The Buffalo Bills (11-3) are in the midst of a season that some weren’t expecting from them after the departures of a significant amount of veteran depth that the team had been dependent on over the years. So far, Buffalo has proven that it is one of the best teams in the NFL and they showed it once again against one of the best teams in the NFL, the Detroit Lions (12-2).
The Bills defeated the Lions on Sunday, 48-42, thanks to another great performance from quarterback Josh Allen and Co. and this time, Allen had some help on the offensive side of the ball. Not only did Allen have another epic game, but running backs James Cook and Ty Johnson came along for the ride in a game where the passing attack was pretty balanced across the board.
Detroit put up the kind of fight that one can expect from one of the best offenses in the NFL, but it was too little, too late for them as they fell behind by as many as 21 points in the contest.
Here is the Bills Wire’s stock report following Week 15:
Stock Up: QB Josh Allen
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As has been the case for the majority of this season, Allen was Buffalo’s best player, even though he had some fierce competition from players like Cook and Johnson. Allen completed 23-of-34 passes for 362 yards and two touchdowns while taking no sacks and running the football 11 times for 68 yards and an additional two touchdowns. Over his last two games, Allen is averaging 427 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns per outing.
Stock Down: WR Amari Cooper
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Cooper was a no-show in a game in which the Bills scored 48 points and quarterback Josh Allen threw for 362 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Cooper was just coming off a game last week in which he caught 6-of-14 passes for 95 yards against the Los Angeles Rams, but in this one, he did not register a single target. Buffalo needs more from him moving forward.
Stock Up: LB Terrel Bernard
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Terrel Bernard has been pretty good for the Bills as the middle linebacker of a defense that has to play in support of the offense, even though that hasn’t been the case in recent weeks. Against the Lions, Bernard did a good job of being a sure-tackler and was able to create some havoc behind the line of scrimmage at times.
Stock Down: Buffalo’s Secondary
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While Amon-Ra St. Brown is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL today with gamebreaking ability, the Bills could not do anything stop him (14 catches for 193 yards and one touchdown) or tight end Sam LaPorta (seven catches for 111 yards) all game long. Buffalo’s secondary isn’t necessarily a lockdown kind of unit, especially after the past couple of weeks, but the team expected more from its defensive backfield than what happened on Sunday.
Stock Up: RB James Cook
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After a lackluster performance last week against the Rams, James Cook bounced back in a big way as he gashed the Lions for 105 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. While Detroit doesn’t exactly have the most imposing defense, they had been pretty good against the run so seeing Cook run all over them the way that he did was impressive for him and for Buffalo’s offensive line as well.
Stock Up: RB Ty Johnson
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Ty Johnson has had an interesting role for the Bills this season as he is clearly behind James Cook in the running back depth chart, but he has had his moments for Buffalo, especially in the passing game. In this one, Johnson was unstoppable in the passing game as he caught five passes for 114 yards with his longest catch going for 33 yards, meaning that he was making plays all over the field the entire time.
