The Buffalo Bills used their three tight ends in an interesting way Sunday against the New Orleans Saints at Highmark Stadium.
Rookie Jackson Hawes led the position in snaps, playing 31 of the 59 offensive snaps in Buffalo’s 31-19 victory. That was 53% of the offensive total, more than both Dawson Knox (24 snaps, 41%) and Dalton Kincaid (22 snaps, 37%).
“When we roll out our ‘13’ personnel with Dalton, Dawson and ‘Hawsey’ you have to have to be ready for us to run it,” quarterback Josh Allen said. “But he gives us that element they know if we make it out, it’s not always Dalton or Dawson coming out and making a play. He’s more than capable of making these plays and he’s shown that over the course of these first four games.”
Hawes had one catch for 15 yards, Kincaid had one for 28 yards that went for a touchdown and Knox finished without a reception. Here are four more takeaways from the snap counts in the Bills’ Week 4 win:
1. Dorian Strong played 15 snaps. The team’s rookie cornerback rotated in with veteran Tre’Davious White. Strong, a sixth-round pick, played 22% of the defensive snaps – 15 of 67. White played 51 snaps (76%). Coach Sean McDermott said the decision was made to get Strong some more experience and was not a reflection of White’s performance.
2. Curtis Samuel got a decent amount of work. In his first game of the season, the veteran receiver played 20 offensive snaps, 34% of the team total. That was more than fellow wide receivers Elijah Moore (18 snaps, 31%), Joshua Palmer (15 snaps, 25%) and Tyrell Shavers (14 snaps, 24%).
Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack
3. Ray Davis played a small role. The team’s No. 2 running back played just five offensive snaps (8%) against the Saints. He rushed one time for 3 yards.
4. Defensive tackle snaps were pretty close. The Bills played their four defensive tackles between 27 and 39 snaps. Jordan Phillips played 27 (40%) in being called up from the practice squad, while rookies Deone Walker (34 snaps, 51%) and T.J. Sanders (36 snaps, 54%) were next. Veteran DaQuan Jones led the position with 39 snaps (58%).
Player of the game: James Cook
The running back piled up 117 yards on 22 carries and scored a rushing touchdown for the eighth straight game in the regular season – setting a franchise record. “I’m glad he’s on our team,” quarterback Josh Allen said of Cook. You can say that again.
Stat of the game: 7.6-3.5
That was the difference in the team’s average gain per pass play, in favor of the Bills. Allen gets credit for that, of course, but the flip side is with even average quarterback play, the Bills potentially lose that game.
Quote of the game
“It’s a week-to-week league. It’s a hard league to win, so you celebrate every win and you learn. You learn from the wins. You learn from the ones that don’t work out the way that you hope they work out.” – McDermott
Get in the game with our Prep Sports Newsletter
Sent weekly directly to your inbox!
* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Jay Skurski
News Sports Reporter
Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!
Your notification has been saved.
There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Followed notifications
Please log in to use this feature
Log In
Don’t have an account? Sign Up Today