The Buffalo Bills made a change with their rookie defensive ends Sunday.
First-round pick Greg Rousseau started, but played just 33 defensive snaps in a 31-14 victory over the Carolina Panthers at Highmark Stadium. That represented 43% of the 70 defensive snaps.
Boogie Basham, who was chosen in the second round after Rousseau and had been a healthy inactive in seven of the first 13 games, played 36 defensive snaps, 47% of the total.
Basham finished with four tackles, while Rousseau had one tackle, one quarterback hit and one pass defensed. Here are four more takeaways from the snap counts in Week 15:
1. Devin Singletary dominated playing time at running back. Singletary, who had season highs in carries (22) and yards (86), played a remarkable 65 of 70 offensive snaps (93%). The only other running back to play, Matt Breida, played just three offensive snaps (4%).
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2. Isaiah McKenzie had a bigger role. McKenzie, who had been a healthy inactive in two of the past three games, played a season-high 20 snaps (29%). He finished with one rushing attempt for 8 yards and one catch for 7 yards.
3. Gabriel Davis played a lot. Cole Beasley … not so much. With Emmanuel Sanders out, Davis played 90% of the offensive snaps (63 of 70). Beasley, the team’s primary slot receiver, played just 32 snaps (46%).
4. Harrison Phillips doubled Star Lotulelei in playing time. Phillips, who got the start, played 44 defensive snaps (58%), compared to just 22 for Lotulelei (29%). It remains to be seen whether Lotulelei was being worked back in slowly after a toe injury kept him out in Week 14, or if the Bills are moving toward making Phillips the primary starter as the one-technique defensive tackle.
Quote of the game
“These last two weeks have been hard. We’ve got a lot of competitive guys in that locker room. They want to win, and to come up short in the last two weeks against two good football teams, especially with a chance to win it in the fourth quarter, those are tough. So, hopefully, down the stretch we will have learned from those situations and gotten better as a football team.” – Bills coach Sean McDermott
Game ball: Gabriel Davis
Davis responded to the increase in playing time with a big game, finishing with five catches for 85 yards and the first two-touchdown game of his career. Davis now has 13 receiving touchdowns through the first 30 games of his career. That ranks third in team history, behind only Lee Evans and Sammy Watkins, both former first-round draft picks who had 15 receiving touchdowns in that time span.
Stat of the game: 1-5, 20%
That was the Panthers’ success rate on fourth downs. Playing without a kicker after Zane Gonzalez got hurt in pregame warmups, Carolina had to go for it instead of attempting field goals, which led to the unusually high number of fourth-down attempts. The Bills’ defense adapted well to the change. “We knew third-down situations, third-and-long, they might possibly try to cut it in half or make fourth down manageable,” safety Micah Hyde said. “We went out there and tried to limit them on those fourth downs.”
Coming attractions
We don’t need to pump it up much – it’s Patriots Week. Here are three things to know about New England …
1. The red zone has been a struggle. Like the Bills have at times, the Patriots have had trouble finishing drives with touchdowns. New England is scoring touchdowns on 54% of its trips inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, which ranks 24th.
2. The injuries piled up against the Colts. Four players don't finish the game – linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley with an ankle injury, wide receiver Nelson Agholor with a head injury and defensive tackle Carl Davis and wide receiver N'Keal Harry, each of whom suffered an undisclosed injury.
3. Penalties were an issue in the loss. New England was flagged eight times against the Colts, which tied a season high.
