It’s beginning to sound like a broken record, but the Buffalo Bills suffered another blowout loss this past Sunday, this time curtesy of the Chicago Bears. It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that the offense flopped around for four quarters while the defense wasn’t able to hold up it’s end of the bargain either. With rookies Josh Allen and Tremaine Edmunds out, only a couple rookies saw a decent amount of snaps. More about the performance of each rookie below.
DT Harrison Phillips
Phillips had a couple highlights on the day. The first came during the first quarter, when Phillips got penetration on a third and one and tackled Jordan Howard for no gain. The second was when Howard foolishly chose to break a run outside, Phillips immediately shook off his block and tackled Howard for a loss. With only 19 snaps on the day, it was a strong day of work for the rookie.
CB Taron Johnson
It was a strong day in coverage for Johnson, as his primary responsibility was Bears slot receiver Joshua Bellamy, who was held to zero catches on the day. Johnson’s sole pass breakup came on a post route, when Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky tossed a poor throw that hit Johnson in the back. In a poor day for the Bills secondary, the rookie Johnson was a bright spot.
S Siran Neal
Neal again was relegated to special teams duties, specifically punt return team and kickoff return team. He performed adequately in both areas. With the Bills continuing to rack up losses, it’ll be interesting to see if he sees any defensive snaps moving forward.
WR Ray-Ray McCloud III
Only seeing 17 offensive snaps on the day, McCloud was only targeted once, and it was dropped by the young receiver. McCloud is another player who is worth tracking as November moves forward.
OG Wyatt Teller
The rookie fifth rounder saw his first regular season snaps of the season after being inserted into the game for a few random drives. Teller acquitted himself adequately, although he appeared to get a little top-heavy when in pass protection. It’s safe to say that he’s earned the right to see additional snaps moving forward.
Notes
- Starting quarterback Josh Allen was inactive against the Bears as he continued to recover from his elbow injury sustained against the Houston Texans.
- Starting middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds was also inactive against the Bears as a result of the concussion sustained against the New England Patriots.
- Undrafted rookies Cam Phillips and Ike Boettger were listed as inactive.