The Buffalo Bills’ 23-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday didn’t offer a ton of surprises in the snap counts, but there are some clues as to who might fill in for a few injured players over the next few games.
Offense (60 total plays)
G Richie Incognito - 60
T Dion Dawkins - 60
G John Miller - 60
T Jordan Mills - 60
C Eric Wood - 60
QB Tyrod Taylor - 60
TE Charles Clay - 48
WR Zay Jones - 44
RB LeSean McCoy - 43
WR Jordan Matthews - 39
TE Nick O’Leary - 32
FB Patrick DiMarco - 30
WR Andre Holmes - 27
RB Mike Tolbert - 15
WR Kaelin Clay - 13
TE Logan Thomas - 9
- With Matthews on the shelf for at least a month, it would seem like the first crack at increased playing time would go to Holmes. He’s played in just under half of the Bills’ offensive snaps so far, and while he only has 36 receiving yards on the year he does have two short touchdown grabs.
- Kaelin Clay has seemingly taken Brandon Tate’s spot as the nominal fourth wideout, as Tate was a healthy scratch for the second time this season. Clay has only played 33 snaps with the offense, and while Taylor has targeted him four times he only has one catch on the year (albeit an important one that set up Holmes’ touchdown against the Broncos).
- DiMarco saw a big uptick in his usage against his former team. He had played in about a quarter of the team’s snaps through the first three games, but hit a clean 50% in Atlanta. Whether that was by design or just to get him some extra action in his old city remains to be seen.
Defense (75 total plays)
S Micah Hyde - 75
S Jordan Poyer - 75
LB Preston Brown - 75
CB Tre’Davious White - 75
LB Lorenzo Alexander - 64
DT Kyle Williams - 58
DE Jerry Hughes - 55
DE Eddie Yarbrough - 54
CB EJ Gaines - 49
CB Leonard Johnson - 45
DT Cedric Thornton - 36
LB Matt Milano - 32
DE Ryan Davis - 31
LB Ramon Humber - 29
CB Shareece Wright - 26
DT Jerel Worthy - 23
DT Marcell Dareus - 22
- With Humber set to miss time after surgery on his hand, Milano will likely earn his first career starts over the next month or so. The rookie fifth-rounder had been playing exclusively on special teams prior to this game. It’s possible that fellow rookie Tanner Vallejo could rotate in for Milano over the course of Humber’s injury.
- Poyer and Brown once again played every snap of the game, while Hyde and White have only missed two plays each.
- The return of Worthy to the lineup relegated Adolphus Washington to the inactive list. Even after spending a game on the sidelines, however, Washington has still played more than Dareus this year. It’s not a good look when the highest-paid defender (albeit the product of a different regime) has barely played more than a quarter of the snaps in the season despite only missing one game with injury.
Special teams notes
- With Tate inactive, return duties fell on Taiwan Jones (kickoffs) and Hyde (punts). Jones returned two kicks for a total of 50 yards, while Hyde called for a fair catch on all three of Atlanta’s punts.
- Colt Anderson suffered an arm injury and will require surgery. As a result, Robert Blanton saw extensive special teams action with 17 snaps. Joe Webb and Deon Lacey also maintained their role in the core group, as did Milano with a team-high 19 snaps on special teams.