 yards (8.3 avg) and one rushing touchdown.  Henry also had a receiving touchdown.  His running mate, Justice Hill, had six catches for 78 yards and a receiving touchdown.

Overall, Baltimore allowed 237 yards on 57 offensive plays and held the Bills to 3-13 on third downs.

‘Everybody eats’ philosophy has Bills scoring most points in the NFL

‘Everybody eats’ philosophy has Bills scoring most points in the NFL

The Buffalo Bills coined the phrase “everybody eats” as the theme of their offense for 2024, and the team’s 47-10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on “Monday Night Football” was the latest representation of it.

To say that everybody ate on Monday would be an understatement.

Six Bills scored a touchdown in the game, 10 players caught a pass (nine in the first half), and five players recorded three or more catches.

James Cook, Ray Davis, Khalil Shakir, Dalton Kincaid, Ty Johnson, and Keon Coleman all found the endzone. Davis and Coleman both recorded their first-career touchdowns on a special night in Orchard Park.

Josh Allen had one of the most efficient games of his career, and he was able to conduct the offense by spreading it around and keeping the defense guessing. And, if Allen is the conductor of the orchestra then offensive coordinator Joe Brady is the one writing the music.

“Everybody eats” isn’t just a phrase for Brady, it’s all he wants for the offense. Because there is trust in the offensive line, and because Josh Allen is at quarterback, Brady is free to use his multitude of skill players in different and creative ways. The creativity and simplification of the processing for Allen have him as the MVP favorite through three games. Brady is putting everyone in positions to succeed.

In a post-practice press conference Wednesday, Josh Allen spoke on the ability of the offense being elevated because they have so many different options to beat defenses:

“I think we’ve shown the ability to be in big personnel and run it and throw it, we’ve shown small personnel to run it and throw it, the run game, play action, drop back… there’s just a lot of opportunities for us to do a lot of different things throughout the game. We have different chess pieces that Joe [Brady] is using really well right now… and they are doing a great job of understanding what everybody’s role is. The ability to at any different time throw it to somebody else and they be our first read… it’s very fun. It’s easy on me and Joe’s been doing a great job of calling plays.”

Sure, the Bills lost their top two receivers from last year, but what they have now is depth at skill positions across the entire offense. And the skill position players all offer multiple flavors themselves. The running backs are threats through the air and on the ground, Curtis Samuel and Khalil Shakir can be lined up anywhere, and Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox can give you everything you need at the tight end position. Throw in some big-bodied boundary receivers and you’ve got a well-rounded offense.

After three weeks, the Bills (3-0) are leading the league in points per game (37.3) but the road gets tougher ahead for the Bills. Next up is a three-game road stretch (Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, New York Jets). It will be a grind through the next few weeks, but when things get tough for Allen and Brady, they know they’ll have someone in the supporting cast to lean on, because you can’t cover all of them.

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