Buffalo Bills @ Seattle Seahawks
Final Score: BUF 31 – SEA 10
Writer: Cesar Escajeda (@cescajeda13 on Twitter)
Between the rain, the flags, and the points, it was a downpour for the Bills on the road at the expense of an inconsistent Seahawks team.
Two Up
- James Cook, RB (BUF) – On an extremely rainy day, the Bills leaned on the running game with Cook at the tip of the spear, and he delivered – averaging 6.2 yards per carry and putting up two scores on a 111-yard day. He dominated touches and made life easier on the Bills, who simply grounded out a blowout victory in a tough environment.
- Khalil Shakir, WR (BUF) – Since the trade for Amari Cooper from Cleveland, the other Buffalo wideouts have feasted, and Shakir made sure he ate often against an undermanned Seattle secondary. The veteran leads the Bills in targets and total yards on the cold, wet afternoon, having himself a 100+ yard day for the first time this season.
Two Down
- Geno Smith, QB (SEA) – Smith was forced to shoulder this game with his WR1 D.K. Metcalf out and failed to make a dent in front of the home crowd. He was decently accurate with his throws but could not push the ball downfield against the elements and the Bills’ secondary, and it forced Seattle into a hole that they could not claw out of. It’s yet another mediocre performance for the 2022 Comeback Player of the Year, one that comes after their blowout victory against a contending Atlanta Falcons squad just last week.
- The Seattle Running Game – For the Seahawks backfield, Kenneth Walker III was terribly inconsistent, and Zach Charbonnet was just as big a nonfactor on fewer carries. Seattle just couldn’t move the ball through a torrential downpour, something that should have behooved their running game – instead, they abandoned the run early and found themselves incredibly one-dimensional, putting the strain on Smith to perform and allowing the team to fold in the face of adversity. After the outings Walker had earlier in the year, this was a dud that surely stung.
Buffalo Bills
Quarterback
Josh Allen: 24/34, 283 Yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 1 FUM | 7 Carries, 25 Yards
Allen didn’t miss a beat in the rain.
The star QB aired it out without hesitation and complimented a stellar Bills rushing attack by pushing the ball downfield to his litany of revamped receiving weapons. His average through the air was a little shortened, given the circumstances on Sunday afternoon, but he found open options more often than not, spreading the ball around to seven different receivers. The Cooper trade has really opened up this passing attack, it seems, and they’ve been steady through the air over the past two weeks.
Random fact, but Allen threw an early interception that was his first in 300 passes – a franchise record to this point. It was an interesting streak that came to an end, but Allen and the Bills didn’t miss a beat after that, a testament to how well he’s been playing this season.
Mitch Trubisky: 3 Carries, -3 Yards
Nothing but kneel-downs for QB2.
Running Back
James Cook: 17 Carries, 111 Yards, 2 TDs | 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 22 Yards
Cook, well, cooked, in Seattle on Sunday afternoon.
Unlike their opponents, the Bills had no problem handing the rock off with weather playing such a big factor, and it paid off greatly with Cook dominating the Seahawks’ front seven. It’s his first 100-yard rushing game this season and a nice return to form after the dud he put up last week in his return from injury.
Ray Davis: 6 Carries, 29 Yards
Ty Johnson: 1 Target
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Khalil Shakir: 10 Targets, 9 Receptions, 107 Yards | 1 Carry, 2 Yards
Shakir was on fire for the Bills passing attack.
Accounting for nearly half of Allen’s stats, Shakir was nigh-unguardable, springing free time and time again for quick strikes on 11.8 yards a catch. The Bills WR corps appears far more lethal than they were a few weeks ago, and the veteran receiver was the beneficiary of lessened coverage with more adept weaponry at the offense’s disposal. Shakir has lengthened his streak of solid games to two, and with the momentum of his best day to date this season, he should be relied on even more going forward.
Keon Coleman: 7 Targets, 5 Receptions, 70 Yards, 1 TD
The rookie is coming into his own as a weapon for Allen and co.
Coleman got the scoring off early with a simple two-yard pass on the Bills opening possession, a long drive that set the tone for Buffalo’s offense. The rookie featured heavily in the passing game and tied for second in total targets, averaging a healthy 14 yards per reception on the day. It was also a continuation of better performance from Coleman, coinciding with the Cooper trade two weeks ago. The promising young wideout is now a much bigger factor on offense, a welcome sight to see for fantasy managers.
Dalton Kincaid: 7 Targets, 4 Receptions, 31 Yards, 1 TD
Even Kincaid had himself a nice National TE Day.
Tied for second on the team in targets, Kincaid wasn’t a voluminous factor with just 31 yards, but he made his receptions count and brought in his TD in the waning seconds of the first half.
Dawson Knox: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 50 Yards
Amari Cooper: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 3 Yards
Cooper was simply nonexistent somehow in this game. His one real highlight (or rather, lowlight) was early in the game, a play where he was beaten to the ball, resulting in Allen’s lone interception. It appeared that Seattle was intent on making sure he didn’t beat them, but even then, Allen just did not look his way and didn’t really need to. It was bizarre, to say the least, but hopefully not indicative of things to come for the talented wideout.
Seattle Seahawks
Quarterback
Geno Smith: 21/29, 212 Yards, 1 INT, 1 FUM | 5 Carries, 16 Yards
Smith was somehow the leading rusher for Seattle with just 16 yards – a stat line that sums the day up for the offense and its QB.
For most of the afternoon, Smith was accurate with the ball, but between penalties and turnovers, he could not push the Seahawks forward, and it got ugly as the game wore on. The lack of a running game certainly hurt them, but Smith and the offense had multiple disastrous trips in the red zone, one that ended because of a ridiculously high snap by C Connor Williams, the other when Williams stepped on Smith’s foot, preventing him from advancing on 4th and Goal at the 1. Without the full complement of weapons for Smith with Metcalf out, there were no teeth on offense, and it cost them miserably at home.
Running Back
Kenneth Walker III: 9 Carries, 12 Yards | 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 33 Yards
At least Walker was decent in the passing game, because his efforts on the ground were BAD.
Averaging 1.3 yards per carry is terrible, but considering his past two games had been stellar, it was a major letdown against a defense that has been suspect against the run all season. Walker could not get anything going behind an offensive line that was outmatched at the point of attack, and his numbers greatly suffered as a result.
Zach Charbonnet: 3 Carries, 4 Yards, 1 TD | 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 20 Yards
Charbonnet put up the Seahawks’ only TD on the day, a 1-yard run in garbage time that attempted to save face. He was just as inefficient on the ground as Walker with just a third of the carries – averaging a matching 1.3 YPC.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 7 Targets, 6 Receptions, 69 Yards
JSN filled in admirably as the WR1 on the afternoon, but it still wasn’t enough to power any points on the board.
He led the team in targets and was efficient with what was sent his way, more than doubling the yardage of the next Seahawks receiver and averaging a healthy 11.9 yards a catch. It was a positive performance, albeit a tame one, given the lack of volume in an otherwise pass-happy game script.
AJ Barner: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 34 Yards
Noah Fant: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 22 Yards
Unlike his positional brethren across the league, Fant did not have himself a very explosive TE’s day. He finished tied for third on the team with 4 targets, but it did not amount to much, and most of it came on a single catch well after the game’s outcome had been decided.
Jake Bobo: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 15 Yards
Laviska Shenault Jr.: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 10 Yards
Tyler Lockett: 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 9 Yards
For those hoping for a breakout performance with Metcalf unable to dominate targets, this was not it.