Buffalo Bills' Week 1 performance gives fans plenty of clues about what the passing attack will look like this year
How the offense would operate for the Buffalo Bills was one of the biggest topics of the offseason. With Stefon Diggs gone to Houston (where he had a two touchdown day in his first game for the Texans), what was the distribution going to look like?James Cook stood out as a bright spot, looking capable […]
How the offense would operate for the Buffalo Bills was one of the biggest topics of the offseason. With Stefon Diggs gone to Houston (where he had a two touchdown day in his first game for the Texans), what was the distribution going to look like?
James Cook stood out as a bright spot, looking capable of chunk plays on the ground and through the air on his way to a 103 scrimmage yard performance. One game into the regular season, and we've learned a lot about what the "everybody eats" Bills passing attack might resemble.
Keon Coleman led the team in targets
Somewhat surprisingly, rookie second round pick, Keon Coleman, ended up leading the team in targets, receptions, and receiving yards with four catches on five looks and 51 yards.
He looked largely comfortable in his debut. There weren't any glaring miscommunications, and he got his looks while lining up on the outside, including a beautiful sideline grab of 28 yards against tight contested coverage.
Seeing Coleman get his looks on the outside and having the trust of Allen in contested catch situations is a great sign for their budding chemistry.
Khalil Shakir looked lethal after the catch
Khalil Shakir, who I expect to finish the year leading the team in receptions and receiving yards, is one of the most deadly players in the league after the catch, which he demonstrated on his twisting, acrobatic touchdown catch and run in the red zone. His body control and his ability to always know where the end zone is makes him one of the most important weapons in this offense as the season goes on.
It's important to keep the final stats of this game in context – Buffalo's defense struggled mightily to get the Arizona Cardinals off the field in the first half, with the Bills running only 20 plays total before halftime. In those plays, Allen only attempted six passes.
The second half saw the offense open it up more, with Allen attempting the remainder of his 23 passing attempts. It was a low output passing game, considering Allen has averaged over 33 pass attempts per game over the course of his career. Shakir is dynamic after the catch and his total volume will increase as the passing volume increases.
Dalton Kincaid was essentially non-existent
In what was the biggest surprise of the day, second-year tight end Dalton Kincaid was all but non-existent throughout the course of the game. He finished with one catch for 11 yards on two targets.
The rhetoric coming out of training camp was that Kincaid was going to be a focal point of this offense and that he could potentially lead the team in targets. Obviously it's only one game, but his lack of involvement in the attack today was a glaring question mark. We'll see if his role is a consistent one over the course of the season. This could be "everybody eats" mentality in fruition – sometimes, it might just not be your game, depending on what the defense is trying to take away. A varied attack with plenty of options is good news for Buffalo.
Follow along all season for all the latest Buffalo Bills news. You can also find me on X @JonHelmkamp.