Stock up, stock down following the Bills’ win over the Dolphins
The Buffalo Bills (11-6) came into Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins (11-6) needing one more win for them to win the AFC East and be the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs.
Thanks to some big contributions from players integral to the team, the Bills achieved their goal of running the table all the way to a home playoff game.
In this one, Buffalo star quarterback Josh Allen wasn’t perfect as he turned the football over three times, but he also delivered the kind of dual-threat performance that he is capable of doing in any outing. Allen took advantage of the Dolphins’ spotty coverage of wide receiver Khalil Shakir for arguably the biggest game of his career.
Along the way, the Bills saw playmakers like Shakir, Trent Sherfield, and Deonte Harty come up with huge plays along with some clutch plays by the defense. With that being said,
Here is Bills Wire’s stock report following the win:
Stock up: QB Josh Allen
As mentioned, Allen did not have a perfect game by any means, but his performance showed why he is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL when he finds his rhythm. Aside from his turnovers, Allen was lethal in the passing game and he was making some key plays running the football as well.
Stock down: RB James Cook
The Bills’ running game wasn’t too effective against the Dolphins and Cook had a lot to do with that as he couldn’t find a way to be more impactful either through running the football or by catching it. He did have a nice run or two, but other than that, he was largely kept in check in a game where Buffalo could have used a big play from him to make the game easier down the stretch. Cook dropped another easy touchdown catch as well.
Stock up: CB Christian Benford
Despite the tough assignment of having to defend arguably the most dangerous wide receiver in the NFL in Tyreek Hill, Benford did a solid job in his coverage for the most part. He came up with some clutch tackles and made things difficult for Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa by providing some tight windows for him to have to throw through.
Stock down: DE Leonard Floyd
While the Bills defense provided some big plays that helped propel the team to victory, there were some players who could have had more of an impact, Floyd among them. Floyd did not put much pressure on Tagovailoa all game long though he is capable of doing much more when the opportunity is there.
Stock up: WR Khalil Shakir
Shakir has had some big performances this season and none were under more important circumstances than needing to win to clinch the division and become the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs. He was a big-play threat all game long against the Dolphins and was uncoverable in some big moments in the contest that allowed Buffalo’s passing game to flourish.
Stock down: RB Leonard Fournette
Fournette was signed to hopefully bring something to the backfield that complements Cook in a way that helps the Bills’ running game run smoothly, but he wasn’t able to do that in this one. Similar to Cook, Fournette did not make many big runs against Miami’s defense and couldn’t make anything happen in the passing game either.
