Buffalo Bills star receiver Stefon Diggs has seen his production and play time dwindle in recent weeks. In the past three contests, he’s played 65 percent or fewer plays and generated four straight games of fewer than 50 yards.
Head coach Sean McDermott said this week that Diggs’ play-time decrease isn’t injury-related and noted that the lack of targets is simply Josh Allen making the right reads and not forcing the ball to Diggs.
“Medically, there’s nothing big that’s been, to my knowledge, ailing him and the communication I’m getting from Nate (Breske), our trainer on that,” McDermott said, via the team’s official website. “And it’s just Josh going through his reads and going through his progressions and making sure that we’re making sure we’re going through the progressions properly.”
Earlier this season, Diggs was playing nearly 90 percent of the snaps consistently, but recently, he has been off the field more often. Joe Brady, the offensive coordinator who assumed his role in mid-November, stated that while the team “knows we’re better” with Diggs on the field, reducing his reps is part of the overall strategy.
“Look, there are certainly instances when we intentionally exclude him from plays,” Brady stated. “We discussed this strategy earlier in the season as a means to achieve our goal – which is not to play that many snaps.”
He further stated, “There are instances during the weekend where we intentionally keep him out of the game.”
In six of the last seven games, including the most recent four, Diggs has produced less than 50 receiving yards.
Diggs Weeks 1-9: 72.2 catch percent, 7.8 catches per game, 11.9 yards per catch, 92.7 receiving yards per game, seven TD catches.
Diggs Weeks 10-17: 54.5 catch percent, 4.3 catches per game, 8.7 yards per catch, 37.4 receiving yards per game, one TD catch.
In Week 4’s win over Miami, Diggs generated 120 yards and three TDs on six catches. The Bills need a game like that Sunday against the Dolphins with the AFC East title on the line.
“His contribution is significant for us,” stated McDermott. “We are going to rely on him in the crucial stages ahead.”
The crucial moment has arrived. For Buffalo to clinically complete their comeback and claim the division title for the fourth consecutive season, they require a standout performance from Diggs in Miami this coming Sunday night.
