ORCHARD PARK – There were a few unfortunate injuries, there were two straight road game losses to teams that could very well get in their way in January, but that aside, this was a first quite impressive. half of the 2024 season for the Buffalo Bills.
When the season began, at least on paper, the Bills were facing what appeared to be a very difficult first eight weeks with five road games and five games against teams that seemed like surefire playoff contenders.
Sign up for the Bills Blast newsletter Delivered straight to your inbox, additional analysis of invoices, information, statistics, quotes and history from the Sal Maiorana team.
Still, the Bills are sitting pretty with a 6-2 record and miles ahead in the AFC East thanks to the struggles of the Dolphins and Jets. Yes, it was a hell of a start for the Bills.
Now that the NFL has a 17-game schedule, the midpoint of the Bills’ schedule will come at halftime of Sunday’s game at Highmark Stadium against the desperate Dolphins, so if I may, without the benefit of those two quarterbacks -time, I’ll be handing out my midseason position grades, starting with the offense.
Quarterback: A
Josh Allen may not be putting up the eye-popping numbers he has in the past, but make no mistake: he’s having a great season. He is third in NFL passer rating with 107.6, which if that holds would be the best of his career, even better than his 107.2 in 2020 when he was a finalist in MVP voting and established career highs for yards (4,544) and TD passes (37).
“He continues to develop, he continues to mature,” coach Sean McDermott said. “His mastery of our offense, his mastery of being in certain critical situational football environments has also been important to us in our team’s success. He is therefore the undisputed leader of our football team and of this organization.
Allen ranks 24th with a 64.4 completion percentage, but that’s a product of his horrible game against the Texans; in four other games he exceeded 70%. Additionally, among all statistically qualified QBs, his one interception is the fewest in the league and his 17 total touchdowns (14 passing, three rushing) rank third. This is the most polished version of Allen we’ve ever seen.
Revenant: B+
James Cook had a breakout breakout in 2023 when he finished with 1,122 rushing yards and was sixth in the NFL in yards from scrimmage (1,567), so there would be no chance of sneaking up on his opponents in 2024. He was going to be a marked man. and even though his numbers are down slightly, Cook has nonetheless become a key man in the offense.
Last week in Seattle was a great example of that as he ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns, and his role will only become more important as the weather starts to change, especially if he can also get involved more in the short passing game.
Rookie Ray Davis stood tall when Cook missed the Jets game and rushed for 97 yards and caught three passes for 55 yards, all significant as the Bills earned perhaps their most important victory of the season that night in a game where the AFC East was actually up for grabs. Davis averages 4.2 yards per carry and his physical style is a big change of pace from Cook. Even third-stringer Ty Johnson contributed with nine of his 19 touches producing first downs, and he has two TD receptions.
Wide receiver: C+
This was the biggest question mark of the season as the Bills moved on from two very productive players, Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis (yes, he had his moments). And for the first six weeks, it didn’t go well as Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins and Marquez Valdes-Scantling were ghosts, and rookie Keon Coleman was still trying to find his way. Only Khalil Shakir gave the Bills anything, and that’s why Brandon Beane made the trade to acquire Amari Cooper and send MVS packing.
Not surprisingly, while Cooper’s contributions have been muted as he learns the offense and gets used to playing with Allen and the others, it’s probably no coincidence that, since his arrival, Allen has experienced his two best passing days of the season against the Titans and Seahawks. because those defenses had to know about Cooper. Eventually, Cooper will enter more of the mix — assuming his wrist injury doesn’t cost him time — but until then, Shakir is the No. 1 man and what a season he’s having.
How vital is the former fifth-round pick? He missed the Texans game, and look what happened that day when Allen only completed 30% of his passes. Shakir leads the NFL with a 94.7 catch percentage (36 receptions on 38 targets) and has 421 yards, including 307 after the catch, which ranks fifth in YAC in the league.
As for Coleman, he has really made nice progress and is becoming a trusted target for Allen as not only has he made some contested catches (his TD in Seattle was a great play), but he has shown the ability to run after the catch. ‘caught, especially in the Titans game.
Tight Ends: B-
I’ve talked about it all season, but I still believe Dalton Kincaid is capable of much more than what he provided in the passing game, and as a first-round pick now in his second year, that has to be start to happen.
He is second on the team with 28 catches for 300 yards, but his yards per game average is only 37.5. He is 10th in the league among TEs in receptions, 12th in yards and 16th in yards per game. Kincaid shows flashes, but he only has two touchdowns and his longest gain is 28 yards. For this Bills passing game to truly buzz, he needs to be more of a consistent threat down the field.
Dawson Knox had a nice 23-yard reception last week, but he became an afterthought as a pass catcher with just seven for 97 yards and a touchdown. However, he’s still on the field on 54% of snaps, compared to Kincaid’s 64%. I think there needs to be more separation there, especially now that the Bills have three viable receivers in Shakir, Cooper and Coleman and should try to move away from some of the two tight end sets that were needed before the finish by Cooper.
Offensive line: A-
This was another big area of concern early in the season because the Bills released center Mitch Morse, then replaced Connor McGovern at center and inserted David Edwards into McGovern’s vacant left guard spot. Upsetting two positions after a year where the Bills line performed very well didn’t seem prudent, but those concerns have dissipated.
McGovern was a pleasant surprise, but Edwards was a bigger surprise with how he held up after not being a full-time starter since 2021, when he was with the Rams. As for O’Cyrus Torrence, he has endured some struggles after a promising rookie season and the Bills need to get him back on track as he has allowed a team-high 18 QB pressures, according to Pro Football Focus rankings.
At tackle, Dion Dawkins is still playing at a Pro Bowl level, and Spencer Brown, who the Bills gave a significant contract extension just before the season, has rewarded their faith. It’s safe to say that despite some penalty issues, he’s been the team’s best lineman thus far. The Bills are fortunate to have one of the best line coaches in the NFL in Aaron Kromer.
Special teams: B-
There has been a lot of consternation over Tyler Bass, and that will likely continue until he gets to a position of prominence. So far, he hasn’t been tested by a rushing kick, and he’s making shots down the field (9 of 9 inside 40 yards). Beyond that distance, he’s a poor 3-for-6 in an era where kickers routinely succeed from 40 yards or more, even 50 yards or more. He was good on PATs, 26 of 28, with one of the misses not being his fault because he was blocked.
In the return game, rookie Brandon Codrington clearly has talent and he had some good punts and kickoffs, but he also made the terrible decision last week to field a punt at the line. purpose, so he has to clean that up. Still, his 10.7 average on punts ranks 10th, and his 32.5 average on kickoffs is third among returners with at least four attempts.
Sal Maiorana covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades, including 35 years as a full-time writer for D&C, and he wrote numerous books on the team’s history. He can be reached at [email protected] and you can follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
This article originally appeared on the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills midseason report card: Josh Allen’s top grade leads offense
