ORCHARD PARK — Deonte Harty didn’t know where he was on the field as he raced toward the end zone. When his feet finally stopped moving, it didn’t take long for Harty to realize he made a season-defining play.
With the Buffalo Bills offense sputtering early in the fourth quarter, Harty fielded a punt at his own 4-yard line — a no-no every punt returner learns on the first day — and made Miami Dolphins special teams ace Justin Bethel miss before running 96 yards for the game-tying, momentum-switching touchdown in Buffalo’s AFC East-clinching win Sunday.
The Dolphins probably thought Harty was like a comet, gone after only catching a glimpse. But, at times this season, Harty has felt like a comet himself. He makes a big play and then disappears into obscurity.
This season was supposed to be a breakout year for Harty, one where he was a key part of an offense instead of just a return specialist. But in the first of a two-year, $9.5 million contract, Harty has just 15 receptions for 150 yards and a touchdown, his lowest totals when playing more than 10 games since his rookie year in 2019.
Mixed in between, though, has been one critical play after another. Harty made a 19-yard catch on third down to jumpstart a touchdown drive against the Jacksonville Jaguars, then later in the game, caught a 43-yard pass to spark another touchdown drive trailing by 12 in the fourth quarter.
There was also the touchdown catch against the Giants on the first play of the fourth quarter after the Bills went scoreless in the first three. And then a 25-yard catch against the Chiefs to set up the go-ahead field goal in a 20-17 win.
The Bills love to use the “next-man-up” phrase, but this year it’s not just patching holes and hoping to hide them. Buffalo has found unlikely performances throughout its five-game winning streak and it has been a big reason for the late-season turnaround.
“I could be a starting receiver, I could be one of the top receivers in the league and I’m still going to want more,” said Harty, who was named AFC special teams player of the week Wednesday. “That’s just my mentality, that’s just my mindset. Regardless of the position I’m in, I’m always going to want more from myself.”
Staying in the moment is easier to say than execute, especially for someone like Harty whose season was not going in any way as planned. Signed during the offseason to inject speed into the offense, Harty was used predominantly as a gimmick receiver under former offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey.
Aside from Harty’s catches of 43, 25 and 19, just two of his other 12 catches went for at least 10 yards. In fact, most of his receptions have been near the line of scrimmage, averaging 5.3 yards per catch on those 12 grabs.
But with Dorsey, he was at least on the field, playing 14.8 snaps per game and made a catch in each of the first seven contests. And then, for the next nine weeks, Harty played double-digit snaps once and was even a healthy scratch against the Eagles.
Harty was targeted four times and his lone catch was the 25-yarder against the Chiefs. But when Gabe Davis left with a knee injury in the first half against the Dolphins, Harty played 14 offensive snaps — two more than he played during the first four games of the winning streak combined — making one catch for 12 yards.
“It’s kind of hard when you go into something thinking one thing and it didn’t end up going the way that you want,” Harty said. “It’s kind of like having to flip your mindset and think a certain way, move a certain way. So for me to get the play I was able to get and make a play that big, it’s a great feeling.”
Dane Jackson can relate to Harty’s feelings because he’s gone from being a heavy contributor to riding the bench on multiple occasions this season. Jackson appeared to be the favorite to be the No. 2 cornerback until Christian Benford made a late run during preseason.
He played 13 defensive snaps over the first three games until Benford was injured against the Dolphins in Week 4 and stayed in the lineup when Tre’Davious White was lost for the season later in the game. Aside from missing one game with a foot injury, Jackson played 93.7% of the defensive snaps over his next six games.
But once Benford was completely healthy and Rasul Douglas was acquired from the Green Bay Packers, Jackson was back on the bench. Prior to Sunday, Jackson had played 24 defensive snaps since Week 11, including missing the Eagles game with a concussion.
And then Douglas hurt his knee in the second quarter and Jackson was called upon again. Seven plays into his first series, Jackson was not only flagged for holding, but he was beaten by Dolphins receiver Cedrick Wilson for a 24-yard gain on third and 3, setting up a Miami touchdown.
In his remaining 20 snaps, however, Jackson was targeted four more times and allowed two receptions for 9 yards. His biggest play came during the series after Harty’s touchdown, when he swatted away a pass intended for Wilson on third and 9, forcing a Dolphins punt and the Bills scored on their next possession.
“I think it’s easier now just because I have more experience (coming into games),” said Jackson, who has started 26 games since 2021. “It’s been like that for a little bit. I kind of pride myself on being mentally tough, mentally strong. So, just applying that mentally strong life to the field as well.”
Unlike Harty and Jackson, Baylon Spector wasn’t in and out of the lineup, he was just looking for a chance to play at all. He appeared in six games — playing all 12 of his defensive snaps in mop-up duty of a 38-3 win over the Steelers — after being a seventh-round pick in 2022 and was briefly considered for the starting middle linebacker job during training camp.
Spector dropped on the depth chart and then injured his hamstring in the final preseason game against the Chicago Bears. He missed the first five games on injured reserve, returned for two games without playing a defensive snap and then tweaked his hamstring again, forcing him to miss three more games.
Still mostly a special teams player, Spector saw five defensive snaps against the Cowboys and Chargers when the Bills used a third linebacker, but entered the Dolphins game when Tyrel Dodson injured his shoulder. Spector made four tackles in 19 snaps against Miami and there didn’t appear to be a drop-off with him in the game.
“It’s just doing the simple stuff,” Spector said. “Communicating, reading my keys and knowing where everything is out there, knowing the adjustments and things like that just kind of help you when you get out there and have that confidence to go out there and play.”
Davis, Dodson and Douglas did not practice or were limited Wednesday, nor did safety Taylor Rapp (calf), which means the Bills may need more from backups against the Steelers Sunday in the AFC wild-card round.
Now it becomes maintaining that success rather than just being a comet. The Bills have nearly replicated last season’s defensive injury woes. Last season 15 starters or regular players missed a combined 59 games due to injury, while 14 have missed 57 games this year. Eventually it was too much to overcome last year, leading to a postseason flameout against the Bengals.
“It’s a tough game,” Jackson said. “A guy catches a pass, there’s no time to hang your head and dwell on it. You have to step up and be ready for your next opportunity.”
NOTES: Davis, Douglas and Rapp did not practice Wednesday, while DE Leonard Floyd and DE Von Miller did not practice due to veteran rest. … LT Dion Dawkins (hand laceration), Dodson (shoulder) and RB Ty Johnson (concussion) were limited.