Studying pays off as rookie Kaiir Elam makes key interception in Buffalo Bills’ wild-card victory

Specifically, Elam has been buzzing through “It Takes What It Takes” by Trevor Moawad.

“It’s about living in the moment and taking it one step at a time, one play at a time, one game at a time,” said Elam, the Buffalo Bills’ rookie cornerback. “It’s taking everything and living in the present.”

Elam did just that Sunday, stepping into the lineup after an injury to Dane Jackson and making a couple of huge plays in the Bills’ 34-31 victory over the Miami Dolphins in an AFC wild-card playoff game at Highmark Stadium.

“I just prepare like I’m up and I’m going to play the whole game,” Elam said. “I’m glad it paid off.”

Truth be told, it hasn’t been an easy rookie season for Elam. He even spent some time as a healthy inactive, which is not a place a first-round draft pick ever wants to find himself. To his credit, though, Elam never hung his head. He kept working.

That work showed itself in the third quarter when – with the Dolphins leading 24-20, Elam picked off Miami quarterback Skylar Thompson on a pass intended for Trent Sherfield.

Five plays later, after taking over at the Miami 33-yard line, the Bills went ahead on a 6-yard touchdown pass to Cole Beasley.

“That’s somebody who has been studying his film and knew what was going on,” Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson said. “He jumped that route. I always tell him, ‘Shoot, you’re a first-round pick – go out and be a dog.’ I’ve been preaching that, and I was proud when he got that pick because even though he’s a rookie, he’s been studying like he’s been in the league 3-4 years. When he jumped it, I said, ‘OK, that’s what his studying has come from.’ ”

Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White shared a similar sentiment: “Kaiir, he’s such a student of the game, just the way that he attacked the week – coming in on our off days, catching balls. So, him catching that pick is something that he’s been waiting on. But he’s a student, man. He really wants it. His desire to be the best that he can be is just next to none, the way he prepared, the way he comes in and takes care of the body as a rookie, man – the success that he had today is not a surprise.”

Coach Sean McDermott said Jackson likely would have been able to return to the game after injuring his knee in the second quarter, but the team stuck with Elam. On Miami’s final offensive play – fourth-and-5 from the Dolphins’ 44-yard line – Elam broke up Thompson’s pass intended for tight end Mike Gesicki, effectively icing the victory.

“I thought he did some really good things in the game,” McDermott said.

With the win, the Bills advance to the divisional round, hosting the Cincinnati Bengals at 3 p.m. Sunday. Another home game will be welcome, as Buffalo improved to 4-0 at home in the playoffs under McDermott.  

Let the record show that at 2:47 p.m. Sunday, there is a tweet that went out that can be dunked on fairly easily.

“Bringing Cole Beasley back has amounted to absolutely nothing for the Bills,” I tweeted.

To be fair to myself, at the time, it was accurate.

Beasley’s contributions in the first half against the Dolphins, to that point, had been minimal. The same could be said in two full games he had played in the regular season after being called up from the practice squad, when he made just two catches for 18 yards.

Beasley, who was signed to the active roster from the practice squad last week, got off to a slow start against Miami. He was targeted three times in the first half. Two targets ended up in turnovers, and the other one was incomplete. On the Bills’ first drive, quarterback Josh Allen looked Beasley’s way on a fourth-and-3 play from the Miami 32-yard line, but the throw was wide and incomplete, leading to a turnover on downs. Then, late in the second quarter, Allen looked Beasley’s way on a second-and-10 play from the Bills’ 36-yard line with 1:04 left before halftime.

The throw was on target, but the ball appeared to deflect off Beasley’s chest – Dolphins cornerback Kader Kohou might have tipped it, too – and the pass was intercepted by Miami safety Jevon Holland. That set up a 7-yard touchdown pass from Thompson to Gesicki, and the Dolphins tied the game 17-17 with a two-point conversion pass to Tyreek Hill.

Beasley bounced back from his tough first half with two huge plays in the second half. The first came when he caught a 6-yard touchdown pass to put his team back ahead 27-24 – after the extra point – with 5:18 left in the third quarter. It was Beasley’s first career postseason touchdown in his 12th game. On the next drive, Beasley converted a third-and-6 play from the Bills’ 48-yard line with a 29-yard catch and run that moved the ball to the Miami 23-yard line.

On the next play, Allen found Gabe Davis for a 23-yard touchdown pass that extended the Bills’ lead to 34-24 with 2:07 left in the third quarter.

“It felt very comfortable,” Allen said of having Beasley in the lineup. I think it was Cole’s first playoff touchdown, I think, in his career … so it was pretty fun to get the ball back to him. Bringing him back and just being able to run some of our old stuff, he remembers it and is able to run it and execute it, so it’s good to have vets like that.”

3. Dawson Knox continued his touchdown streak

The Bills’ tight end made a receiving touchdown for the fifth consecutive game, opening the scoring with an incredible 6-yard catch on an equally incredible throw from Allen. On the play, Knox got behind Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker and somehow secured the ball before falling out of bounds.

“It was supposed to be kind of a quick hitter where he hits me in the flat pretty quick,” Knox said. “The D-end peeled with me. I think Josh got some pressure, made him roll out. Just another incredible play by him, put it where only I could get it. Just looked over to the ref, thankful that I got two feet in. I tried to even get a hand down to kind of add to that, but just another amazing off-schedule play by Josh.”

Knox nearly had another touchdown in the second quarter, but a 13-yard pass that was ruled a touchdown was overturned after a replay review.

“I mean, this league’s been around what, a hundred something years, it’s like we still don’t know what a catch is,” he said. “I thought it was no question. When they reviewed it, I was like, maybe they’re reviewing if Josh was past the line of scrimmage. I mean, you know, even looking at it, my right hand didn’t move off the ball, so even if the ground wasn’t there, it didn’t move, but who knows, maybe they saw something that I didn’t feel, but, you know, whatever’s called is called, so we just had to move forward.”

Knox finished with three catches for 20 yards and the lone touchdown.

His was not the only replay review to go against the Bills. A 54-yard completion to rookie receiver Khalil Shakir was also wiped out in the second quarter after a replay review showed the ball hit the ground. Shakir did bounce back with a 31-yard catch in the fourth quarter that helped the Bills flip field position, even if they didn’t get any points on the drive.

“That was a big catch,” McDermott said. “We’ve got a lot of trust in him. He’s got good hands. He’s a good football player. He’s off to a good start, and I think he wanted that one from earlier in the game back. That first one was before half, maybe there where we could have put some points on the board more than we did. The game ebbs and flows, and our guys, time after time, have shown their mental toughness and the ability to reset.”

4. Mitch Morse stuck up for his quarterback

The Bills’ center, who usually keeps his cool, was involved in a good skirmish that resulted in offsetting personal fouls against both Morse and Dolphins defensive end Christian Wilkins in the second quarter after Allen was intercepted.

Allen and Wilkins, who have a history dating back to the Week 3 game between the two teams when Wilkins appeared to hit Allen in the most private of areas, were pushing and shoving after the play before Morse intervened.

“Let’s not make it anything bigger than it was,” Morse said after the game. “We talked afterwards, actually. I have a lot of respect for the way he plays. He is a competitive guy. Tempers flare in this game. You know, we had our moment, it was mitigated and we were able to continue playing. In the moment, you lose consciousness for a little bit. I mean, that’s your guy. That’s your quarterback. You just want to be there for him. It escalated like you saw, but I’m not going to make it too big of a thing.”

The sequence also led to the best tweet of the day, from Morse’s wife, Caitlin, who asked “I wonder if he would defend my honor the way he defends Josh?”

5. James Cook got into the end zone

The Bills’ rookie running back scored on a 12-yard rush in the first quarter. Cook became the first member of the Bills to score a rushing touchdown in his playoff debut since both Darick Holmes and Tim Tindale did it on Dec. 30, 1995 – also against Miami.

“Really, it was just a read play,” Cook said. “We’re reading the defensive end, and he kind of crashed and Josh gave it to me. My receivers did a good job blocking. Basically, it was an easy touchdown.”

6. Tyrel Dodson was an unsung hero

The Bills’ reserve linebacker recovered a muffed punt by Nyheim Hines in the third quarter that, had Miami recovered, would have given them field position deep in Buffalo territory.

“That was huge,” Dodson said. “I was going to find work, which (special teams coordinator Matthew) Smiley says, and I just saw the ball, I was like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to go jump on it.’ I felt like I was in hell trying to get that ball. There was like four Dolphins, one was punching me in my stomach. Yeah, it was crazy. I’m just glad I can be there for Nyheim. He had our back last week with those big plays, and I got him back this week.”

7. Dion Dawkins briefly came out of game

Officials signaled to the Bills’ sideline to remove Dawkins midway through the third quarter after a play in which there appeared to be helmet-to-helmet contact. There was no announcement that Dawkins was evaluated for a head injury. After briefly being replaced by David Quessenberry, Dawkins was able to return to the game.

“Honestly man, it’s a playoff win,” Dawkins said in his postgame news conference. “Not to make it bigger than anything, but it’s a playoff win. It’s hard to win in the regular season, and it’s extremely hard to win in the postseason. We’re taking it as a beautiful playoff win. We’re leaving the locker room today and this press conference with a ‘W’ and not an ‘L.’ ”

8. Isaiah McKenzie, Jordan Phillips sat out

The wide receiver and defensive tackle were unable to play for the Bills because of injuries. McKenzie, who was questionable on the final injury report because of a hamstring injury, was in street clothes as his teammates ran through pregame warmups about 90 minutes before the 1 p.m. kickoff. He was injured during practice Wednesday and did not practice Thursday or Friday. Phillips was out with a lingering shoulder injury he originally suffered in Week 13 at New England. He did not practice all week.