With the way Josh Allen and Co. were humming this past Sunday, it was easy to forget the Bills' offense was shorthanded against the Patriots.
Buffalo in Week 16 was without two of its top wide receivers, Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis, who were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list in the lead-up to the divisional clash. Contracting the virus seemingly felt inevitable for Beasley, who basically wears his unvaccinated status like a badge of honor.
Fortunately for the new AFC East leaders, Isaiah McKenzie had a career day at Gillette Stadium. The fifth-year wideout's 11 catches for 125 yards with a touchdown played a big hand in Buffalo's 33-21 win.
Peter King believes the Bills were very fortunate that Beasley's actions, in particular, didn't come back to bite his team.
"I think the Bills are lucky the Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis absences didn't kill their chances in New England," King wrote in his latest Football Morning in America column for NBC Sports. "Both are unvaccinated. Not only did Beasley test positive last week -- meaning he had to miss a minimum of 10 days before being allowed to test back onto the team -- but also he had the gall to blame the NFL for being out. 'Just to be clear Covid is not keeping me out of this game,' Beasley wrote on Instagram. 'The rules are.'
That's like saying, To be clear, testing positive for a communicable disease is not keeping me out of this game. An NFL rule that I knew all about and risked being able to steer clear of is. Beasley played with fire and got burned, and the Bills had to adjust in New England without a key receiver who caught 158 passes since opening day 2020. Good for the Bills that Isaiah McKenzie played the game of his life replacing Beasley. And hearing Chris Mortensen's report that Beasley has been fined 'in the range of $100,000' this season for Covid violations has to make the Bills wonder why they're hanging onto an insubordinate player, no matter his football value."
Beasley, who turns 33 in late April, has one year remaining on his current contract.
