Rookie Radar: An Unfortunate Defeat
There’s no sugar-coating it; Buffalo looked atrocious in Houston on Sunday afternoon.
The Bills are clearly hurting on defense with star players such as Ed Oliver and Taylor Rapp injured, and Josh Allen was 9-of-30 on the day as receivers struggled to bring the ball in.
Let’s look at how the rookies did, despite losing to the Texans 23-20 on a 59-yard field goal as time expired in NRG Stadium.
The rookie receiver continues to show up when needed with a big play, although he did have a few drops on Sunday. But so did the rest of the receiving crew.
Coleman was 1-of-5 on the day, but his lone reception was a momentum-shifting 49-yard touchdown with Buffalo on 4th-and-5 to pull the game within three points. It is the Bills longest play on fourth down since a 52-yard completion in 2006.
His single catch led the offense in receiving yards.
He was in on 62% of offensive snaps, but I would’ve expected him to play more with the skill set he has demonstrated so far in addition to Khalil Shakir being sidelined due to an ankle injury.
Coleman also had a false start penalty on third-and-goal, which led to the field goal.
Davis’ time on the field was limited, and James Cook made up most of the run game.
The rookie back had two targets in the air and came down with one reception for four yards. His catch came on 2nd-and-17, but the drive ended in a punt. He was only in the game for two snaps.
Solomon saw an increase in snaps from last week as he was in on 15 defensive snaps (22%) and 68% of special teams snaps in Week 5. Last week he only played 5% of defensive snaps.
He managed two solo tackles and a QB hit on C.J. Strong on 3rd-and-13 to bring up fourth down and then a punt from the Texans.
The rookie safety made his first NFL start on Sunday and managed four tackles, two of which were solo.
He played all 68 defensive snaps but appeared to be nervous or not confident in his abilities, offering little help to Rasul Douglas on both of the Texans’ scoring drives in the first quarter.
Bishop also had 11 snaps on special teams.
Toohill did not see much of the field against the Texans. He had one tackle on 16 defensive snaps and four snaps on special teams.
“Buffalo Joe” did not get in on a lot of action Sunday afternoon, either.
He had one tackle and did not play a defensive snap, but was on the field for 21 snaps on special teams. Andreessen has not seen much playing time in his rookie season yet.
The defensive tackle was just signed last week in replace of Von Miller, who is out until Week 9 for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy after being arrested for domestic violence accusations in December 2023.
Logue was drafted in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons before the BIlls grabbed him from their practice squad.
In his NFL debut, he had two solo tackles and was in on 20 defensive snaps.
Bills v. Texans
Gallery Credit: Getty Images
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