Bills report card: Backups shine as Buffalo closes out Highmark with win

ORCHARD PARK - While the majority of the Buffalo Bills exited their locker room Sunday night before the media was even allowed into the room, a pretty disappointing situation, one of the players who graciously stayed behind was one of the Bills’ longest tenured players, cornerback Tre’Davious White.

White, of course, was Sean McDermott’s very first draft pick way back in 2017, a foundational piece to the rebuild that began that year, and after spending 2024 away from the team, he was brought back to Buffalo this season and played better than anyone could have expected.

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Sunday’s 35-8 blowout of the New York Jets meant something to White because it was the last game that will ever be played there, a place where he grew up and became an All-Pro player, and the emotions were flowing all day.

“You just think about all the fans that we have over the years and all the memories that I was able to make on this field, too,” he said. “It’s definitely something that I had to think about. I’ll remember running out my first time, my first preseason game, first home regular-season game, making my first interception there, too. So it’s a lot of things to remember about the stadium. I hold it dear to my heart. It’s something I’ll always remember. I can always say I played in the last game.”

And White also made sure to pay homage to those before him, some of whom were on the field at halftime to be recognized by the sellout crowd.

“You just think about the guys that came before us,” he said. “You really can’t think about the present guys, they made some plays, but the guys that can’t go back and add on to their legacy, man, you gotta think about them, Thurman (Thomas), Jim (Kelly), Bruce (Smith), Andre (Reed), Darryl Talley, so many. Marshawn Lynch, Kyle Williams, Lorenzo Alexander, Jerry Hughes. It’s all about the people that laid the foundation for us. We’re gonna be able to go next door and make memories, a lot of guys are gonna be able to do that, but those guys can’t go back and add on. So let’s think about them.”

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Obviously, with McDermott sitting out so many frontline players to protect them from injury, it wasn’t an ideal ending for the stadium. Watching Mitchell Trubisky isn’t the same as watching Josh Allen.

Still, McDermott made it clear that winning the game was important, because the stadium deserved that.

“Yeah, it was important,” he said. “I said it last week at the beginning of the week. This game was important to us as an organization, it is important to me as a coach, it was important to us as a staff, it’s important to the players. And I really appreciate them taking it that way in their approach. I tip my cap to those guys and the way that they prepared and came out ready to play.”

Here’s how I graded the Bills:

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PASS OFFENSE: B+

It was a fun night for backup QB Mitchell Trubisky who took over for Josh Allen after the first play of the game, then proceeded to carve up the awful Jets defense, completing 22 of 29 passes for 259 yards and four TDs. One of the highlights of the game was Trubisky throwing a 22-yard dime to FB Reggie Gilliam on Buffalo’s third TD drive of the first half which was such a glaring indication of how bad the Jets are.

Keon Coleman, given a chance to play with Brandin Cooks inactive and Khalil Shakir held out, failed to catch a catchable pass led to the Bills having a turnover on downs in the first quarter. He did reel in a 37-yard catch and run and caught a two-point conversion pass.

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Gabe Davis led the team with five catches which totaled 41 yards, while TE Dalton Kincaid was active as a way to get him geared up for next week and he caught three passes for 48 yards. Davis, Dawson Knox, Ty Johnson and Ray Davis all caught TD passes. Trubisky, despite playing behind four offensive line reserves - RG O’Cyrus Torrence had to play - was never sacked and was barely pressured.

RUN OFFENSE: A+

The Bills finished with 211 yards, with James Cook carrying just twice - on the first two plays - and gaining 15 yards. That’s how bad the Jets’ defense is. Cook took a seat next to Allen on the bench for the rest of the day, and he finished with 1,621 yards. That put him 152 yards ahead of Derrick Henry before Henry played against the Steelers Sunday night, but it might not be enough to hold off Henry to win the NFL rushing title.

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Ray Davis brought some serious juice despite running behind reserves as he piled up a career-high 151 yards on 21 carries, a 7.2 average. Davis began the day with just 124 yards for the season. Ty Johnson had 36 yards and scored two TDs - one rushing, one receiving - which triggered a $250,000 incentive bonus as he reached five TDs for the season. It was funny because the Bills worked hard to get that for him, and it took a little time.

PASS DEFENSE: A

Jets QB Brady Cook really has no business starting an NFL game, but with Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor out, he did so in the final four Jets games. He was helpless in completing 11 of 22 for just 60 yards, though he did break the Bills’ shutout with a TD pass to FB Andrew Beck in the fourth quarter.

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The only sack of Cook came from rookie second-round pick TJ Sanders, the first of his career in the second quarter. Because the Bills were short on CBs with Christian Benford being held out, they had to play Tre’Davious White and Max Hairston most of the way, and Hairston suffered an ankle injury which could be problematic as the postseason gets underway.

RUN DEFENSE: A

The Jets ruled out RB Breece Hall on Saturday, and that was a huge blow to any hope they had of rushing well, even against a Bills’ run defense that struggles even when the starters are on the field. New York finished with just 69 yards on 23 attempts with Khalil Herbert leading the way with 42 yards.

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LB Dorian Williams led the Bills with seven tackles as he played most of the snaps with Terrel Bernard, Shaq Thompson and Matt Milano all sitting out. LB Joe Andreessen also had a nice night with five tackles including two for lost yardage, and DT Larry Ogunjobi had his most productive game of an otherwise disappointing season with six tackles.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C

Ray Davis had just one kickoff return for 22 yards, but that was enough to clinch the No. 1 spot in the league in that category. Coleman being back deep on punts was quite a thing when you consider the arc of his hugely disappointing second season in the NFL.

Perhaps the worst thing that happened in this game is that after making three extra points in the first half, kicker Matt Prater re-injured his quad muscle and could not kick in the second half. Obviously, that’s a major problem because it certainly seems as if the Bills are going to need to find a kicker this week, not ideal heading into the playoffs.

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COACHING: B

The coaching staff made the decision to protect several players which was obviously the right thing to do. Just like everyone in the crowd, they knew they could still beat the hapless Jets with a lineup filled with reserves on both sides.

I wasn’t thrilled with McDermott not giving James Cook more time on the first series to pad his rushing total, but as he said after the game, had he left him in there and he got hurt, fans would have wanted to run him out of town. It’s tough to argue that point.

Really, in a game like this, given the roster the Bills used, it’s tough to make any judgements on the coaching process.

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Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 36 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills report card: Buffalo beats Jets to close out Highmark