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5 stats you'll want to know from Bills' Week 9 win over the Dolphins

Here are five stats that stand out from the Buffalo Bills' Week 9 win over the Miami Dolphins

Greg Vorse

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The Buffalo Bills have won four straight games to get to 7-2 on the 2024 season. The 30-27 home win over the Miami Dolphins moves Buffalo to four games ahead of the rest of the division in the win column, five in front of Miami and New England. Here are five stats that stand out from the latest victory.

King Khalil

Khalil Shaki
Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

You've been hit over the head with Khalil Shakir's catch percentage, and rightfully so; after Week 9, the receiver leads the league with a 93.3% catch rate. What makes that number pop even more is that Rashee Rice is in second place at 82.76%. Even more impressively, Bills fans have begged for separation from the receiving corps since Josh Allen arrived; Shakir is second in the league among receivers with 4.7 yards of average separation, behind just Rams wideout Jordan Whittington at 4.8 yards. That number was even more eye-popping in Week 9, as per NextGenStats. Shakir's average separation was 6.79 yards in the win over Miami.

Related: 3 positions of needs for Bills ahead of 2024 NFL trade deadline

Rookie Snaps

Keon Colema
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There is a sect of Buffalo fans who believe Sean McDermott hates rookies and refuses to play them. Rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman led all skill players with 79% of snaps vs. Miami. Rookie Ray Davis may have had the most impactful play in the game with his 63-yard touchdown catch. Brandon Codrington was in on seven special teams plays, including flipping the field with his 29-yard punt return, giving the Bills a drive start at the Miami 37. Cole Bishop, Javon Solomon, Edefuan Ulofoshio, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, and Joe Andreessen also suited up; so much for hating rookies.

Bass > Dolphins

Tyler Bas
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The Bills may still have a kicker problem, but from 61 yards for the win against Miami, Buffalo had the guy it needed as Tyler Bass set a new career high and franchise record in the process of making the game-winning kick. What might be crazier is that he is now 9-for-9 in his career in the last minute of the fourth quarter and overtime, per Bills PR.

Safety Blanket

Taylor Rap
Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

A lot of people have an opinion on the Bills' safeties, but one thing you can't say is they don't tackle. Through nine weeks, Buffalo and the Pittsburgh Steelers are the only two teams that have a pair of safeties within the top 15 in tackle percentage of guys who played at least 50% of their team's snaps. Buffalo's Taylor Rapp has missed only 4.5% of tackles (seventh best); Damar Hamlin has missed only 7.8% of tackles (14th best).

Related: Report: Bills WR Keon Coleman to have tests done on wrist done on Monday

No Bang

Ray. Davi
Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

The Bills had just one play over 21 yards in their win over Miami. It was the aforementioned 63-yard touchdown pass to Ray Davis. That is their fewest on the season. In their other six wins, Buffalo averages 3.5 21+ yard plays, with three games of four or more. Even in the two losses, the Bills had three vs. the Ravens and four vs. the Texans.

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Greg Vorse
GREG VORSE

Greg Vorse joined SI to cover the Bills in July of 2024. Greg has spent two decades covering Buffalo football, first as a sports reporter for WJET (ABC) in Erie, Pennsylvania, from 2004 to 2007, then, starting in the summer of 2007, for Time Warner/Spectrum News. He was an award-winning broadcaster during his time on television for stories on the high school, college, and professional ranks. Greg has also covered the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers during his broadcasting and journalism careers. Aside from a love of athletic competition, Greg, his wife, and their two children enjoy vacationing and changing the stereotypes of pit bull terriers.

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