The Buffalo Bills strolled to a 30-10 win over the Jets last Sunday afternoon. The game truly never felt that close throughout and Buffalo was able to take their foot off the pedal fairly early on into the second half. One of the biggest story lines of the day was the Bills’ big defensive bounce-back performance, where they just completely smothered a Jets team that looked over-matched in every way.
The landscape changed a bit for some of Buffalo’s rookies. A few were thrust into more significant action while others took a back seat from a reps standpoint. Let’s discuss how the Bills’ rookies factored into the formula during a big AFC East road win.
Hairston will be sidelined for at least a couple more games while on Injured Reserve (IR). He’s eligible to be activated at the end of September. Until then, it’s the Tre’Davious White show at cornerback across from Christian Benford. It’s looking so far so good for White in his return to the field for the Bills.
Sanders was a steady presence in his performance on Sunday. It certainly wasn’t anything flashy from him on the day as veteran defensive end Joey Bosa took those honors. Sanders still played well throughout the game, logging nearly 50% of the defensive snaps on the day. The Bills were completely dominant across the board defensively Sunday so it’s hard to point to any bad performances. Sanders’ play wasn’t loud, but you also didn’t notice him negatively affected by what the Jets’ offensive line was doing to him.
Jackson was a healthy inactive once again in Week 2. Primarily, Javon Solomon got the nod at the spot over him. It certainly hasn’t been the start Jackson or the team hoped for as he begins his year as a healthy scratch. Remember, the season is long and there will be opportunity at some point for him to get some run when injuries inevitably do hit the team at that spot. For now, Jackson remains on the back burner despite being a third-round draft choice.
Walker has earned his reps along with Sanders. They got even more run in this one with Ed Oliver on the shelf, which may continue for the next couple of weeks. Walker played near identical snaps to Sanders and even got the start on the afternoon next to DaQuan Jones. Walker showed himself well by holding up in run support and eating double teams at times.
A big question about Walker’s NFL viability had to do with his ability to hold up in his lower half and anchor versus the run. He did well in that department. Similarly to Sanders, the play wasn’t exceptionally loud but he did some things well that don’t show up in the box score to free up second-level defenders to make plays.
A solid outing by the Bills’ safety room may keep Hancock as a scratch on game days for the time being. He was dealing with a shoulder injury in practice last week. Hancock originally injured a shoulder in the second preseason game nearly a month ago. It’s unclear if it is the same injury nagging for the versatile Ohio State product.
Hancock was a full participant in practice Monday — a good sign that he’s back to good health heading into a Thursday night matchup. We will soon find out if Hancock is someone that’s in the Bills’ plans early this season.
The Bills have to be over the moon with their selection of Hawes early in the season. He’s been an immediate contributor to an elite offense. His blocking ability has made a difference early, and the Bills have gotten him out into routes to keep teams honest versus that of having sixth offensive lineman Alec Anderson on the field. Hawes played 35 snaps Sunday — just one short of matching Dalton Kincaid. He even got a snap at fullback.
Despite strong play a week ago, Strong could not hold onto a starting role in the defense with Tre’Davious White back in the fold. He did get some rotational reps in, with 21 snaps on the day. That’s a far cry from his 100% of snaps on defense a week ago.
Strong was an important special teams player as the gunner and jammer on the punt teams for the Bills. He’s likely to stay in the active lineup even with Maxwell Hairston’s return as long as he’s a consistent on special teams.
Lundt was inactive for the second straight week. The entire Bills starting line is healthy. The only injury of the entire unit at the moment is Tylan Grable’s IR stint. Barring injury, it’s safe to say Lundt won’t be active this season.
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