Photo Courtesy: buffalobills.com
For a majority of the Buffalo Bills’ 35-8 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday, backups guided the team. Five players stood out the most in the triumph.
Player #1: Mitch Trubisky, Quarterback
After Bills quarterback Josh Allen kept his start streak alive by playing the game’s opening offensive snap, Trubisky took over and led the offense. The 31-year-old finished the contest 22-of-29 with 264 total yards and four passing touchdowns and no turnovers. Trubisky’s 142.1 passer rating ranked fifth-best of his career. The former 2017 second overall pick also earned a nomination as one of the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week.
Player #2: Ray Davis, Running Back
Davis rushed for 151 yards on 21 carries and also recorded two receptions for 23 yards and a touchdown on Sunday. His 151 rushing yards and 174 scrimmage yards stand as new career-highs.
Player #3: Phidarian Mathis, Defensive Tackle
The Bills signed the 27-year-old to their practice squad on Sept. 10 and then signed him to the active roster on Nov. 5. The Alabama product made appearances in six games with the team and on Sunday matched a career-best four tackles in a game. Mathis played 52.1% of the defensive snaps, which marks a new career-high.
Player #4: Keleki Latu, Tight End
Latu, an undrafted rookie out of the University of Washington, entered Sunday with one catch for four yards and rode the Bills’ practice squad for the majority of the season before being signed to the active roster on Dec. 27. In the 6-foot-7 tight end’s fourth career game, he caught all three targets for 31 yards, played 68% of offensive snaps, and helped pave the way for Buffalo’s 211 team rushing yards.
Player #5: Joe Andreessen, Linebacker
Andreessen concluded his third career start Sunday with seven tackles, two tackles for loss, a quarterback hit, and played all 48 defensive snaps. The two tackles for loss set a career-high, and seven tackles tied a season-high.
Although games where backups play a majority of snaps may seem meaningless and occasionally boring to some fans, backups’ performances in these limited reps play a crucial role in shaping the rest of their future opportunities.