Report Card Grades for Bills' NFL Week 6 Game vs. Raiders

The Buffalo Bills have hit their bye week with a 5-1 record and possession of the top spot in the AFC East.

That stems from Buffalo going 2-0 on a western road trip that concluded with a 33-30 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday afternoon in Nevada.

Here are my grades for all of the key players from the victory.

It wasn't a typical lights-out, dual-effort performance from the 30-year-old star, who did very little with his legs and had some red-zone misses that could have been costly had the Bills not pulled out the victory (including a forced ball to Dalton Kincaid that should have been intercepted).

That said, one of the league's top improvisers also gave us one of the plays of the year to date on a third-down touchdown "throw" to Keon Coleman that might have been the longest shovel pass in NFL history.

And while the numbers weren't mega, he did a lot of maneuvering in the pocket that didn't show up in the box score but kept Buffalo in control of this game.

It wasn't an all-timer, but it was an example of a great player finding ways to lead his team to victory.

With the pressure ramped up and his ball-security issues under the microscope, it was a splendid performance from Cook, who gained 153 scrimmage yards on 26 touches. And, most importantly, he didn't fumble.

In fact, with what appeared to be a modified death grip on the ball, the three-time Pro Bowler didn't come close to coughing the ball up.

That alone isn't the standard for a good running back showing these days, but Cook deserves credit for bouncing back in a major way from a tough spot after nearly blowing the game for this team Monday night against the Rams.

The fact that he was also the team's most efficient skill player in this game is the icing on the cake.

He did his job with two catches on a scoring drive to open the game, but then we never heard from Johnson again.

With DJ Moore again unavailable, Coleman stepped up with four receptions for a team-high 59 yards. He's now scored three touchdowns in as many weeks and has become one of the most clutch performers on this team.

Coleman has developed special chemistry with Allen, which was on display with that improvised 12-yard shovel-pass touchdown. Beyond that, he moved the sticks with great plays on scoring drives in the second, third and fourth quarters.

Shakir's second-quarter touchdown catch-and-run was just nifty, and he was a YAC hero on a 16-yard catch-and-run in the fourth quarter. He wasn't a major factor but contributed in some key spots and finished with four grabs and no glaring mistakes.

All of Palmer's 37 yards came on one catch in which he was wide open against what appeared to be blown coverage. You can't fault him for capitalizing on that, but he deserves heat for what could have been a costly drop late in the fourth quarter.

The rookie was generally a ghost despite playing 30 snaps. He was targeted just once and didn't make the catch, and he was penalized for an illegal shift on a second-quarter scoring drive.

After being held to just four catches in his previous three games, Kincaid rebounded with seven receptions on eight targets against the Raiders. None of them went for 15 yards, but he found a way to be a significant asset overall.

It could have been a bigger 27th birthday showing had a penalty not wiped out his third-quarter touchdown, had Allen seen him wide open downfield right after Dorian Williams' pick in the third quarter, and had he not left the game temporarily due to injury in the second half.

Knox was fine as a blocker but a non-factor in the passing game over 47 snaps. He did get open in the end zone on a third-quarter red-zone possession, but Allen didn't see him.

Good work in the running game, but that was about it over 25 snaps as Hawes blew up Buffalo's second drive with a brutal false-start penalty.

It was a fairly clean game for the 10-year veteran. He probably could have done more to help out on a first-quarter sack resulting from a zero blitz, but he did a tremendous job allowing Allen to move out of the pocket in pressure situations and delivered several key blocks in run defense.

Tremendous work from Anderson as a downfield blocker on Shakir's touchdown play. He's turning into a top-notch run blocker, but he did give up several pressures on Allen throughout the day and got away with a pretty blatant hold in the first half.

It was McGovern who primarily paved the way on back-to-back plus runs from Cook to spark Buffalo's first touchdown drive of the game. He gave up no obvious pressures, and it was he and Dawkins who made the biggest impact when half the offense carried Cook into the end zone for what was ultimately the game-winning score.

It was a bit of an off day for Buffalo's best interior offensive lineman through the first five weeks. I'd put a lot of that first-quarter sack on him, and he was later destroyed by Maxx Crosby in a big red-zone situation. Oh, and he cost Kincaid a touchdown with a third-quarter holding penalty.

Returning from a back injury, the six-year veteran was dominated by Crosby on a Kwity Paye sack that forced a punt and gave the Raiders a shot at a double-dip late in the first half. It was clean beyond that.

He left the game for a while with a rib injury and ultimately played just 21 snaps. Still, Chubb was a non-factor when he was on the field.

Rousseau had a critical pressure to secure a key three-and-out with Buffalo trailing in the second quarter and an even more important pass deflection with the game on the line in the fourth quarter. But beyond that and a couple of other hurries, he was quiet.

Walker also made a great play on Mike Washington to set the tone on that second-quarter three-and-out. He then drew a ton of attention to free up the pass rush on a key third-quarter stand and later had a monster stop on Ashton Jeanty. His impact goes far beyond the stat sheet.

His one high-impact pressure, which came in the third quarter, was mainly the result of Walker's work. Quiet day for the Week 5 standout.

For a guy who isn't on the field close to full time, Carter is in on a lot of tackles and stops. I thought he did a great job against the run across 27 snaps. This rotation is sweet.

He made one of the biggest defensive plays of the game by single-handedly shutting down Jeanty for a three-yard loss to spark a fourth-quarter goal-line stand. It was a strong overall performance across 25 snaps for the 30-year-old.

This might have been Bernard's best game of the season, which isn't saying a lot but still indicates some progress. He continues to be a liability in coverage and in open space but made a positive impact snuffing out run plays for much of the day against Las Vegas. Jim Leonhard has to put the 27-year-old in bad spots less often.

An interception is an interception, even if Williams didn't move an inch and let Kirk Cousins make a bad decision on that third-quarter pick. He still had to catch the ball! Outside of that, Williams was a complete liability on the Raiders' first touchdown drive and was routinely trucked in run defense. Nobody on this team leaves me scratching my head as much as Williams.

Often matched up with one of the best receivers in the league, Benford gave up underneath stuff all night but was not burned deep. He had great coverage on Davante Adams to force a punt in a key spot in the second half, and his tackling was stellar. It wasn't pristine, but it was his best performance thus far in 2026.

It's a work in progress for the rookie second-round pick, who faced a really tough task and was predictably inconsistent. His tackling was sharp, though, and he made two strong plays in overtime. Kudos for the versatility.

The second-year first-round pick is falling out of favor fast. He played just 17 snaps in this one, but he blew an assignment on a big Tyler Higbee catch and missed a tackle.

The veteran actually had a great first quarter or so, but Adams beat him easily on L.A.'s first touchdown and it was downhill from there. He later took an unnecessary roughness penalty and missed time with an injury, and he did more harm than good in the fourth quarter and overtime. It's hit-or-miss with this guy.

Missed tackles and poor angles once again plagued Bishop, who also struggled in coverage and reacted too slowly in zone defense. The regression continues.

This was actually a really strong tackling performance, and he limited the damage in coverage. Not bad for his most active game of the season.

You really don't want Hamlin in too many coverage situations. He easily loses positioning in zone, and the defense was lucky Cousins didn't spot Bowers after Hamlin failed to stick with him in the end zone on a third-down play in the fourth quarter.

That said, he was again a steady tackler who contributed positively in run defense and wasn't burned badly in a pinch on Sunday.

The veteran was 4-for-4 on field goals and 3-for-3 on extra points, and that 47-yarder in the fourth quarter was clutch.

The rookie wasn't asked to do much, but a 51-yarder inside the 10-yard line in the fourth quarter was more evidence that Buffalo has found its long-term punter.

For the second week in a row, Davis had a huge return to start the game. He wasn't a factor beyond that, but it was a mistake-free performance on five combined touches as a rusher, receiver and returner.

He had two strong punt returns, both of which led to scoring drives in the second half of a close game.