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Buffalo Bills vs. Indianapolis Colts: Rookie review

Rousseau and Basham aren’t the problem against the Colts

The Buffalo Bills were forced into a rude awakening against another AFC South opponent. The Indianapolis Colts completely out-physicaled them on both sides of the ball. On offense, that meant it was the Jonathan Taylor show, while defensively the team pretty much shut down Buffalo’s passing attack with tight coverage in the secondary while coming down with three separate interceptions. It was not a great game for most of the Bills’ players, much less the rookies. More about how each rookie performed below.


DE Gregory Rousseau

Seeing his usual amount of snaps, Rousseau had seven total tackles, with the Colts having most of their success in the ground game running away from his side. His pass rush continues to leave much to be desired though, and he was out of place and looked confused on a couple of more complicated sweeps and motions that the Colts used in the backfield. Still, he wasn’t part of the problem.

DE Carlos Basham Jr.

The rookie nominal defensive end actually saw more snaps lined up as a defensive tackle late in the game, and he was consistently seeing success on those snaps lined up against guards and centers. He was able to get good penetration on several passing plays, although his attempts never really got home. His last two games have been his most productive performer to date, brining up the question if the coaches should be using his talents more in place of Harrison Phillips or Vernon Butler.

OT Spencer Brown

Added to the COVID-19 list during the week, Brown was thereby held out of the Colts game.

OT Tommy Doyle

Doyle was active—thanks to Brown’s designation—for the Indianapolis game, but did not see the field.

WR Marquez Stevenson

Stevenson was still listed on IR with a head injury for the game. Although he was activated by the team just recently.

S Damar Hamlin

The rookie safety was active this week and managed to see the field in garbage time late in the fourth quarter, recording a single tackle.

CB Rachad Wildgoose

On November 16, the New York Jets signed Wildgoose to their 53-man roster off of the Bills’ practice squad.

OG Jack Anderson

On September 21, the Philadelphia Eagles signed Anderson to their 53-man roster and off of the Bills’ practice squad.