Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott rules out TE Dawson Knox, LB Del’Shawn Phillips, RB Zack Moss for Week 3 vs. Los Angeles Rams.
The Buffalo Bills have yet to release their full, final injury report ahead of their Week 3 meeting with the Los Angeles Rams as the team has yet to take the practice field on Friday. However, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott did rule three players out for the game already.
During the coach’s weekly Friday morning segment on the team’s radio affiliate, WGR-550, McDermott declared running back Zack Moss (toe), tight end Dawson Knox (concussion) and linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips (quad). Knox and Moss were injured during Buffalo’s Week 2 win vs. the Dolphins while Phillips missed that contest.
All three players should be manageable injuries to deal with since none appear to be of the long-term variety at this time. Without Moss, TJ Yeldon, who spent the firs two weeks of the season inactive, could play. Knox will be replaced by Tyler Kroft, who was not targeted last week when he entered the game for Knox. The tight end position has not be an influential spot for the Bills this season.
On linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano, McDermott later went on to say via video conference on Friday that the team wants to see where the duo are at on the practice field later that day before tabbing them with a designation. Both have been limited in practice all week to this point. The Bills will release their final designations on Friday afternoon. Check back at Bills Wire for that update.
A final injury update came on wide receiver John Brown, he missed Thursday with a sore foot but McDermott said he thinks Brown will be good to go on Sunday.
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott on his team’s rushing attack.
As happy as the Bills were with Josh Allen in Week 1 against the Jets, the passing attack got the job done all alone. In terms of the run game? It was non-existent. On 18 carries, nine apiece for both, running backs Devin Singletary and Zack Moss only combined for 41 yards.
That’s not going to get it done most days and Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott can even easily acknowledge that. On Wednesday, McDermott said the problem was as much of a problem in the mental aspect of the game as much as it was physically on the field.
“I think it’s a mindset. That’s where it all starts. Playing well from the line of scrimmage is important… it’s never just one person or one position,” McDermott said.
Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll came in to the 27-17 win over the Jets with the intention of using Allen’s legs as the main attack on the ground. Allen rushed 14 times for 57 yards.
Unfortunately, Singletary and Moss could not break free in the outing, as Singletary had only one explosive run during the game. Moss had 11 total rushing yards.
While McDermott preached on mindset, Daboll showed that the situation against the Jets could’ve been a game planning situation.
Daboll emphasizes that the game plan is established on a week-to-week basis. The number of zone reads this week may decrease, or conceivably increase, based on the opponent.
Still, Buffalo would like to get more out of their running backs duo. Singletary and Moss because even with his rushing efficiency, Allen lost two fumbles on rushes.
Also worth noting, Buffalo’s offense was operating with an adjusted offensive line. With Jon Feliciano’s injury, the Bills moved Cody Ford to guard, and Darryl Williams started at right tackle. The unit did fairly well in the pass game, but it could not gain a consistent footing on the ground.
The Bills could continue to use Allen as a weapon on the ground against the Dolphins, as the team has in the past successfully, but one could expect all three rushers to get involved. Such a game plan was used by the Patriots in their season-opening win over the Dolphins and New England led the entire NFL with 217 rushing yards in the contest.
What We Learned, Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets, NFL Week 1.
One year ago, the Bills needed a furious fourth quarter rally to beat the Jets in the season opener, scoring 17 unanswered points to steal a win late at the Meadowlands. In the 2020 season opener, the Bills didn’t wait around to put the Jets down for the count.
Buffalo jumped out to a 21-0 lead halfway through the second quarter and were never really threatened in a dominating 27-17 victory over a Jets team that looked rather hapless. The 10-point margin of victory is not exactly indicative of how much the Bills controlled this game. Buffalo more than doubled the amount of first downs the Jets had (31-15), ran 81 total plays to the Jets’ 53, outgained the Jets by 150 yards, and dominated in time of possession (41:16 to 18:44).
Still, the Bills had enough slip ups that they allowed the Jets to hang around in the second half and keep the final score somewhat respectable. Buffalo could have been up by as much as 35 in the first half, but two Josh Allen fumbles short-circuited a pair of drives deep into Jets’ territory. The Bills then struggled for a while to deliver the knockout blow in the second half.
New placekicker Tyler Bass missed his first two field goal attempts, both in the third quarter. In between, Jets wideout Jamison Crowder slipped a Tremaine Edmunds tackle on a short pass from Sam Darnold and broke free for a 69-yard touchdown to bring the Jets within 11 (21-10) with 5:10 left in the third quarter.
The Bills locked the game down from there as Buffalo safety Jordan Poyer forced Chris Herndon to fumble on the Jets’ next possession and Jerry Hughes recovered. Bass rebounded to connect on field goal attempts of 22 and 19 yards in the fourth quarter to give the Bills a 17-point lead with 3:15 to play.
While the Bills had some hiccups along the way, they were in command from start to finish and had little trouble with the Jets on Sunday. The big story from the game was the play of Josh Allen, who became the first Bills quarterback to pass for 300 yards in a game since Tyrod Taylor in 2016 and the first since Kyle Orton in 2014 to do so in regulation. Allen completed 33 passes for 312 yards and used a well-designed passing game to pick apart a beleaguered Jets secondary. The only thing that stopped Allen was himself as he put the ball on the turf twice and had a couple of poor throws that could have gone for touchdowns if thrown accurately.
With that, are four things we learned as the Bills started the 2020 season with a victory at an empty Bills Stadium:
Bills quarterback Josh Allen. (AP Photo/Brett Carlsen)
The Passing Game Appears to Have Taken a Step Forward
Bills fans were treated to the full Josh Allen experience on Sunday. They saw the passing talent that has been so often promised since Allen was drafted seventh-overall in 2018. They saw efficiency and well-timed throws to open receivers. They also saw critical mistakes that Allen has become well-known for. He fumbled the ball away twice in the first half and also had some inaccurate throws that took touchdowns off the board. But overall, it might have been Allen’s most impressive game as a passer for the Bills in his three seasons in Buffalo.
Allen reached the plateau that so many Bills fans have been fixated on for years: the 300-yard passing game. It’s incredible enough that no Bills’ quarterback has done so in a game since 2016, but it becomes absolutely dumbfounding to think about how no Bills’ quarterback had thrown for 300 yards in regulation since 2014. That streak has finally been broken as Allen hit 312 yards.
The Bills’ passing game has often been a source of frustration in the past and quite frequently the weakness of many Bills’ teams from years gone by. That claim could have been made about last year’s Bills’ team. But on Sunday, the passing game looked like a strength for Buffalo.
The Bills built a 21-0 lead in the first half on the back of Allen and the passing game. Allen was sharp throwing the ball in the early going, hitting his first seven passes of the game. After an Allen fumble on Buffalo’s opening drive, they responded with three straight touchdown drives. Allen ran in for a two-yard score on the first touchdown drive and then threw touchdown passes to Zack Moss and John Brown on the next two drives.
Allen was efficient running the Buffalo offense in the first half, but much of the credit should also go to offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. The Bills had a well-conceived offensive scheme as they picked on a weak Jets secondary. The Bills forced New York to expose the most vulnerable part of their defense by starting the game with four wide receivers on the field. Daboll also utilized the screen game effectively as the Bills created easy throws for Allen that were well blocked and resulted in sizable gains. The touchdown throw to Brown was an inside screen that actually came on an audible at the line of scrimmage by Allen when he saw the Jets’ secondary playing well off Brown.
The Bills also got their new toy involved. Stefon Diggs, the most notable offseason addition by the Bills, caught eight passes for 86 yards in his Buffalo debut. Six of his receptions went for first downs. His presence allowed Brown to see single coverage.
Even with Diggs in the fold, Brown still has a chance to post another big season as defenses focus their attention on the receiver the Bills traded a first round pick for. Brown enjoyed a nice day on Sunday with six catches for 70 yards and his touchdown reception.
Even though the offense was slowed a bit in the second half, they showed enough in getting out to a 21-0 lead that you have to be encouraged by their potential for the rest of the season. It’s only one game, but the passing offense certainly looks stronger to start 2020.
Takeaways from the Buffalo Bills’ 27-17 win over the New York Jets.
The Buffalo Bills handled their business against the New York Jets in their first contest of the 2020 regular season. While a win is a win, the Bills certainly made things interesting in a few ways… and unfortunately we’ve got some important bumps and bruises to keep an eye on.
With that, here are five takeaways from the Bills’ win over the Jets:
Bills outside linebacker Matt Milano. Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
Linebacker injuries
The Bills potentially have two huge losses in this victory. Both starting linebackers, Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano, left the game due to injury. They suffered shoulder and hamstring injuries, respectively. This could potentially be back-breaking.
In Sean McDermott’s defensive scheme, it calls for heavy nickel formation. That means two linebackers most of the game. When healthy, both Edmunds and Milano will traditionally play every single defensive snap. Without them the drop off is huge in terms of the depth chart on Buffalo’s roster. Linebacker is the position group with the worst depth on the team’s entire roster.
When Milano went down, veteran AJ Klein slid into his spot. Without Edmunds, essential rookie undrafted player Tyrel Dodson filled in. Of those two, you’d expect Klein to play better, but even before Edmunds went out of the lineup, Klein was leaving something to be desired. Dodson had his first-career sack, which was nice to see, but it came via a pretty bone-headed play from Sam Darnold when he ran out of bounds. If you notice, the Jets certainly got some momentum around the time these two defenders left the lineup.
Moving forward into Week 2 against the Dolphins, monitoring the health of these two is very important. Miami will attack this area if both guys are out.
Zack Moss has sneaky upside in daily fantasy for Week 1.
The Buffalo Bills are preparing to host the New York Jets on Sunday in a Week 1 matchup at Bills Stadium. As real football commences, daily fantasy football will also begin taking place this weekend.
The Bills have recently enjoyed an emergence in relevant fantasy football assets. Third-year quarterback Josh Allen has a high rushing floor, which is becoming ever so valuable in fantasy football. But he isn’t the best value in daily fantasy for Week 1. New wide receiver Stefon Diggs joins John Brown and Cole Beasley, but none of them present the right value.
Instead, when looking for value in daily fantasy on the Bills’ side of the ball, look no further than rookie running back Zack Moss. Sure, the Utah product is likely to be sharing the field with second-year back Devin Singletary, but the rookie has already carved out a role at the goal-line during training camp. Not to mention, Moss has shown up as a receiver as well, which we know is vital in fantasy football.
Priced at just $4,400 on DraftKings ($50,000 roster limit), it wouldn’t be a surprise to many if the third-round pick winds up having an explosive day for fantasy managers. He’s already taking over the Frank Gore role at the goal line and with Singletary struggling with fumbles at camp, Moss could be in for a bigger workload than expected.
The backfield in Buffalo is likely to work in tandem but given his likely role inside the five-yard line and his work as a receiver, Moss represents the best value in daily fantasy for the Bills in Week 1.
Pro Football Focus examines Buffalo Bills fantasy football situation via Josh Allen, Devin Singletary and Zack Moss.
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Devin Singletary enters this season at the top of the depth chart for Buffalo Bills running backs. The second-year player out of FAU earned more snaps as his rookie season progressed, ultimately leading the team in rushing with 775 yards on the ground in 12 games played.
On the field for the Bills, we’re all curious to see what that translates to in his second season in the pros. But what about fantasy football wise?
Singletary projects to be a strong flex play in fantasy football this year. He is coming off draft boards somewhere in the range of RB22-RB30 for backfield players, as highlighted in averages by Yahoo! Sports and ESPN.
Buffalo has moved on from veteran Frank Gore as the complement in the backfield. That duty falls to third-round pick Zack Moss. The Utah product projects to be the downhill, power back for Buffalo this season. The question that many will consider with this due: How will the Bills divvy up touches between the duo? Pro Football Focus gives us a glimpse into how the Bills could divide the backfield duties this fall.
PFF highlights, “Singletary emerged as a reliable three-down back as a rookie and played at least 65% of the offense’s snaps in every game in which he wasn’t either injured or just returning from a layoff.” Singletary was reliable and healthy as a rookie. The three-down back idea is important, as Singletary is viewed as a player who can get the ball in all situations.
Last year, he carried the ball 151 times, as compared to Gore’s 166. However, the balance shifted toward the midpoint of the season. Singletary was ranked 18th among running backs in PPR leagues from Weeks 7-16, per PFF.
Among backfield carries, Singletary is expected to see an uptick in his workload. The PFF analyst projects a 60-40 split in snap rate between Singletary and Moss, with Singletary garnering the larger workload.
There is an X-factor in this whole rushing discussion, and it’s quarterback Josh Allen. Last year, Buffalo had three players carry the ball over 100 times: Gore (166), Singletary (151), and Allen (109). Allen also led the team in rushing touchdowns, adding nine to his career ledger last year. Allen was labeled as a “vulture” for the rushing attack because of the work he does himself.
In the end, Allen limits the value of both Singletary and Moss. The outlet highlights that both running backs will see about “10-15 opportunities per game that don’t figure to be of the fantasy-friendly variety.”
Even if Singletary is limited with respect to touches, his ability to break off a massive run should make fantasy owners interested in selecting him as an RB2 for 12-team leagues and a Flex for 10-team leagues. Moss, for his part, could steal carries late in the game as he fits the need for a downhill, grind-it-out runner to seal games for Buffalo. Moss is a nice late-round addition to the bench of your roster.
No matter what, both players are in line to get a decent amount of touches to make something happen for your fantasy team.
A Buffalo Bills 53-man roster projection with seven days of training camp practices in 2020 in the books.
We’re a little off on the days, but hang with us.
The Bills have taken time off, so it’s been a little over a week now, technically. Well, actually, the start of training camp was weeks ago with a bit of an extended walk-through start to it.
But the total number of training camp practices the team has had so far with pads? Monday marked the seventh. So there’s our week.
To celebrate the first week of camp actually happening with the ups and down the COVID-19 pandemic have caused the team this offseason, here’s a 53-man roster projection for the Bills after those first seven practices:
Bills quarterback Josh Allen. (James P. McCoy/The Buffalo News via AP, Pool)
QUARTERBACK (3)
Josh Allen, Matt Barkley, Jake Fromm
Cuts: Davis Webb
Earlier this offseason the Bills were in a position to potentially keep two quarterbacks and cut Matt Barkley. He’s no longer really a “veteran” mentor to Allen, games played wise. Allen has 27 starts to Barkley’s seven. Cutting Barkley could also save the Bills $1.5M against the salary cap.
But that was ages ago now and the world as we know it, is no longer the same. Part of that picture? No preseason games in the NFL. It still might’ve been a bit of a bold prediction, but could the Bills have entered the season with two quarterbacks? Namely Josh Allen and Jake Fromm? It was possible. Was. But with no exhibition games under his belt, there’s no way Buffalo will enter a season with that scenario now. Not only does that save a roster spot for Barkley, but through training camp practices, Barkley’s probably been the QB that’s stood out the most, Allen included. Of course, he does typically play against the second-string defense, but still nice to have confidence in a No. 2, which he certainly is. Davis Webb could be considered a fourth-string “quarantine quarterback” on the practice squad
Naming winners and losers from the first week of Buffalo Bills 2020 training camp.
The Buffalo Bills’ first few practices of this weird preseason is finally in the books. It looks like we’re going to get football after all since things went relatively smoothly across the NFL landscape during the opening portion of training camps despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The real test will come when teams travel, though. But let’s keep this one light. On Saturday, the Bills won’t practice, and even though reporting on workouts this offseason has been constrained by the team and league, we still saw a few interesting nuggets of information squeak out of Orchard Park which can help up peg some good and bad from Week 1 of camp.
With that, here are some winners and losers from the first week of Bills camp:
Winners
Bills offensive Linemen Cody Ford. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
OL Cody Ford
Early in training camp, Cody Ford is certainly is getting his run of play. Bills head coach Sean McDermott previously had wanted to keep Ford at right tackle, but on at least two occasions, we’ve seen him getting reps at right guard. Regardless, its appears Ford’s going to be on the team’s offensive line, we’ll just figure out where later.
DE AJ Epenesa
A second-round pick is usually an exciting prospect, but you’re even more under the spotlight when the team selecting you doesn’t have a first rounder at the draft. Rookie AJ Epenesa is taking that in stride. There was video of him beating guard Brian Winters with power, but The Athletic also mentioned Epenesa’s speed when facing “weaker opponents.” Furthermore, Epenesa isn’t just playing at defensive end, the rookie and McDermott both discussed this week that Epenesa is being used on all four spot on the D-line early in camp. Sounds like he could have a big role.
WR Duke Williams
No wide receiver has stood out more this week than Duke Williams. He’s had such good performances that the team has felt obligated to event tweet out videos of two of his catches this week. In fact, Williams made such good grabs that Bills Wire was fooled. We dubbed the first early in the week the “catch of training camp,” only for Williams to… have a better one later in the week.
The big question with Williams is special teams, though. If he can find a way to contribute there, it seems like he’s certainly going to find a roster spot.
Buffalo Bills running back Zack Moss can squat 600 pounds and do even more in the team’s 2020 training camp.
Will the Bills make it a three-peat in the third round of the NFL Draft in 2021 by selecting another running back?
It seems unlikely but, at minimum, they’ve gone back-to-back in doing so over the last two years. After plucking Devin Singletary off the board in 2019, the recent draft saw Zack Moss fall into the team’s lap.
On paper, it looks like a perfect 1-2 combo. Singletary, the shifty, quick back… Moss, the bruising force out of Buffalo’s backfield. But throughout the early stages of his career, albeit just training camp practice, Moss has shown he’s much of what we thought he was… and then some.
Moss certainly has shown an ability to get between the tackles and follow blocks up the middle, the tape shows that. Moss actually did so well during camp practices this week that The Athletic noted a few runs Moss ripped off in practice over 10-plus yards, one of which went to the house during live, full hitting, 11-on-11 drills during practice. Moss, chatting via video conference on Thursday, cemented what we thought about him, too.
Following that practice, Moss revealed exactly what helps his prowess in between the tackles. There’s about 600 reasons why Moss is hard guy to bring down, because he said he can squat 600 pounds “a few times” in the gym. Wowza.
“I try to come out and I try to set the tone from the jump and things like that. I try to make it a hard tackle,” Moss said.
Again, that’s what the scouting reports told us already. Throughout the course of training camp thus far, we’ve seen a familiar story unfold in Buffalo’s backfield, one that’s good news. At 2019’s training camp, Singletary showed he’s more than just an agile guy that’s fast enough to get outside of the tackles but he’s quick enough to make it up the middle, too. In addition, he turned into a valuable pass-catching target out of the backfield. That’s the similarity right there.
Not only is Moss displaying he can churn out a few tough yards, his hands have been awfully impressive. During one of the earlier days of camp practices this week, Moss had an excellent grab down the sideline on a wheel route:
During his final season at Utah in 2019, Moss had 28 receptions for 388 yards. So while it might come as a surprise to Buffalo that Moss has some strong hands, it’s not one for him.
“I was able to do a lot of good things in college when it came to catching the ball out of the backfield and things like that. I’m definitely trying to continue to grow in that aspect of my game to be another weapon in the offense over the years and things like that. I think I do a pretty good job on catching the ball, but I want to continue to get better at that for sure,” Moss said.
Moss followed up his thoughts on his pass-catching ability by saying he’s not worried about those pre-draft scouting reports or anyone who says he’s just a one-trick pony in the NFL. Moss is just ready to contribute to the Bills offense.
“Everyone has their opinions,” Moss said. “Just trying to go out there and be the best I can be.”
Pointing out Moss and his other skills isn’t just an effort at a fluffy, nice kind of article about him. This is an important aspect for both of Buffalo’s backs. Singletary thrived as a rookie because he showed a versatile skill set. If the Bills have two guys like that? It could spell trouble for opposing defenses. Just compare that to last year’s Singletary-Frank Gore tandem. One of the NFL’s greats, Gore’s skills in Buffalo’s playbook became limited down the stretch. Opponents sat on his carries, knowing he couldn’t get to the outside like he was earlier in the season. It made him ineffective.
If both Singletary and Moss stay healthy, won’t be the case for the Bills in 2020.
A countdown of the six best moves the Buffalo Bills made this offseason.
The Buffalo Bills made some noise this offseason, making a trade, acquiring several free agents, moving on from some players on their roster, and drafting key pieces as a means to bolster their roster. The moves show that the team is in a “win-now” mentality, as they are reaping the financial benefits of several of their players who are outperforming their rookie contracts.
But of all these moves made by the Bills and general manager Brandon Beane since the end of the last season, which are considered the best by Buffalo’s brass? Here are the top six moves that will help take the Bills to the promised land in 2020:
Devin Singletary has taken hold of the top spot on the running back depth charter after a breakout rookie season. The player nicknamed “Motor” ran for 775 yards and averaged 5.1 yards per carry. Strong statistic if you factor in that he was held to only 12 games played in his first season. With a 16-game slate, could Singletary surpass 1,000 yards on the ground?
Despite that, the need for a complement for Singletary was an important hold to fill this offseason. Frank Gore was the downhill runner that the Bills coveted for part of the season last year, but his production fell off during the second half of the year. It looked as if the Bills did not have any answers for figuring out how to get Gore going after a certain point last season.
In rookie running back Zack Moss, the Bills are hoping they’ve found a strong alternative. Buffalo selected Moss in the third round of the recent draft. He is a bit bigger than Singletary. Moss is an aggressive runner with Marshawn Lynch being used as a comparison for this running style.
Buffalo’s coaching staff on offense clearly likes the idea of having two running backs ready to go at any time. Singletary will be the early-down, explosive runner while Moss will be the powerful closer to finish off defenses. A running back “by committee” approach is a philosophy that’s picked up steam across the league in recent years, but the Bills finally have one that could prove to be a talented duo.
