The Buffalo Bills rattled off their third straight win after a rough couple of weeks, and it was an important one as it came against one of the best teams in the NFL. The Seattle Seahawks came into the game on fire—at least offensively—but the Bills’ offense out-dueled them. In a great showing, the defense contributed big plays when they were needed. Plus, most of the team’s rookie made their own positive contributions against Seattle. More about how each rookie performed against the Seahawks below.
DE A.J. Epenesa
On the field for only 11 snaps, Epenesa did what was expected of him against the run, but when asked to rush the passer he was schooled by left tackle Duane Brown. Brown seemed to have a counter for every pass rush plan the rookie threw at him. He did make a nice play on special teams in the fourth quarter by coming down with an onside/pooch kick and immediately securing it.
RB Zack Moss
Although Buffalo’s game plan dictated a strict adherence to passing principles, that didn’t stop Moss from chipping in with 18 yards on nine rushes and collecting another rushing touchdown. Granted, those numbers don’t look great on paper but many of those attempts came at the end of the game or near the goal line. Moss was actually much more effective in catching passes from Josh Allen, with two receptions for 30 yards. His best play there came on a perfectly timed screen pass that saw the rookie rumble for 20 yards before he was even touched by a defender.
WR Gabriel Davis
It was a big game for the rookie from UCF, with his four catches going for 70 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown came on a nifty little play fake, with Davis pretending like he was going to block for an Allen run, when instead he crossed the face of the defender and caught a jump pass. Outside of his big catches, Davis’s ability and willingness to block defenders continues to positively stand out.
QB Jake Fromm
As with the previous games, Fromm was again a healthy scratch. This should remain the case throughout the season.
K Tyler Bass
It seems like the rookie kicker has largely found his groove these last couple games. Once again, he made most of the kicks expected of him, going three-of-four, and made every extra point. His sole miss was on a 61-yard field goal to end the first half. Although the kick had the distance, it barely missed wide.
WR Isaiah Hodgins
Hodgins remains on Injured Reserve due to a shoulder injury sustained late in training camp.
CB Dane Jackson
Jackson was forced to come on the field after Tre’Davious White left with an ankle injury and immediately had to make a tough tackle of DK Metcalf on a wide receiver screen for minimal gain. It was an impressive tackle that demonstrated how physical the rookie is.
TE/FB Reggie Gilliam
Gilliam saw an uptick in snaps this week, probably tied to the fact that the team was in the red zone so much. He wasn’t targeted and didn’t collect any stats, but he did have a key block on Zack Moss’s one-yard touchdown run where he—as a fullback—stuffed safety Quandre Diggs.