Not only did the Buffalo Bills reclaim the AFC East title against the Denver Broncos on Saturday, they tied an interesting NFL record which they now have two games to break.
In very surprising fashion, wide receiver Jake Kumerow caught a touchdown pass from Josh Allen in that 48-19 Week 15 blowout. He became the 13th player on the Bills to catch a touchdown pass this season, which ties the league’s record.
In total, seven other teams have done that in a single-season, those include: the Bucs (2003), Falcons (2016), Colts (2018), Dolphins (2018), Saints (2018), Titans (2019) and 49ers (2019).
Along with Kumerow and… actually, Allen himself, here are the other players on the Bills to catch a touchdown pass in 2020:
- WR Gabriel Davis (6)
- WR Stefon Diggs (5)
- WR Cole Beasley (4)
- WR Isaiah McKenzie (3)
- TE Dawson Knox (3)
- TE Tyler Kroft (3)
- WR John Brown (2)
- TE/ FB Reggie Gilliam (1)
- QB Josh Allen (1)
- WR Jake Kumerow (1)
- RB Zack Moss (1)
- TE Lee Smith (1)
- RB TJ Yeldon (1)
Now it begs the question, who could be No. 14?
The top candidate based on playing time and experience has to be running back Devin Singletary. Just last week against the Broncos, Singletary did score, but it was a rushing touchdown, not a reception. As a rookie, Singletary was no stranger to such scores, though. He caught two touchdown passes in 2019.
And speaking of catching two touchdowns, how about Dion Dawkins? In his career, the left tackle has checked into games as a receiver and caught passes two times, both in the end zone. Those occurred in 2018 and 2019.
In the same light as Dawkins, a name to keep in mind is Ryan Bates. On Buffalo’s goal line packages this year, Bates often checks in as an additional receiver on plays as Dawkins has. In most cases, a defense ignores this because the lineman’s duties are to block, not to actually be a receiver… but as Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has displayed in recent years, he isn’t scared to toss balls toward the big boys.
Behind Singletary and Dawkins, the No. 3 candidate is likely Andre Roberts. Almost all of his job is that of being a kick returner, however, he does occasionally see a few snaps in games on offense for the Bills. Roberts only had one game in 2020 with an extended run on offense though, Week 5 against the Titans. Furthermore, since Week 5, Roberts has played a grand total of two snaps on offense.
In all likelihood, assuming the Bills stay completely healthy, only Singletary has a realistic look at becoming No. 14. Other very distant names include special teamer/ running back Taiwan Jones, who has only taken a handful of snaps on offense for the Bills this year, and even further down the list, wide receiver Duke Williams. While having scored in 2019, Williams has spent the entire season on Buffalo’s practice squad as of now. Perhaps if Buffalo has nothing to play for in Week 17, he could be called up and get some playing time.
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