Stock up, stock down following the Bills’ win over the Colts
The Buffalo Bills broke their 25-year playoff winning drought with their 27-24 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Saturday’s Wild Card outing. It was an intense atmosphere that saw both teams exchange leads, a 54-yard field goal, plenty of officiating reviews, and a failed Hail Mary. The Bills ultimately prevailed and will get to host another playoff game in the divisional round.
Following the Buffalo victory, here’s how the Bills fared in this week’s stock report:
Stock up
Josh Allen
There were a ton of questions being asked of quarterback Josh Allen entering the Wild Card weekend, most of them were if he could shake last years collapse against the Houston Texans. To answer those questions, yes… yes he could. Allen was dynamic against one of the best defenses in the league, lighting them up for 378 total yards and three total touchdowns.
Credit to the Colts, they made life difficult for Allen flushing him out of the pocket, and forcing him to make tough throws. Unfortunately for the Colts, their secondary couldn’t cover receivers Gabe Davis or Stefon Diggs when the play broke down. Of course, if his receivers weren’t open he made plays with legs, rushing for 54 yards and one touchdown.
These types of performances will be needed from Allen if the Bills want to continue beyond the Wild Card weekend.
Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis
What more can be said about Stefon Diggs? He’s an elite receiver who can make even the best of defenses look foolish. Diggs’ first catch showed one of his more underrated talents… his toughness. It was a 37-yard grab over the middle where he took a shot from the Colts safety. Diggs got right back up, and immediately started jawing at the Indianapolis secondary.
He wasn’t just tough, he also put up great numbers. Diggs had six catches for 128 yards and one touchdown to lead the Bills. A sensational effort for his debut performance in front of Bills Mafia.
We’re not done talking about the receiving corp though… how good is Gabriel Davis? The rookie made clutch catches throughout the game, especially on the Bills final drive of the first half. Both of his catches came down the sideline, helping set up a Josh Allen touchdown to the end the half.
Like Diggs, Davis had an impressive stat line, four grabs for 85 yards. An average of 21.3 yards per catch. A big play waiting to happen.
Micah Hyde
The Bills defense had a shaky performance against Indy, they struggled to stop the run, allowing 163 yards on the ground, and didn’t put any pressure on Philip Rivers. So when the Bills needed a big play, Micah Hyde delivered. He stepped up in the run in the game, denying Jonathan Taylor in the red zone, and made the play of the season so far in the closing seconds of the game.
To set the scene: The Bills are hanging onto to a three-point lead, and there are just four seconds left in the game. Future Hall of Famer Philip Rivers has a shot to steal the game for the Colts, he launches a 60-yard Hail Mary towards receiver T.Y. Hilton. Buffalo has seen this before, Week 10, the Hail Murray. Hearts are in the throats all throughout Western New York, but before Hilton can break the hearts of Buffalo, Hyde spikes the pass down with authority sealing the victory.
Honorable mentions
Both linebackers, Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano had good games, breaking up passes, and meeting running backs in the backfield. Kicker Tyler Bass hit a 54 yard field goal, setting the playoff record for longest field goal made by a rookie. Finally, offensive linemen Daryl Williams. Williams jumped on Josh Allen’s fumble in the 4th quarter, which could have been disastrous if the Colts recovered.
Stock down
John Brown
Receiver John Brown made his return to the team after a lengthy stint on the team’s injured reserve list in Week 17. Against the ‘Fins he had a decent outing, giving the Bills faithful a taste of what this Bills passing attack could look like heading into the playoffs. While Diggs and Davis produced, Brown was invisible. Josh Allen targeted Brown four times throughout the game, and Brown came down with zero catches.
The Bills will need more from Brown if they’re going to make a deep run into the playoffs.
Jerry Hughes
Defensive end Jerry Hughes has had a really strong season, in terms of generating a pass rush, and stopping the run. Against the Colts, he didn’t do much of either. The Bills front four as whole struggled, so it could have been anyone of those starters, but Hughes is the leader of that unit, so it’s fair that blame should fall to him.
Hughes finished the game with just two tackles, only one coming in the backfield.
Devin Singletary
The second year back just hasn’t had a good year in terms of production. There are a few things that Singletary does well, such as pass protection, and making defenders miss, but he hasn’t produced enough. This Wild Card game was more of the same, he had just three carries for 21 yards, and three catches for 23 yards.
The Bills coaching staff displayed their lack of trust in Singletary when his backfield mate, Zach Moss went out due to injury. Singletary wasn’t getting the same touches as Moss, forcing Buffalo to become one dimensional down the home stretch.
Dishonorable mentions
Dawson Knox, he had just two catches (while one was an impressive touchdown catch), the Bills simply aren’t getting enough from the tight end. Tre’Davious White, the defensive back had an up and down game, breaking up just one pass in the fourth quarter. Center Mitch Morse got bullied by Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, which didn’t help the Bills fledgling ground game.
