Stock up, stock down following the Bills' 13-12 loss to the Eagles

21 hours ago 1

The Buffalo Bills (11-5) were on the hunt to win the AFC East so that they could have a home playoff game as they try to make it to the Super Bowl in the 2025 postseason. Buffalo essentially had to win out and hope for some help to surpass the New England Patriots in the division, but in their matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles (11-5) came down to the pivotal two-point attempt.

The Bills lost to the Eagles 13-12 on Sunday Night Football despite making a furious comeback in the fourth quarter to make the game interesting, only for the two-point attempt in the end to be unsuccessful. As one can tell by the final score, neither offense was able to get going as both teams brought their best on the defensive side of the ball, making each play more important than the last.

Wide receiver Brandin Cooks stood out amongst the rest of the Bills as he seemed to be the only player capable of making big plays, especially with the way that running James Cook wasn't able to break open a huge run at any point in the contest. Here is the stock report for the Bills following Sunday's loss to the Eagles that secured New England's place as the winner of the AFC East:

Stock Up: WR Brandin Cooks

Since coming to Buffalo in November, Cooks had mostly been in the background as the Bills were trying to find contributors in the passing game by committee, especially with Keon Coleman essentially being a healthy scratch recently. Cooks turned back the clock against the Eagles as he caught four of his six targets for 101 yards, including a huge 50-yard catch late in the game.

Stock Down: RB James Cook

Sunday was the first time that Cook didn't run for at least 80 yards in a game since Nov. 16 and that's not to say that he played terribly against the Eagles, but to point out that he has been more dominant than he was on Sunday Night Football. Cook carried the football 20 times for 74 yards, which is more of an indication that he wasn't able to get the home-run kind of play that he has done throughout the season.

Stock Up: LB Matt Milano

Milano has been coming on as of late and against the Eagles, he showed his impact in almost every facet of the game, especially with his tenacity in stopping the run. Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley ran 19 times for just 68 yards and a big reason for that was Milano filling the gaps while also putting pressure on signal-caller Jalen Hurts in the passing game.

Stock Down: DE AJ Epenesa

Epenesa has had some up-and-down games this season and those outings usually comes to how much pressure he can put on the opposing quarterback over the course of the game. Epenesa is not known for his impact in the running game, but with Philadelphia's offensive line, he found it difficult to rush the passer on a consistent basis or even get home.

Stock Neutral: QB Josh Allen

Allen, as he has done all season, made some huge plays for the Bills when they needed to do so, but the failure to complete a fairly-routine two-point conversion to wide receiver Khalil Shakir has to be one of the most disappointing plays in Allen's storied career. Granted, Allen threw for 262 yards and ran for two touchdowns, but that miss at the end won't stop the critics from saying that he falters in the clutch.

Stock Down: WR Khalil Shakir

Shakir has been the most dependable pass-catcher for Allen since Stefon Diggs was on the roster and yet, Shakir can be efficient with his catches while not doing that much in terms of yardage. Against the Eagles, Shakir caught six of his seven targets, but when those catches amount to just 35 yards, it shows that he could be due for a breakout game at some point in the future.

This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Stock up, stock down following the Bills' 13-12 loss to the Eagles

Read Entire Article