5 Big Questions Surrounding the Buffalo Bills Entering Week 6

As the Buffalo Bills prepare for a pre-bye matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders, they find themselves with plenty of potential issues for a first-place team with just one loss on their record.

Here are a handful that stand out as Buffalo moves into the heart of the season.

Don't get me wrong: Cook is a star. The reigning rushing yardage leader is on track for a fourth consecutive Pro Bowl season.

That said, it feels like it's only a matter of time before the 27-year-old's ball security issues cost the Bills a game.

Cook has now fumbled four times this season, and that's not an anomaly for a player who also had six fumbles in 2025 and four in 2023. That makes 10 since the start of last season, which is twice as many as any running back in the NFL except Bijan Robinson (six) in that time frame. And nine of those fumbles have come just in his last 14 regular-season games, while he added another one in last year's playoffs.

This has become a legitimate concern, and the head coach doesn't deny that.

"I don't want to lose sight of how great he is running the ball right now. But putting the ball on the ground, it's negating all the positive," Joe Brady said this week . "It's going to cost us football games. It almost cost us one."

The offense went back to Cook after he coughed the ball up in overtime Monday against the Rams, but I'd have to imagine the margin for error has shrunk dramatically.

Backups Ty Johnson and Ray Davis rarely get carries but have been factors in the passing game and certainly have the talent to take more reps from Cook. Davis has zero fumbles on 204 career touches, while Johnson's career fumble-to-touch rate is 1.1 percent (compared to 1.5 percent for Cook).

Eventually, Brady might have to consider being proactive rather than reactive if Cook continues to put the ball on the ground.

Dalton Kincaid was one of the top offensive weapons in the league during the first two weeks of the season, amassing 225 yards on 12 receptions in victories over the Texans and Lions.

He caught five 20-plus-yard passes in those two outings, but since then he has just a single 20-yard reception and has been held to just four catches for 52 total yards.

In each of his last two games, Kincaid has just a single seven-yard grab (although he did score a two-point conversion against the Rams).

What's going on? There's no indication Kincaid is hurt, but DJ Moore's shoulder injury could be affecting his production. Moore's absence may have allowed opposing defenses to devote more attention to Kincaid, arguably Buffalo's next-best pass-catching weapon.

That could explain why the 26-year-old former first-round pick has been targeted just seven times over the last three weeks. It's not as though he's losing out on contested balls or dropping passes—he's simply not a factor at all. Part of that is good defense, especially from the Patriots, who were extremely physical with Kincaid and may have thrown him off as a result.

That said, Brady absolutely has to do a better job of scheming Kincaid open, because it's hard to see the Bills contending this year without more consistent production from their top receiving tight end.

Speaking of inconsistent performances this season, Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins has looked like a future Hall of Famer in several outings and has also looked like a washed-up liability in several others.

Dawkins was a mess against New England before dominating the Rams. I've given first-year starter Alec Anderson a grade of B or higher just once in five games, and it's been a mixed bag for the rest of the starters (with the caveat that I think O'Cyrus Torrence is having a career year).

Here's the thing: Dawkins is 32, Connor McGovern is about to turn 29, and the now-injured Spencer Brown is also 28. None are super old, but none are super young. They also have a combined 299 career starts.

As a contender in win-now mode, you want experience and continuity along the line. Buffalo has plenty of that, even with Anderson replacing departed veteran David Edwards at left guard. But I'm also starting to wonder if this unit actually peaked in what was a dominant 2024 campaign, especially from a pass-blocking standpoint.

The group remains elite when it comes to carving out gaps for Cook and turning Allen loose in the running game, but it has shown signs of fading in terms of its ability to protect the franchise quarterback and avoid killer mistakes.

It's worth monitoring if you're Brady and Pete Carmichael, even if there's only so much that can be done at this juncture.

Does Josh Allen Actually Have to Do Everything?

This really ties into the previous three questions. As mentioned, Cook's ball security is a concern, Kincaid has been underutilized, Moore has struggled with injuries, and the offensive line isn't as strong as it used to be.

Could that explain why it feels as though Allen is putting it all on his shoulders to a greater extent than usual?

I mean, Allen playing Superman isn't new. But you just get the sense he's playing with more fire than ever this year. Maybe it's the fact he's 30 now, which, combined with all of the above, leaves you holding your breath every time he takes off on a YOLO scramble that concludes with anything but a safe, no-contact slide.

Three of Allen's four interceptions have come on what most would consider to be "hero balls," and he's been lucky to avoid picks on several other questionable decisions in which he's tried to force plays that carried significantly more risk than reward.

Nobody expects Allen to change his style now, but the offense may need to take some pressure off No. 17. That likely means relying more on Cook outside of obvious run-to-set-up-the-pass scenarios, or even Johnson or Davis if Cook can't hold onto the football. And it may mean rethinking the system to actually target the team's three skilled tight ends more frequently as early reads that don't leave Allen scrambling as often.

Or the team could simply keep betting on Allen's heroics, hoping the good outweighs the bad and the nine-year veteran avoids a major injury despite another season of constant punishment.

What Should They Do About the Defensive Back Seven?

The good news is Buffalo's defensive front is mega. That unit is deep across the board, with standouts Greg Rousseau, Bradley Chubb and Deone Walker well supported by the likes of Ed Oliver, T.J. Sanders, Greg Gaines and DeWayne Carter.

The bad news is the rest of the defense has been toothless through five weeks.

Off-ball linebackers Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams have struggled to make impact plays and maintain their positioning, while the secondary's usage raises questions about new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard's confidence in the unit.

Starting cornerbacks Christian Benford and Maxwell Hairston have struggled mightily and are now giving opposing receivers so much cushion that it's become laughable. Veteran offseason acquisition Dee Alford has not made a positive impact as the nickel, rookie Davison Igbinosun is a work in progress, and strong safety Cole Bishop has seemingly regressed in his second season as a regular starter.

The result? A 28th-ranked scoring defense surrendering 28.2 points per game and an AFC-worst 280.4 passing yards per outing.

This isn't working, and it should have Buffalo considering all of its options between now and the Nov. 10 trade deadline. I'm surprised they haven't brought in Tre'Davious White, who started 16 games for the Bills last season and remains an unrestricted free agent.

Meanwhile, at linebacker, Matt Milano and Shaq Thompson played a combined 1,165 defensive snaps for Buffalo last season, and both remain viable options—Milano as a free-agent signing and Thompson as a practice-squad elevation.

Beyond that, I'd be calling the Commanders about former Bill Rasul Douglas, and the Cardinals about walk-year veteran Mack Wilson, for starters.

It's possible this unit improves naturally as the personnel becomes more accustomed to Leonhard's system. But the season isn't young anymore, so general manager Brandon Beane had better have a backup plan.