As Kincaid, Shakir Help Unlock Offense, Bills Must Target Defense at Trade Deadline

The Buffalo Bills didn't have a perfect performance in Thursday night's 24-18 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but for the first time in nearly a month, Buffalo's offense got off to a fast start and looked like the high-powered unit it was in 2022.

There were a few keys to getting going early against the Buccaneers' sixth-ranked scoring defense. Some designed runs by quarterback Josh Allen helped spark the ground game while causing Tampa's defense to hesitate just a bit.

The threat of Allen scrambling also helped open up easy underneath completions, like on Dalton Kincaid's 22-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter:

Kincaid became a huge part of the passing game on Thursday, as did wide receiver Khalil Shakir, who had a career night.

Shakir caught six passes for 92 yards. Kincaid caught five passes for 65 yards and the score. Four different players finished with five or more receptions for the Bills. Buffalo raced out to a 10-0 lead to start the game, a 17-10 lead at halftime, and it never trailed.

It marked the second week in a row in which Kincaid and Shakir were active in the game plan. The rookie tight end led the Bills with eight receptions in the Week 7 loss to the New England Patriots, while Shakir had four catches for 35 yards.

Coming into Week 7, Shakir had just four catches for 40 yards on the season and 14 catches for 201 yards in his career.

The emergence of Kincaid and Shakir is a big development for an offense that has too often relied almost exclusively on Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis. Buffalo's reliance on Diggs, in particular, was a big problem during last year's postseason.

In the divisional round, the Cincinnati Bengals held Diggs to four catches and 35 yards. Allen threw for just 264 yards, and Buffalo lost by 17.

If Kincaid and Shakir continue to take advantage of their opportunities, opposing defenses can focus on slowing Diggs and Davis and still get burned on plays like this one:

After Buffalo's lackluster 14-9 win over the New York Giants in Week 6, offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey discussed his team's search for a dependable third playmaker.

"We rotate guys, and some weeks it's one guy and some weeks it's another guy," Dorsey said, per Mark Gaughan of the Buffalo News. "... I think there's definitely a fine line to walk there, to make sure we're utilizing as much of our personnel as humanly possible."

Buffalo may have uncovered two dependable complementary targets in Kincaid and Shakir. If so, the offense will be difficult to stop down the stretch and in the playoffs because, at some point, defenses will have to focus less on James Cook and the rushing attack or stop doubling Diggs.

Playoff disasters like last year's against Cincinnati could become a thing of the past.

This is assuming that Buffalo makes it to the postseason. At 5-3, the Bills are in a good position, but their defense remains vulnerable because of injuries.

The defense got Ed Oliver back on Thursday, but Matt Milano, Tre'Davious White and DaQuan Jones remain on injured reserve. That could still be a massive problem with teams like the Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Chargers and Miami Dolphins left on the schedule.

Despite being solid for much of Thursday's game, the Bills defense still nearly cost them in the end. A Tampa unit that had scored just 19 points over the past two weeks nearly matched that against Buffalo.

Had Buccaneers receiver Chris Godwin noticed Baker Mayfield's last-second (and nearly flawless) desperation throw a split-second early, we could be talking about a Buffalo loss:

The Bills have all the offensive talent they need. Defense must be Buffalo's primary focus heading into Tuesday's trade deadline. General manager Brandon Beane must spend the rest of the weekend working the phones and finding creative ways to generate cap space.

Buffalo currently has just $5.3 million in cap space.

Ideally, Beane will find a way to shore up the defensive front seven while finding a starting-caliber cornerback to help replace White.

The good news is that there should be no shortage of viable deadline targets.

If the 2-5 Chicago Bears are willing to part with veteran talent, players like defensive tackle Andrew Billings and cornerback Jaylon Johnson might be available. Both will be free agents in March, and both carry contracts that Buffalo could absorb.

Johnson is carrying a cap hit of $3.6 million in the final year of his rookie deal. Billings is playing on a one-year, $2.8 million contract.

The 2-5 Denver Broncos have defensive linemen Mike Purcell and Jonathan Harris headed to 2024 free agency. The winless Carolina Panthers have impending free agents like linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill, cornerback C.J. Henderson and defensive end Justin Houston who might be available.

If Beane is willing to take a home run swing—and find the necessary cap room—a deal for one of the Washington Commanders' talented edge-defenders, Montez Sweat and Chase Young, shouldn't be dismissed.

Washington (3-4) hasn't fallen out of the playoff race yet, but it is reportedly willing to deal.

"They won't say it publicly, but they will [sell]," one executive told Ben Standig of The Athletic. "They're looking for value. All on the table."

All defensive options should be on the table for Buffalo between now and 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. There doesn't appear to be a truly dominant team in the NFL this season, meaning the race for the Lombardi Trophy is wide open. There's no reason to believe this can't be Buffalo's year.

After weeks of offensive slow starts and shaky defense, head coach Sean McDermott has figured out how to address one problem. Now, it's time for Beane to address the other.

*Contract and cap information via Spotrac.