Dawson Knox joked recently that his cardio has never been better.
There's truth to what the Buffalo Bills' tight end said, though. Knox has dominated the playing time at his position through the first two games. That includes Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, when he played 54 of 65 offensive snaps (83%). That was tops among all running backs, tight ends and wide receivers on the Bills' roster. No. 2 tight end Tommy Sweeney played eight snaps against Miami and has played 10 this season. Knox has played 102, showing that he is far and away the top option at the position.
"We have a lot of confidence in Dawson," offensive coordinator Brian Daboll said. "He’s played a lot of plays for us. Yesterday, we had, I’d say, a variety of personnel groups, probably a little bit more than we’ve had in the past going into that game. And most of them involved the tight end for that game. He’s our tight end that we look to, so therefore he got a lot of reps."
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Here are four more observations from the snap counts after Sunday’s win:
1. A.J. Klein got in on defense. After not playing a single defensive snap in Week 1, the veteran linebacker played 30 defensive snaps against the Dolphins. He finished with five tackles, including one for a loss, and one quarterback hit. Klein’s usage is tied to the defensive formation. When the Bills go to their nickel (five defensive backs) scheme, Klein comes out.
2. The Bills paced Star Lotulelei in his return. The veteran defensive tackle played 31 defensive snaps, 42% of the team total. That was the fewest snaps of the four defensive tackles on the roster behind Ed Oliver (40 snaps, 54%), Justin Zimmer (38 snaps, 51%) and Vernon Butler Jr. (35 snaps, 47%). Lotulelei missed the Week 1 game against Pittsburgh because of a calf injury, so it’s possible the return from injury and the lopsided score resulted in a reduced workload.
3. Reggie Gilliam plays a huge role on special teams. The Bills’ fullback was on the field for 21 snaps on special teams, which was 95% of the team total and six more snaps than any other player on special teams.
4. Micah Hyde got two snaps on offense. No, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll isn’t getting that creative. Hyde came in for the Bills’ two kneel downs that were taken by backup quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. It’s common for teams to put a defensive player behind the quarterback in those situations as a safety valve, because defenders are generally better tacklers than running backs or receivers.
Quote of the day
“Yeah, it's big, but you know, it's one game. We want to continue to carry that momentum into next week. Obviously, any time you get a win on the road in the division, it's huge, but 24-hour window. We've got to learn from what we did. We didn't play perfect at all. There was still some football left out there on the field that we can learn from and move forward and put our focus on Washington.” – Bills safety Jordan Poyer
Stat of the game: 2
That’s how many touchdowns quarterback Josh Allen threw for. Why is that significant, you ask? It means Allen has thrown for at least that many in all seven of his career starts against the Dolphins. He joins Philip Rivers as the only players in NFL history to throw multiple touchdowns against an opponent in his first seven starts against them (Rivers did it for the Chargers against the Texans).
Game ball: Taron Johnson
The nickel cornerback finished with four tackles, one sack, two passes defensed and a forced fumble. Hyde and Poyer couldn’t wait to rave about Johnson’s performance in their postgame press conference, calling him the best nickel cornerback in the NFL. On Sunday, at least, he made a convincing case.
Coming attractions
The Bills start a two-game homestand when they welcome the Washington Football Team to Highmark Stadium at 1 p.m. Here are three things to know about WFT:
1. There will be no reunion with Ryan Fitzpatrick. That’s because the veteran quarterback suffered a hip injury in Washington’s season opener that is expected to keep him out of the lineup for about two months. Fitzpatrick has been replaced as Washington’s starter by Taylor Heinicke.
2. Extra rest will be a factor. Washington played on Thursday Night Football in Week 2, squeaking out a 30-29 over the New York Giants in controversial fashion. Washington kicker Dustin Hopkins missed a 48-yard field goal that would have given his team the lead on the final play of the game, but was given another chance when the Giants’ Dexter Lawrence was penalized for lining up offside. Hopkins made the ensuing 43-yarder to win the game. The next two Bills opponents will each have additional rest as the Houston Texans play Thursday night against Carolina before coming to Buffalo on Oct. 3.
3. Washington sacked Giants quarterback Daniel Jones four times and hit him six times in Week 2. Edge rusher Chase Young leads a talented defensive line that includes defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, who has three sacks so far this year, and Montez Sweat.
