Khalil Shakir was back to being, well, Khalil Shakir on Sunday for the Buffalo Bills.
The team鈥檚 ultra-reliable slot receiver finished with a game-high nine receptions for 107 yards in a 31-10 win over the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field.
Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir stiff-arms Seahawks linebacker Derick Hall in the third quarter Sunday at Seattle.
Shakir suffered an ankle injury in the Bills鈥 Week 4 loss to Baltimore on Sept. 29. He gutted it out to finish that game, but then missed the following week鈥檚 game at Houston. He returned in Week 6 to face the New York Jets but clearly wasn鈥檛 100%.
鈥淗e's as steady as they come,鈥 quarterback Josh Allen said. 鈥淗e's been dealing with an ankle for the last couple of weeks. Every week he seems to be getting a little bit better comfortable and confident and cutting. He just continues to make plays for us. He's not the flashiest player 鈥 you'll never see him be in the end zone and do something crazy聽鈥 but he's as consistent as they come. Love the guy, and he does whatever is asked of him.鈥
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Shakir now has 36 catches for 421 yards this season. He ranks 19th in the NFL in catches and 21st in yardage despite having missed one game. It鈥檚 reasonable to think he鈥檇 be near the top 15 in the league in both categories had he been healthy for all eight of the Bills鈥 games. Nevertheless, he鈥檚 been the team鈥檚 most reliable option in the slot since Cole Beasley was here from 2019-2022.
Bills coach Sean McDermott understandably took umbrage with a question Sunday about whether Shakir has developed into a 鈥渂etter鈥 version of Beasley.
鈥淚 don't disrespect Cole like that, No. 1. That's what you're asking me to do,鈥 McDermott said. 鈥淐ole was a phenomenal player in his own right. He did a lot of great things for this team. Khalil is his own player. They're both similar, but both slightly different as well. What you saw the last couple of weeks with Khalil was, he was out there playing injured and finally, this week, I think he started to get back to closer to 100%.鈥
Shakir agreed with that assessment.
Asked if Sunday's game聽was the best he鈥檚 felt since getting hurt, he replied: 鈥淪ince that happened, yeah. We鈥檙e still getting there. Still dealing with it a little bit, but at the end of the day, it鈥檚 football. Everybody is out there playing hurt. It鈥檚 a part of the game.鈥
Shakir and Allen connected for the Bills鈥 biggest play of the game, a 35-yard completion on Buffalo鈥檚 opening drive of the third quarter. That helped set up a 27-yard field goal that extended the Bills鈥 lead to 17-3.
鈥淗e's incredible, man,鈥 tight end Dawson Knox said of Shakir. 鈥淪o down to earth. So humble. Works his tail off. Extremely dependable. Just one of those guys you love playing with. You put your own body on the line for (him), blocking for him, doing anything you can to help him, because he's the ultimate team guy. Everybody loves him. It's fun to see him work.鈥
Strangely enough, only two of Shakir鈥檚 nine catches against the Seahawks produced a first down. The Bills still managed to go 8 of 15 on third downs in the win.
鈥淥ur plan is to always stay on schedule,鈥 Shakir said. 鈥淓arly on, we had a couple flags, but we know what we鈥檙e capable of doing. Just sticking to the details and the preparation that we put in throughout the week. One-play-at-a-time mentality.鈥
The Bills had a goal of starting faster against the Seahawks, and they did so with two touchdown drives of 90-plus yards in the first half.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of things (that go into it). Limiting penalties, execution, details,鈥 Shakir said of getting off to a better start. 鈥淓ven just the small things throughout a play. It鈥檚 all 11 guys on the field doing their job to make it work. Today definitely got off to a better start than we have. Let鈥檚 just put one foot in front of the other and continue to, whatever (offensive coordinator) Joe (Brady) calls, execute that play to the best of our ability.鈥
Shakir wasn鈥檛 the only Bills receiver to have a nice game against Seattle. Rookie Keon Coleman had five catches for 70 yards and a touchdown.
鈥淎nytime we score a touchdown, we鈥檙e lit. For it to be him, especially in our wide receiver room 鈥 for it to be anybody in our room聽鈥 I know we get really excited for each other,鈥 Shakir said. 鈥淛ust to see each other ball out. But as an offense, as long as we get in there, it can be anybody.鈥
For Shakir, that鈥檚 staying true to his selfless nature, which is why his teammates love him.
