The Buffalo Bills’ OC is overseeing what’s arguably the hottest offense in football while keeping an eye on a potential future elsewhere.
Buffalo Bills fans in the new century are used to seeing coaches come and go. Brian Daboll is the 12th man to hold the title of Buffalo offensive coordinator since Joe Pendry’s three-year term ended after the 2000 season. Among the names before him are Kevin Gilbride, Alex Van Pelt, and Greg Roman. Gilbride won a Super Bowl in the same spot with the Giants, while Van Pelt and Roman have opportunities to do in their respective roles with Cleveland and Baltimore. But they were unable to unlock the offensive potential Western New York had to offer and were subsequently bid farewell.
Daboll is likewise writing his Buffalo coda, but, from a personal standpoint, it comes under the sweetest circumstances on the precipice of football nirvana.
The 45-year-old Ontario, Canada native is not only partaking in one of the eight remaining active Super Bowl treks but he is also on the forefront of the minds of those seeking to reopen their championship windows. As one of the most popular candidates for an open head coaching spot, Daboll has interviewed with the New York Jets and Los Angeles Chargers and other teams have reportedly expressed interest. Per NFL procedures, Daboll can’t officially be hired until the Bills’ season ends. It’ll extend to at least Saturday night, as the Bills battle Roman and the Ravens in the opening leg of the AFC Divisional playoffs (8:15 p.m. ET, NBC).
While Bills fans may have come to grips with the likelihood that Daboll’s Buffalo career won’t make it to Valentine’s Day, they certainly hope that the outside attention won’t take his focus away from their magical season in progress. Under Daboll’s watch, Buffalo’s offense ranks at or near the top of almost every major statistical category, and franchise quarterback Josh Allen has become an MVP candidate in his care. Their 13-win season has snapped countless streaks of futility on the Bills’ ledger. For example, they won their first playoff game in over a quarter-century last weekend in the Wild Card round against Indianapolis.
Prior to the 27-24 win over the Colts, Daboll assured Bills Mafia that they had nothing to worry about when it came to his current mindset.
“(I’m) humbled by it, but (I’m) focused on what we have to do here,” Daboll said of the situation, per Nick Wojton of Bills Wire. “You have a tremendous challenge ahead of you. You better be focused.”
Buffalo earned 397 yards in their Wild Card triumph, a few tallies about their average of 396.5, second in the NFL behind only Kansas City. They ranked 23rd in total offense last season but have been energized by Allen’s breakout season as well as the arrival of former Minnesota playoff hero Stefon Diggs.
“I hate to keep giving him so much credit because I don’t want anyone to steal him from me,” Diggs said with a smile in a report from Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN. “He’s a guy that knows what he’s doing, he knows the flow of the game, knows when to call what. We just trust him, whatever he calls, I’m running it…He always has our back and I (haven’t) seen him miss yet.”
Daboll is a rare Bills representative who has tasted the finest nectars mainstream football has to offer. He was an active contributor to five of the New England Patriots’ six Super Bowl titles in a variety of assistant roles (most recently as the tight ends coach in 2013-16). During a brief college interlude, Daboll was the University of Alabama Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator during their 2017 national title run.
The call from the Bills came shortly after the Tide rolled to an overtime victory in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Buffalo’s offense came home 30th in his first year as they struggled to a 6-10 mark. The move up to 23rd was quiet on paper, but general manager Brandon Beane was enthused by the progress.
“Going back to when Brian was here in ’18, obviously (we were) very young on offense and inexperienced at critical positions,” Beane recalled in Louis-Jacques’ story. “Then you go to ’19 and, all right, we helped the O-line, it’s Year 2 for Josh and we gave him a couple weapons in Cole (Beasley) and John Brown, but we still don’t have enough here yet. I thought what Brian did from 18 to 19 showed growth and it obviously starts with the most critical position. Look at Josh’s growth and what he did. Brian was hands-on in that.”
Daboll is well versed in the challenges ahead, despite his conversations elsewhere. The Bills (14-3) will have to navigate through the rest of the postseason without rookie Zack Moss, one of their top running backs. Baltimore (12-5) is also well known for their pressure and pass rush. They worked their way into the Divisional round with a 20-13 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday afternoon.
In their victory, the Ravens held the high-powered Titans offense to a mere 209 yards and 12 first downs. All-Pro rusher Derrick Henry tallied a mere 40 yards on 18 carries, with none of his rushes going beyond eight yards. Daboll also pointed out that Baltimore’s pressures and quarterback knockdowns top the league.
“They’re the top defense that we’ve played all year,” Daboll said, per Bills reporter Jordan LaBarber. “That’s what the playoffs are. Those are the moments that you live for. Highly competitive individuals playing in tough games that are meaningful games, and it will be a challenge.”
The Buffalo Bills announced a series of roster moves prior to Saturday’s night AFC Divisional Playoff matchup against the Baltimore Ravens (8:15 p.m. ET, NBC). In conjunction with the placement of running back Zack Moss on injured reserve, the team added rusher Devonta Freeman to their practice squad and activated offensive lineman Jordan Devey to their 53-man roster.
Freeman, 28, partook in five games with the New York Giants earlier this season, picking up 172 yards over five games (four starts). The two-time Pro Bowler was placed on injured reserve in November with an ankle ailment before landing on the reserve/COVID-19 list. He was outright released on January 7.
His best performance in blue was a 60-yard output on 17 carries in an October loss in Dallas. Freeman scored the first and only Giants touchdown in that same game. Previously, Freeman led the league with 11 rushing scores during the 2015 season as a member of the Atlanta Falcons. He reached two Pro Bowls as an Atlanta representative and has appeared in five postseason games, scoring a touchdown through the air or on the ground in each of them. Freeman was notably a member of the Falcons’ 2016-17 squad that reached Super Bowl LI.
With Moss placed on injured reserve, his postseason is over thanks to the required three-week stay that comes with such placement. Moss had 47 total yards during the Bills’ Wild Card win over the Indianapolis Colts in Orchard Park. Devin Singletary will likely shoulder a larger load, while other reserve rushers on the active roster include T.J. Yeldon and Taiwan Jones. Freeman joins Week 17 star Antonio Williams on the practice squad, with the latter scoring twice in the blowout win over Miami.
Devey, who celebrated his 33rd birthday on Monday, joins the Bills’ active roster after spending most of it on their practice squad. He was previously activated for the Bills’ October visit to East Rutherford to take on the Jets. Devey previously started six games during the 2014 New England Patriots’ run to Super Bowl XLIX and also has earned a playoff start with Kansas City. He has partaken in 43 games overall (21 starts) since entering the league in 2013 as an undrafted free agent out of Memphis.
An offensive showcase is expected in Orchard Park next weekend, as the Buffalo Bills battle Baltimore for an AFC title game ticket.
The last time Bills Stadium hosted an AFC Divisional playoff game, the Baltimore Ravens didn’t even exist.
That streak will finally end on Saturday night, as the Ravens will descend upon Western New York to battle the Bills in the second round of the NFL’s 2021 postseason tournament. The Bills have earned the prime time slot, as the game will kick off at 8:15 p.m. ET and be broadcast nationally on NBC.
Buffalo (14-3) earned the AFC’s second overall seed but missed out on the lone bye under the new playoff format. The Bills nonetheless took care of business in this weekend’s Wild Card proceedings, topping Indianapolis 27-24 in their first home playoff game since December 1996. Meanwhile, No. 5 Baltimore (12-5) earned entry into the Divisional round with a 20-13 win over Tennessee.
This will be the first postseason meetings between the Bills and Ravens but Baltimore leads the all-time series 6-3, having won the last three matchups. The most recent meeting came in December 2019 in Orchard Park, with the Bills falling 24-17. Lamar Jackson threw three touchdown passes for Baltimore while Josh Allen threw one to Cole Beasley. Buffalo’s last win in the matchup came in September 2013, when they won 23-20 at home
There’s potential for offensive fireworks when the Ravens come to town next weekend. The Ravens aren’t as explosive as they were during their AFC standings-topping campaign last season, but they rediscovered some of their lost prowess on Sunday in Nashville. Baltimore earned 401 yards in their upset victory, with Jackson putting up 315 total yards en route to his first career postseason victory. The Ravens led the league with 191.9 rushing yards per game during the regular season, paced by 1,005 from Jackson. J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards also eclipsed 700 yards and united for 15 touchdowns. Meanwhile, Buffalo, energized by the emergence of Josh Allen and the arrival of Stefon Diggs, was second in the league in total offense at just over 396 yards per game, behind only Kansas City.
Elsewhere on the AFC playoff bracket, the top-seeded Chiefs will take on the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon (3:05 p.m. ET, CBS). On the NFC side, No. 1 Green Bay will take on the sixth-ranked Los Angeles Rams in Saturday’s late afternoon window (4:35 p.m. ET, Fox) while a divisional battle between No. 2 New Orleans and No. 5 Tampa Bay rounds things off at night (6:40 p.m. ET, Fox).
The Buffalo Bills’ Wild Card victory was marred by the loss of the rookie running back, who was injured in the second half.
#Bills RB Zack Moss is expected to miss time with an ankle injury suffered today, source says, adding his the fear is his postseason could be over. But let’s see how far Buffalo goes and how he recovers.
The Buffalo Bills may be missing one of their youngest contributors as their postseason run continues.
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, there’s fear within the organization that rookie running back Zack Moss may miss significant time with an ankle injury sustained during Saturday’s victory in the AFC Wild Card playoffs. Moss put up 47 yards (21 rushing, 26 receiving) before leaving due to an ankle injury. Dr. Matthew Provencher, the injury analyst for Fox Sports’ NFL coverage, had a slightly more optimistic outlook, forecasting that Moss could return in time for a possible appearance in the conference title game should take victory in their Divisional round contest next weekend.
Moss, 23, was chosen in the third round (86th overall) in April’s draft out of Utah. He would split the top rushing duties with Devin Singletary, tallying 481 yards and four scores on the ground. Moss also established himself as a short-yardage receiving threat of the backfield with 95 yards on 14 receptions, one of which went for a touchdown. Overall, 35 of Moss’ 126 touches went for first downs.
With Moss out, the Bills will likely rely on Singletary in the run game, and could potentially use one of their reserve rushers in an expanded role, including T.J. Yeldon or Taiwan Jones. Antonio Williams, who has been on and off the Bills’ practice squad all season, could likewise be an option after he scored two touchdowns in his NFL debut in the Week 17 regular season finale against Miami.
With their 27-24 win over Indianapolis on Saturday, Buffalo (14-3) will now await the results of Sunday’s action to see who they’ll host in the Divisional round. They will take on the highest-remaining seed from the Wild Card aftermath, which puts any team except seventh-seed Cleveland on the table.
The Buffalo Bills made the most of their first playoff opportunity at home in nearly 25 years, ending yet another dubious streak of futility.
The Buffalo Bills have ended countless streaks of futility during this downright magical season. This one, however, might be the sweetest one yet.
Buffalo (14-3) withstood a furious Indianapolis Colts rally in the final minutes, using Josh Allen’s offensive output of 378 total yards to earn a 27-24 victory in the opening Wild Card round of the 2020-21 NFL playoffs. The victory, their first in the postseason since December 1995, comes in the first playoff game they’ve hosted at Bills Stadium in Orchard Park in nearly a quarter-century.
Bills Stadium will now host its first Divisional playoff game since January 1994. They will battle the highest seed remaining between the winners of the remaining wild card matchups. No. 4 Tennessee battles No. 5 Baltimore in Sunday’s early window (1:05 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC) while the battle between No. 3 Pittsburgh and No. 6 Cleveland caps off Wild Card weekend at night (8:15 p.m. ET, NBC).
In the meantime, ESM has three game balls to give out from Saturday’s victory…
Brandon Beane’s lasting impact on the Western New York area will likely always be choosing Josh Allen in the early stages of the 2018 draft. But his day three gems also played a major role in his recent extension. Day three choices were on prominent display during the first playoff win of the Beane era. Taron Johnson, a fourth-round in 2018, made a major tackle on a third-and-goal that forced Indianapolis into a bad fourth-down call, keeping the deficit at 10-7. On the drive that gave Buffalo the lead for good, Johnson’s 2020 draft counterpart from the fourth round, Davis, channeled his inner Fred Flintstone with several tiptoe sideline grabs that allowed the Bills to take the lead just before the halftime break.
The Bills’ recent success hasn’t made them immune to the fact that their roster, talented as it may be, is relatively low on playoff experience. Diggs, a bonafide postseason hero…nay, miracle worker…brought in a good chunk of it, putting a target on his Buffalo back right from the get-go. He responded by not only topping the league’s receivers in yardage and catches, but setting Bills records every step of the way. Granted his first playoff opportunity in his new settings, Diggs took full advantage in his cleats inspired by the 2003 Buffalo-based comedy Bruce Almighty. Diggs lived up to Jim Carrey’s fictitious surname in the second half, putting up 92 yards and a score that came at the onset of the fourth quarter.
26-of-35, 324 yards, 11 carries, 54 yards, 3 total TD
If anything proved that Western New York’s future belongs to Allen…as if anyone needed further convincing…Saturday’s game was perfect concrete evidence. When the Bills needed a score, needed to try and run out the clock…they turned things over to Allen. For some reason, the Bills’ playcalling took the ball out of Allen’s hands during the middle stages of the first half. The rush-heavy diet yielded only three-and-outs and a Colts lead. Once Allen got free reign after the Colts left three points on the field, Allen took over to the tune of a 96-yard drive, capping things off by himself. It was only appropriate that Allen be responsible for the first playoff touchdown scores tallied in Orchard Park since the mid-1990s, as he found Diggs and Dawson Knox through the air, sandwiching the one he took in himself just before the half.
It wasn’t pretty by conventional means. But when you’ve gone just over 24 years without experiencing the glory of a playoff touchdown, you’ll take them however you can get.
Josh Allen and Dawson Knox collaborated to end yet another dubious streak of futility in Buffalo Bills history, as the quarterback found his third-year tight end for a three-yard score that gave the Bills a 7-3 lead over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Wild Card matchup at Bills Stadium. It was the first playoff touchdown scored in Orchard Park since Jacksonville’s Jimmy Smith scored on a two-yard pass from Mark Brunell during the Wild Card round in December 1996. As for Bills representation, it’s the first postseason score at home by the home team since Jeff Burris took back a Brunell interception 38 yards and the first offensive tally since Thurman Thomas scored in the same game, a 30-27 Jacksonville victory.
After the Bills went three-and-out on their first drive by keeping Allen in the pocket, the MVP candidate was able to break free on his second attempt with the ball. Situated at his own 15 after the Colts took a 3-0 lead, Allen accounted for all but six yards on the ensuing 85-yard trek to the end zone. He got things started with his legs on a 12-yard tally on the second play before getting into Indianapolis territory with a 36-yard strike to Stefon Diggs. The score itself wasn’t pretty…Allen appeared to attempt to run it in himself before he got it off at the last minute with the pocket collapsing…but Knox was wide for a catch worth six points not matter its attractiveness. Tyler Bass would later boot the extra point to make to create a 7-3 Buffalo lead.
Josh Allen flicks it to Stefon Diggs for a big gain.
Allen also earned first downs through passes to Devin Singletary and Gabriel Davis. Each of Allen’s first six completion went to a different receiver, with Zack Moss and Cole Beasley also earning catches in the opening frame.
Buffalo continues to lead Indianapolis 7-3 in the early stages of the second quarter.
A Buffalo Bills postseason legend returns to Orchard Park on Sunday. But Frank Reich won’t receive a warm welcome.
If anyone knows what it’s like to be underestimated in the NFL playoffs, it’s Frank Reich.
Reich is best known for engineering perhaps the greatest comeback in football history, leading the Buffalo Bills back from 32 points down to top the Houston Oilers in the 1992-93 AFC Wild Card playoffs. The Bills were underdogs when Reich had to start the following weekend against Pittsburgh, but he scored two touchdowns in a 24-3 triumph. Reich’s long-awated Super Bowl title came when he was the offensive coordinator of the star-crossed Philadelphia Eagles…underdogs to the mighty New England Patriots in the game’s 52nd edition. Reich’s unit became the eighth team in Super Bowl history to put up at least 40 points in the 41-33 triumph. Surely there were some Bills fans that appreciated the fact that the veteran Buffalo thrower finally got a ring…and that it came against the hated Patriots.
A similar situation awaits Reich on Saturday afternoon. This time, though, no one in Western New York is going to be celebrating if Reich leaves the area with a victory.
Reich returns to Bills Stadium as the opposing head coach in Buffalo’s first playoff game in Orchard Park since December 1996. The Bills battle Reich’s Indianapolis Colts in the modern AFC Wild Card playoffs, officially kicking off the 2021 postseason on Saturday afternoon (1:05 p.m. ET, CBS).
Obviously, Reich is business-focused as the Colts prepare to make their arrival. But it’s hard to deny the significance and irony of a former Bills postseason hero potentially spoiling a long-awaited party that will be open to just over 6,000 members of Bills Mafia (though Governor Andrew Cuomo will no longer be one).
“This is a business trip,” Reich said of Saturday’s showdown, per Sal Maiorana of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. “Fortunately, I have been back to Buffalo a few times since (leaving in 1994) as a player and as a coach. I feel like I’ve gotten all of that out of my system. Love Buffalo, will always love Buffalo, will always be a Bills fan, except for this Saturday for sure.”
Bills fans more than likely hope that Reich’s latest visit ends like the one he made in November 1996, just over a month before they fell to the Jacksonville Jaguars in their most recent playoff staging at what was then known as Rich Stadium. Reich threw three interceptions as he and the one-win Jets fell in a one-sided 35-10 defeat to Buffalo. More recently, Reich holds the current bragging rights in the series, with his Colts dominating a 37-5 decision at Lucas Oil Stadium in October 2018.
Even if Reich is unwilling to give in to nostalgics, his impact is recognized by those who came after him in the Bills’ quarterback room.
“It’s a cool moment with coach Reich and what he meant here in Buffalo,” quarterback Josh Allen told Maiorana. “I saw his press conference on coming back and you know he was excited that we won on Sunday, but he’s not gonna be a fan of the Bills when he comes into town this time. The fans obviously love him and what he’s been able to do here so that’s a cool story in itself.”
A good part of Reich’s NFL story is written in blue and red ink. He was drafted by the Bills in the third round of the 1985 draft out of Maryland, spending a decade as Jim Kelly’s backup before he served as a mentor and fill-in thrower in Carolina, New York, and Detroit. Such a career made him ideal in a coach’s spot, and his career with a headset has come full circle. He was an offensive assistant for four years with the Colts (2008-11) before other deputy positions in Arizona and San Diego before his championship dream was finally fulfilled with the Eagles. Reich accepted his first head coaching job shortly after with the Colts. Philadelphia hasn’t reached 10 wins since his departure.
Reich’s tenure has been about stabilizing a franchise that could’ve been set back years by the sudden retirement of Andrew Luck. The Colts won 10 games and a Wild Card contest during Reich and Luck’s one season of collaborating, but Luck’s departure during the ensuing preseason was a roadblock that could’ve set the franchise back several seasons.
But Reich made due with a fate that dealt him a Luck-free future, driving the Colts to a respectable seven-win season that fell two games short of the playoffs. With the addition of an experienced placeholder quarterback (Phillip Rivers) and the emergence of a day-two gem at the draft (Jonathan Taylor), the Colts won 11 games for the first time since 2014 and captured the final AFC Wild Card spot, leading to Reich’s date with destiny.
Even Reich’s most recent playoff clinch was sprinkled with a healthy dose of Buffalo-based irony: the Bills’ dominant 56-26 win over Miami during Sunday’s early window put the Colts in a win-and-in situation for their late afternoon game against Jacksonville. Indianapolis’ 28-14 triumph clinched the spot on the 28th anniversary of Reich’s dramatic comeback against Houston. Reich would later insist that he was unaware of the coincidence until the day before the game.
“Us coaches, we don’t know what day of the week it is or what the date is, we just know when we play and what the practice schedule is,” he remarked in Maiorana’s report. “It actually wasn’t until I was doing the production meeting with the TV crew and someone mentioned that did the thought even cross my mind.”
In preparing for the Bills, Reich was more willing to focus on the current incarnation of Buffalo’s gridiron endeavors. In another report from Matt Parrino of Syracuse.com, Reich referred to them as “one of the hottest teams, if not the hottest team in the NFL” and to head coach Sean McDermott as “one of the (most) respected coaches in this league”.
The Buffalo Bills are firing on all cylinders as the NFL playoffs get underway. But does the AFC still belong to the Chiefs? ESM investigates.
Are you ready to party like it’s 1994? For once, someone other than New York Rangers fans are willing to do so in the Empire State.
Five months before Mark Messier accepted the Stanley Cup at Madison Square Garden, the Buffalo Bills battled the Kansas City Chiefs for AFC supremacy in January’s conference title game at what-was-then-known-as Rich Stadium. Through a dominant effort from Thurman Thomas (186 rushing yards and three scores), Buffalo rolled to a 30-13 victory that clinched their fourth consecutive Super Bowl berth.
27 years later, the two teams appear to be on a collision course toward a rematch in the game’s 2021 edition. Kansas City (14-2) and Buffalo (13-3) are the top two seeds in the first edition of the revamped AFC playoffs. Fulfilling the star-crossed prophecies of Western New York sports, Buffalo secure the second overall seed…in the first year that the conference runner-up is not entitled to a bye week (or at least first since the adjusted 1982 playoffs due to a players’ strike). The lone automatic advancement goes to the defending champion Chiefs, while the Bills take on the first extra wild-card, the seventh-seeded Indianapolis Colts, in the official postseason opener on Saturday afternoon (1:05 p.m. ET, CBS). Buffalo missed out on a first-round bye, but, on the brighter side, the earliest they would face the Chiefs is the potential conference title game.
So should the Bills, slowly becoming America’s adoptive squad, be the favorite as the playoffs get underway? ESM investigates why…and why not:
Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Why: They’re taking care of business
If not for Kyler Murray’s miracle in Glendale back in November, the Bills may have entered the playoffs on a 10-game winning streak…with their last loss coming to Kansas City. Since that heartbreaker in the desert and the ensuing week off, Buffalo has won six in a row, each victory coming by no less than 10 points. They and the Green Bay Packers enter the postseason with the longest active winning streak in the NFL (though Kansas City would probably have a streak of 11 in a row if they hadn’t rested their starters in a Sunday loss to Los Angeles).
The Bills are just winning games…they’re dominating them. Their point differential of 119 over the past six weeks is by far the best in football in that span (fellow AFC participant Baltimore is in second at 92) and the Bills’ offense is averaging just under 430 yards per game (also best in that timeframe). Team records are falling on both the individual (through Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs) and team level. For example, last week’s 56-26 victory a Miami Dolphins team that had much to play for allowed the Bills to set a personal-best for most points scored in a single season (501).
It’s not like the Bills are bullying AFC slouches, either. In addition to eliminating Miami, Buffalo’s winning streak featured a healthy Sunday night win over Pittsburgh. Save for the Arizona nightmare, they won every leg of their interconference slate, which included wins over the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks (who face off in the NFC wild-card match immediately after the Bills-Colts game). If this were the College Football Playoff, we’d likely see the Bills swiping one of the top four spots..probably to play Alabama.
Buffalo’s domination contrasts the relatively exciting football Kansas City has played. Most of the Chiefs’ contributors from their Super Bowl run are back, headlined by the lethal duo of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. But each of the team’s past seven victories has come by only a single possession. The last game featuring Kansas City starters was a sloppy 17-14 slugfest against the eliminated Atlanta Falcons, a game that avoided overtime because of a rare Younghoe Koo miss. Their top unit has another week to get things rolling as they simmer in a first-round bye.
Why Not: They have little playoff experience
The Bills have broken countless streaks of futility this season. One, however, looms large: a postseason win drought dating back to December 1995, when they topped Miami in the Wild Card round. The dry spell nearly ended in Houston last season, but victory slipped through their grasp in overtime. For most of the players on this team, their knowledge of January football stems from either the heartbreaking visit to Buffalo or the 10-3 Wild Card slugfest in Jacksonville back in 2018. The former loss still looms large on the Bills’ psyche as they prepare to attempt to finally get over the hump against the Colts.
“It still lingers a little bit, just knowing the situation of the game, knowing what I could’ve done differently, reads I could’ve changed. If I could change it, obviously would, but I can’t, and I’m glad for the lessons I learned throughout that game and throughout the three years I’ve been playing so far,” quarterback Josh Allen said to Mary Margaret Johnson of WIVB. “Without failure, you wouldn’t know success. We’ve got to find ways to put our best foot forward and try to get a victory.”
Kansas City, on the other hand, is the only team in the league that has won playoff games in consecutive seasons, reaching the AFC title game before their Super Bowl triumph over San Francisco last season. According to Mahomes, the former playoff trip played a vital role in his eventual Vince Lombardi Trophy hoist. In his first full year as a starter, the Chiefs topped Indianapolis in the Divisional round before bowing out in overtime to the eventual champions from New England in the AFC title game.
Mahomes mentioned just how important the prior experience was when gearing up for the run to Super Bowl LIV last season.
“For me, I think the only thing that is really different is having the experience,” Mahomes said prior to the AFC Divisional round against Houston, per Charles Goldman of Chiefs Wire. “Being able to play in games like this at Arrowhead and being able to win one and lose one. I understand that every single play counts, how much every single rep in practice counts, and how you have to take advantage of every single opportunity that you get.”
Mahomes’ quick adaptation from playoff heartbreak led to a Super Bowl title. Buffalo will have to channel similar energy if they’re hoping to end this season on the right note.
Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Why: Their defense is finding a dominant stride
Any battle between the Bills and Chiefs would likely require a backup scoreboard on standby at Arrowhead Stadium. Buffalo (501) and Kansas City (473) are good for first and third respectively in the AFC in scoring, sandwiching Tennessee. The Chiefs top the NFL at just over 415 yards a game, with Buffalo the first team behind them at 396.
But that’s where the Bills’ defense can step in. The NFL may be a league that worships an offensive deity known as “fantasy football”, but several important games over the past few seasons (i.e. Super Bowl LIII) have proven that defense still has its place in modern professional football. Buffalo’s defense is getting hot at the perfect time. Not only did they hold three consecutive opponents under 300 yards in December…almost an impossibility in today’s offense-happy NFL..they’ve been forcing turnovers as well. The Bills have forced at least one turnover in all but one of their past 11 games, the rare exception being their most recent visit to New England, when they allowed only 201 yards of offense in a 38-9 win. In their elimination victory over the Dolphins, they earned four takeaways, headlined by Josh Norman’s interception return for a touchdown.
In a report from team writer Jordan LaBarber, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds described the Bills’ defensive endeavors as “fun” after they dismantled fellow division champion Pittsburgh on national television.
“The biggest thing is starting fast, playing physical, playing free, and guys just having fun. I think, if I had to say the number one thing, it’s having fun. If you have fun, a lot of those things kind of take care of itself,” Edmunds said. “I honestly take my hat off just to the whole, you know, the team, just the people I have around me. I can’t do it all by myself. I think just us as a team, we are having fun. And any time you have fun, I think those plays just kind of show up.”
Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Why Not: They’re hurting
For most of the season, the Bills dodged the 2020 demons brought on by COVID-19 and injuries. Reserve tight end and goal line target Tyler Kroft, for example, was placed on the reserve list twice but was activated each time without further incident. But the Bills have some major question marks when it comes to their receiving corps as they enter Saturday’s game in Indianapolis.
Diggs would be the scariest absence, as he has missed out on practice on Wednesday due to oblique issues. The NFL’s leading receiver (127 receptions, 1535 yards, both Bills records) has indicated that he’ll be ready to go for the Colts’ visit, but head coach Sean McDermott was more cautious. Diggs did partake in Thursday’s preparation at Bills Stadium, as did Cole Beasley, per photos from Matt Parrino of Syracuse.com. The slot receiver Beasley set new career-bests this season (82 receptions, 967 yards) but missed the Week 17 contest with a knee injury. Thursday’s proceedings were his first form of football action since the week prior in New England. Isaiah McKenzie, fresh off a career-game against the Dolphins (three touchdowns, including a punt return), has also been limited all week.
Though Bills fans may exhale about Diggs’ confidence to play this week, the receiver noted how well the Buffalo depth compliments each other. Fourth-round rookie Gabriel Davis has tallied seven scores this season while John Brown made his return in the regular season finale after missing the past five games with a knee and ankle issue.
“Having that depth, having guys, in this playoff run, you don’t what’s going to happen,” Diggs said in a report from Parrino. “Guys can get hurt, (with) COVID and all the stuff that’s going on. Having depth doesn’t hurt you. It kind of puts you in space where that next man up is really, really real. I say more so give all the credit being able to find the open man, deliver a strike and being able to have success offensively with the guys you haven’t typically had a lot of reps with.”
Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Why: They have Josh Allen
There’s little doubt about Allen’s ability at this point. He has silenced pretty much any doubters with an MVP-worth season that has yielded 46 touchdowns through the air (37), ground (8), a trick play from Brown (1). To put that number in perspective, punter Corey Bojorquez has been called upon only 37 times.
But the feel-good stories of the NFL, particularly those found under center, can quickly be neutralized by a lack of playoff success. For example, it took one botched field goal for Tony Romo to be eternally labeled as a fourth-quarter choker (though his stats often proved otherwise). Jared Goff’s reputation with the Rams hasn’t been the same since a brutal day in the aforementioned Super Bowl against the Patriots. Conquering the postseason is the last hurdle Allen has to clear before officially cementing his superstar status.
Allen escaped a good share of the blame for the heartbreak in Houston, even though he mustered only one receiving touchdown (another toss from Brown) and he had a fumble at the onset of the fourth quarter that led to a Texans field goal. But, with more postseason futility, the inevitable, if not unjust, question of “how many playoff wins does he have?” is inevitably going to come up.
But, going into the postseason, Allen isn’t worried about his personal case. His perspective is entirely team-focused.
“The only thing when I’m on the field is my fear of letting my teammates down,” Allen said to LaBarber. “As quarterback of the team, your job is to move the ball and to score points. So, when we’re not scoring points, that’s my biggest fear. It’s putting our defense in a bind if we’re not moving the chains on third down, again, that puts us behind the eight ball and we’ve got to punt the ball away. That’s what drives me. That’s what motivates me. I fear letting the guys who drafted me, this front office, and this organization, down.”
Why Not: They don’t have Patrick Mahomes…and Travis Kelce…and Andy Reid…and…
October gave us a potential preview of this matchup, with Kansas City prevailing in a somewhat sloppy 26-17 triumph. Each side’s discombobulation could potentially be attributed to the fact it was a Thursday nighter shifted to a Monday late afternoon due to COVID-19 issues with the Bills’ prior opponent in Nashville. But the Bills weren’t looking for excuses.
“We weren’t good enough. I was not good enough,” said Allen, held to a season-low 122 yards, to LaBarber and Dante Lasting. “I got to do a better job. It’s plain and simple. I didn’t play very good tonight. I know that, understand that. This team can’t afford to have me play poorly. Early on, just not being as accurate with the ball as I should have been, making the right reads, making the right throws.”
There is, technically, no shame in losing to Kansas City. Last season’s Super Bowl run was a firm statement that they didn’t save the AFC from New England monopoly…they simply declared the conference was under new management. The Chiefs were not only set up for short-term success but packed things up for the long-term, locking Mahomes to his infamous half-billion-dollar deal that somehow seems like too little. Super Bowl hero Damien Williams (understandably) opted out of the 2020 proceedings and the Chiefs didn’t lose a step, sustained by Mahomes’ passing antics to weapons like Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill. So there’s little shame in colliding with a team of destiny and coming out on the wrong end.
But the Bills know that success in the NFL is far too fleeting to rely on the future. That Jacksonville team that beat them in 2018 went to the AFC title game and seem destined for a return trip. The Jaguars are now choosing first in the 2021 NFL Draft this spring.
It’s going to be hard to top Kansas City, but first thing’s first…beating the Colts on Saturday.
The Buffalo Bills (13-3) will face their former AFC East brethren in the first round of the 2021 NFL postseason.
It’s only appropriate that this Buffalo Bills season, one that conjured the ghosts of AFC East past, it’s only appropriate that the potential postseason trek opens with a meeting against a former member of the divisional brotherhood.
The end of the American Football Conference’s regular season action has solidified its portion of the playoff bracket. Seeded in the second-slot, the BIlls will battle the seventh-ranked Indianapolis Colts in the Wild Card round of the postseason. It will be held next weekend on January 9 or 10.
Buffalo and Indianapolis are former AFC East rivals, with the Colts (then based in Baltimore) joining the division upon the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. They were shifted to the newly formed AFC South when the Houston Texans became the NFL’s 32nd franchise in 2002. There have been 70 prior meetings in the postseason between the Bills and Colts, with the former leading the series by a 37-32-1 tally. This Wild Card meeting will be their first postseason showdown.
Ironically, the Bills (13-3) partially allowed the Colts (11-5) to clinch a playoff spot, as their 56-26 destruction of the Miami Dolphins in Sunday’s early window put Indianapolis in a “win-and-in” situation against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Rookie running back Jonathan Taylor ran for 253 yards and two scores en route to a 28-14 victory.
The second-round pick out of Wisconsin (41st overall) has been one of the biggest reasons behind the Colts’ resurgence, having scored seven touchdowns over the last four games. His 1,169 rushing yards are the most amongst first-year players. Other talented in the Indianapolis roster include quarterback Phillip Rivers, receiver T.Y. Hilton, and linebacker Darius Leonard. The Colts have won five of their last seven games entering the playoffs.
Buffalo last faced Indianapolis in 2018, when the Colts took a 37-5 final at Lucas Oil Stadium. The last visit to Orchard Park was in December 2017, when the Bills earned a 13-7 overtime win in a blizzard.
Elsewhere on the AFC bracket, the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Cleveland Browns while the Tennessee Titans host the Baltimore Ravens.
Time and television information will be announced in the near future, likely during the final overall regular season game of 2020, Sunday’s night NFC East deciding event between the Washington Football Team and the Philadelphia Eagles (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC). Washington will win that division if they take the tilt, while an Eagles victory secures the title and the playoff spot that comes with it to the New York Giants.
[UPDATE: 9:25 p.m. ET]]:The NFL has released times and dates for the first round of the playoffs, with the Bills-Colts showdown opening things up on Saturday, January 9. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on CBS.
The Buffalo Bills’ AFC East title meant just a little more to Jerry Hughes and Lee Smith, the two leftovers from their lean years.
Arguing over who is most deserving of the Bills’ long-awaited division title is extraordinarily moot. The team has captured its success through a strong sense of unity and would likely scoff at such a debate. But it’s safe to say that this one might mean a little something more to Jerry Hughes and Lee Smith.
No one on the current Bills roster has played more games with a charging pair of buffalo on their helmet than Hughes and Smith, respectively serving as a defensive lineman and reserve tight end. Hughes has partaken in 103 games since coming over in a 2013 trade with Indianapolis while Smith has shown up in 80 contests over two Buffalo stints. In comparison, guard Dion Dawkins and long snapper Reid Ferguson, both 2017 arrivals, are next on the list with 62.
As the longest-tenured Bills on the roster, Hughes and Smith are the only players in Western New York to play on-field witnesses to the dryest spell in Buffalo football history: a 17-year playoff drought that becomes a distant memory with each passing week. This historic season has seen the end of many dubious steaks, including an AFC East division title drought that has stopped at a quarter-century. A good part of Hughes and Smith’s respective tenures, however, have been consumed by building those streaks, even if they personally had little to no role in the gridiron malarkey.
Hughes, for example, has been one of the more reliable veteran pass rushers in football since debuting as a first-round pick of the Colts in 2010. Since the 2012 season, only nine weeks of regular season NFL football have been played without Hughes taking the field…and that’s only because his team had a bye week. In that span, Hughes ranks in the top 25 in sacks (55), quarterback hits (120), and tackles for a loss (80). Hughes has seen his share of individual accolades as well, appearing on NFL Network’s Top 100 Players list in 2015 (No. 63).
But the lack of team success always irritated Hughes. While he partook in a pair of playoff games during his three years with the Colts, he was subjected to several frustrating seasons of football purgatory in Orchard Park. Those campaigns were often defined by wasting fast starts, such as their 5-3 opening in 2014 that led to a 9-7 campaign.
As serviceable comrades dwindled in the defensive locker room, Hughes took on the mantle of locker room leader. Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier saw that brand of leadership during Buffalo’s October win over the New York Jets. Facing a strong challenge from a desperate opponent in East Rutherford, Frazier remarked that the only thing more impressive than Hughes’ play on the field was his composure off of it. The assistant coach mentioned that Hughes’ tenacious brand of defense encouraged him to raise the pressure on opponents following one-sided losses to fellow AFC contenders from Tennessee and Kansas City over the fall. It paid off in the form of an 18-10 win over the Jets, one that saw the Bills earn six sacks and allow only 191 yards.
“We didn’t talk about things that needed to be done with the D-line, it was more Jerry taking it upon himself as a leader to pull those guys together,” Frazier said, per John Wawrow of the Associated Press. “Jerry was so positive, and encouraging his teammates on the sideline. I remember saying to myself, `Man, that’s what you need out of one of your star players who’s a leader.‘”
Hughes was the headliner in the aforementioned New York victory, picking up six tackles, two sacks, an interception, and a forced fumble. He was awarded the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week Award for his efforts.
In the fateful win in the Rockies, Hughes put a dagger in the Broncos during the early stages of the third quarter. Immediately after Buffalo build a 28-13 lead, Hughes treated Bills fans to a showcase from the past, namely from his days as a running back at Stephen F. Austin High School in Sugar Land, Texas. The defender dodged five would-be tacklers from Denver to score a 21- yard touchdown, giving the Bills a 35-13 advantage. From there on out, a countdown began to commemorate the Bills’ first AFC East crown since 1996.
Eschewing expectations, Hughes’ postgame attitude mirrored his teammate’s jovial mood, but the division title has proven to be anything but gridiron nirvana for a man desperately seeking it.
“Man, it feels amazing,” Hughes said in a report from Jourdon LaBarber of BuffaloBills.com, clad in a celebratory t-shirt bearing the insignia “Won Not Done. “This is something that we talked about once I got to this organization. We spoke about bringing a division championship home to Buffalo. So, it feels great to be a part of this team, the way we did it, the way Sean and Brandon Beane were able to assemble the team together and put guys in the right spot so we can be success and the results are showing.”
“I know that we’ve still got a lot more to accomplish. That’s what I like about these guys. We can enjoy a milestone and still understand that the goal is still not reached. So, I’m excited. We’re going to enjoy this tonight and then we’re going to get ready for next week.”
Hughes did enjoy at least a taste of postseason glory last season, earning a career-best three sacks during Buffalo’s playoff cameo in Houston.
Smith may be one of the lesser-heralded members of the Bills’ roster, though his impact cannot be denied. The former fifth-round pick has built a sizable career since experiencing his first NFL release before taking his first snap, bid farewell by the New England Patriots at the end of his first training camp. He partook in parts of four seasons with the Bills before signing with the Raiders in 2015. Smith was asked to rejoin the Bills in 2019 and he was quick to accept, as the tight end was drawn to a Buffalo reunion by the good vibes he drew from the organization, particularly its new direction under current owners Kim and Terry Pegula.
“Mr. and Mrs. Pegula have spared no expense around here. It’s invigorating and makes the players feel not just respected but appreciated. This place is first class,” Smith said in a 2019 episode of team program One Bills Live. “I’m all about enjoying coming to work everyday. If you’re fortunate enough to be able to make a decision of where you want to go then my thing has always been that being around good men that I want to work for.”
Smith’s modern work has mostly come through special teams participation. He did earn a one-yard score in Buffalo’s September win over the Los Angeles Rams and seemed poised to add to that tally on Saturday, but his fourth-quarter catch from Josh Allen was called back due to a penalty.
Buffalo (11-3) is still in contention for one of the top seeds in the AFC’s playoff bracket. Their next contest comes on the road against the New England Patriots next Monday night (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC).
