Buffalo Bills fantasy football recap, Week 16: Zay Jones salvages rough outing

The Buffalo Bills lost to the New England Patriots—a not-so-shocking December result that clinched a tenth consecutive divisional title for the Patriots and left the Bills clenching their first season with double-digit losses since 2013.

While the 24-12 difference on the scoreboard doesn’t look so bad, the game was much worse than that in reality. Buffalo’s offense did not execute well for most of the day, at least until the final drive of the afternoon. When they did execute earlier in the game, turnovers, poor blocking, and other follies set the team back.

While the results were poor in real life, there was at least one player who had a good fantasy football day. Here were Buffalo’s top scorers in Week 16.

WR Zay Jones

Going into Buffalo’s final drive, Jones had been targeted four times, catching one pass for 12 yards. On Buffalo’s final drive—one that began with the Bills trailing 24-6 with 2:59 remaining—Jones saw five targets. He made four catches for 55 yards and a touchdown on the final drive. That score stands as the only offensive touchdown Buffalo has scored in four tries against New England since Sean McDermott became head coach. Jones’s stat line on the day (5 catches, 67 yards, 1 touchdown) was good for 15.2 fantasy points. If you’re among the 15% of fantasy owners in Yahoo! leagues who have Jones, and you had the guts to play him as your WR2 or flex, that last drive definitely salvaged some genius points for you.

QB Josh Allen

Facing a Bill Belichick defense is not easy for any quarterback, and it’s especially difficult for rookies. No rookie quarterback has won at Gillette Stadium against the Patriots since Belichick’s reign began, and that streak continues thanks to a poor showing from Allen and the offense. Yes, Allen threw some beautiful passes that were either dropped (a touchdown to Logan Thomas, for example), lost in the sun (come on, Robert Foster...wear a visor!), or incomplete due to inexplicable no-calls (Isaiah McKenzie was hit early in the end zone). Still, Allen also threw two awful interceptions. With little help from his receivers and no running game to speak of, Allen was only able to throw for 217 yards, one touchdown, and those two interceptions. He added five carries for 30 yards rushing, giving him a total of 13.68 fantasy points on the week—a total that was surely disappointing if you started him in your league’s championship game.

WR Robert Foster

The pass-catcher who seems to have the best rapport with Allen had himself another strong day. He was matched up with our old friend Stephon Gilmore for much of the day, and he was able to make the stud corner look bad on a few occasions. Foster’s route-running ability really seems to have developed as the year has progressed, giving hope for the future of a Buffalo receiving corps that, to be polite, is in need of improvement this off-season. Foster was targeted seven times on the afternoon, and he made four catches for 52 yards. That gave him 7.2 fantasy points.