The Buffalo Bills enter their bye week at 5-1, and the offense has given them plenty to feel good about. Josh Allen is playing at an elite level, James Cook is right back among the NFL’s top rushers, and Keon Coleman’s growth has become one of the season’s biggest positives.
Still, this isn’t a unit without questions. Buffalo’s depth behind Cook hasn’t done much, the receiving group has been uneven, and the pass protection has left Allen taking too many hits.
Allen gets an A for his first six games. He has tossed a few interceptions, had a rough first half against the Rams, and also struggled against the Chargers, but those hiccups haven’t changed the overall picture.
He leads the NFL in total touchdowns and is on pace to set a record for the most touchdowns by a player in his first 10 seasons, even though he is only in his ninth year. His showing against the Raiders stood out as a clean example of his game: he didn’t force throws, took what the defense offered, and created when the play broke down.
The mistakes have been there, but the good has far outweighed them, and Allen remains the engine of a 5-1 start.
Cook earns the backfield a B, and that’s mostly because of how well he’s carried the load. He has 627 rushing yards on 117 carries, which ranks third in the NFL.
The issue is what comes after him. Allen is Buffalo’s second-leading rusher with 240 yards on 48 carries, while Ray Davis has only eight touches this season.
Ty Johnson has contributed as a receiver with 12 catches for 144 yards and has helped in pass protection, but the Bills haven’t really expanded the workload for the rest of the group as runners. Joe Brady has emphasized the need to keep Cook available for 20 games instead of just six or a handful early in the season, and that means Buffalo has to build more trust in its depth.
At receiver, Coleman has changed the conversation. After a tough start to his career, he’s making difficult catches, winning downfield, and becoming a far more dependable target for Allen.
Khalil Shakir remains one of the most reliable pieces in the offense, especially after the catch. DJ Moore has shown what he can bring when healthy, but a shoulder injury has limited him to just four of the Bills’ first six games.
The depth chart behind those top options has been shakier. Josh Palmer has only four catches, though two of them have gone for touchdowns, and drops have been a problem. Skylar Bell has also had a rough start across his first two games, with costly penalties adding to the trouble.
Tight ends land at C-. Dalton Kincaid leads the Bills with 315 receiving yards on 23 catches, but his production has come and gone.
He had seven catches against the Raiders, yet there have been stretches when he has barely shown up in the offense. He has one touchdown and is averaging 52 receiving yards per game.
The rest of the room hasn’t given Buffalo enough. Dawson Knox has not made a consistent impact, and Jackson Hawes has shown blocking ability while also drawing inopportune penalties.
Up front, the offensive line gets a B-. The run blocking still gives Buffalo a solid base, and Connor McGovern has been excellent at center.
But the overall play hasn’t matched last season’s level. Pass protection is the bigger concern, with Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown getting beaten too often and forcing Allen to create on the move.
Penalties have also hurt, sometimes handing the advantage right back to the defense after a block is lost.
Buffalo has a strong offensive foundation because of Allen’s play and Cook’s production, with Coleman’s development adding another layer of hope. But if the Bills want this offense to go from good to truly dangerous in the second half, they need more from the backs behind Cook, steadier play from the receivers, and better protection for Allen.
In Other News...
Bills Bye Week Has Fans Debating One Receiver's Future
With the Bills heading into their Week 7 bye at 5-1 and getting Tre'Davious White back into the mix, the roster conversation has shifted from week-to-week survival to bigger-picture questions. One of those centers on the receiver room, where Buffalo has seen other pass catchers make their presence felt while Joshua Palmers role has stayed relatively limited since he arrived.
Palmer signed a three-year deal in March, so this is not exactly the kind of early-season development the Bills had in mind when they brought him in. Still, the combination of his uneven production and the way the depth chart has shaken out has made him a player worth watching as the deadline chatter starts to build. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Cornerback Debate Just Got More Interesting With Tariq Woolen
The Bills cornerback conversation has a new wrinkle with Tariq Woolen entering the picture, and it is easy to see why Buffalo would spend time on the outside defender. Woolen has the kind of length and size that stand out immediately, and his past production has already shown he can be a real factor on the boundary. For a defense that is always weighing fit as much as raw talent, that profile naturally puts him on the radar before the trade deadline.
Buffalos interest would come down to more than just traits, though. Woolens contract status and modest salary make him a plausible deadline target, while the Bills would also need to sort out how he would fit schematically alongside the corners already on the roster. The bigger question now is whether the price stays in a range Buffalo can justify, because the kind of move this would be could say plenty about how the front office views its current outside cornerback options. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Bye Week Could Shape Their Biggest Roster Decision Yet
The bye week arrives with the Bills sitting at 5-1 and still looking like one of the AFCs most balanced teams on offense, even as the defense leaves room for a midseason jolt. For a front office that has already seen how narrow the margin can be, this quiet stretch is the natural time to assess whether the roster needs a splash addition, and the names being tossed around tell you plenty about the kind of upgrade Buffalo would be chasing.
Wide receiver Tyreek Hill is the headline-grabber, but cornerback Marshon Lattimore would speak to a more immediate defensive need, and linebacker Matt Milano also looms as a familiar fit in the conversation. Buffalo does not need to remake its identity to justify a move, but the bye week offers a rare window to weigh how aggressive it wants to be before the seasons second half starts tightening the race. [Read more 🡒]