Let James Cook: Bills’ rookie back runs wild on Patriots defense (Report card)

The Buffalo Bills picked up their first win in the AFC East.

Minus one explosive play by New England early, it was all Bills on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium. Buffalo made some big plays against the Patriots, but a lot of their success came on long drives in which the team leaned on a balanced offensive attack. James Cook and Devin Singletary found success on the ground while Josh Allen was efficient as a passer targeting Stefon Diggs early and often.

Defensively, Buffalo found themselves out of position on one quick pass that resulted in a 48-yard score. Besides that, the Bills’ defense stopped Mac Jones and the Patriots in their tracks. It was an impressive performance without their top pass rusher, Von Miller, who was placed on the injured reserve earlier in the day.

When all was said and done, Buffalo cruised to a 24-10 victory. Following their ninth win of the season, here is how the Bills graded out.

QUARTERBACK: A-

Josh Allen had some big time plays in the win.

His sideline touchdown pass to Gabe Davis brought back memories of his sideline touchdown throw to Dawson Knox last season in a playoff matchup against New England. Just as it looked like he was going to be forced out of bounds, Allen was able to throw a pass to Gabe Davis for seven points.

The quarterback also targeted Stefon Diggs throughout the evening with great success including a perfect deep ball that was called back on a penalty.

For the most part though, Allen simply took what the defense gave him with great success. It was an efficient evening for the quarterback as he completed 22-of-33 passes for 223 yards passing and two touchdowns while adding 20 yards on the ground.

RUNNING BACK/FULLBACK: A

James Cook and Devin Singletary were excellent on Thursday night.

Cook was the star of the show with over 100 yards of total offense. Cook rushed for 64 yards on 14 carries (4.6 YPC) while adding 41 yards receiving on six receptions. Tonight was the type of game that Buffalo envisioned when they drafted Cook in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Singletary continued to be productive when given opportunities as well. The Bills’ top back had 51 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries (3.9 YPC). The only knock on Singletary were two drops in the passing game.

Buffalo tried to get Nyheim Hines involved in the run game, but it did not work against New England. Hines is a great pass catcher so the Bills need to find a way to get the ball into his hands as a receiver. He had -3 yards rushing but added 21 yards on one catch.

WIDE RECEIVER: B+

Stefon Diggs had a field day against the Patriots secondary. The Bills’ top receiver caught seven passes for 92 yards and one touchdown in the win. Diggs is now at 10 touchdowns on the season.

Isaiah McKenzie, coming off of his best game of the season on Thanksgiving, had another solid outing with five catches for 44 yards on five targets.

Gabe Davis added a touchdown in the win and Khalil Shakir added a reception of his own.

TIGHT END: F

Tight end is usually grouped with the wide receiver position, but tonight they get their own category.

Tommy Sweeney cost the Bills a touchdown right before halftime with an unnecessary hold. A long ball from Allen to Diggs was taken off the board and Allen was stripped of the ball shortly thereafter. It was a big mistake by the reserve tight end.

Dawson Knox finished with no receptions.

Buffalo needs better play from this unit.

OFFENSIVE LINE: C

David Quessenberry really brought the offensive line grade down. Quessenberry seemed to be dealing with an ankle injury, but whiffed on a block that led to Josh Allen getting stripped of the football late in the first half. There was also an instance of Quessenberry simply falling down coming out of his stance. Quessenberry deserves some praise for clearly playing through an injury, but it was not a strong performance by any means.

Quessenberry exited the game with an injury late in the third quarter paving the way for Justin Murray and Bobby Hart to play left tackle. This is a sentence that no Bills fan will ever want to read again. He later returned to the game. Buffalo can only hope that Dion Dawkins is ready to go next week.

While Quessenberry struggled, the interior of Buffalo’s offensive line was strong. Mitch Morse, Ryan Bates and Rodger Saffold held up in pass protection and opened up running lanes for Singletary and Cook.

DEFENSIVE LINE: B-

Shaq Lawson made an impact early. He had three total tackles (1 TFL) and had some pressure on Mac Jones. A.J. Epenesa added a late sack for the unit and finished with two tackles for loss. Greg Rousseau added a quarterback hit and pass defensed while Boogie Basham added a QB hit of his own. One sack against an average, at best, offensive line is not great, but the unit got the job done with plenty of pressure.

In run defense, Rhamondre Stevenson was able to take on initial hits while keeping his legs moving. He finished with 56 yards on 10 carries.

LINEBACKER: A

Tremaine Edmunds is having the best season of his career.

Edmunds looked outstanding with six total tackles including many around the line of scrimmage. He’s playing with great confidence and seeing the field well.

Matt Milano was also strong with five total tackles in the win.

SECONDARY: B+

Damar Hamlin missed a tackle on a quick pass. That miss resulted in a 48 yard touchdown for the Patriots. Hamlin has seen extended time on the field with Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer both missing time this season. He’s had his ups and downs, but there were more downs for the young safety on Thursday night. Hamlin was later ejected for a hit that broke up a touchdown in the end zone.

Jordan Poyer wasn’t able to bring down Marcus Jones after Hamlin’s missed tackle, but he was otherwise excellent. Poyer had a near interception in the win and finished with five total tackles (1 TFL) and a pass defensed.

At cornerback, Tre’Davious White and Xavier Rhodes started on the outside. Both did a good job of limiting the Patriots’ passing game. Mac Jones finished with 195 yards passing with almost one-fourth of them coming on the Marcus Jones score early. Jones was shut down by a secondary that finished with five passes defensed.

SPECIAL TEAMS: F

Punting?! Against the Patriots?! A total failure by the unit.

All jokes aside, this unit was fine on Thursday night. Tyler Bass was perfect on field goals (1/1) and extra points (3/3) and Sam Martin punted the ball well. One punt pinned the Patriots inside the 20 while a second had just a little too much power on it.

Nyheim Hines was kept in check with 30 total yards on kick and punt returns.

Tyler Matakevich came close to a few blocked punts on the night.

(Actual special teams grade: B-)

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