The Buffalo Bills' division clinching win over the New York Jets on Sunday was a microcosm of their season. It was a little tougher than many had anticipated, but in the end, the Bills emerged from the battle victorious.
The offense was successful in the two quarters with the wind at their back, and couldn’t get into the end zone during the other two quarters.
The defense was absolutely dominant against a Jets offense that put up 24 points one week earlier against the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
As far as special teams, the Bills appeared afraid to catch a punt until after it bounced off the ground first. Meanwhile, the punter did his best to singlehandedly keep the Jets in the game.
When all is said and done, it still added up to a win and back-to-back division crowns for the first time since the Bills reeled off four-straight from 1988 to 1991.
It wasn’t a great passing day for Josh Allen, but the Bills quarterback and the offense came up big when they needed to in the victory-sealing fourth quarter.
With the Bills holding on to a 13-10 lead after three quarters, Allen set the tone on a drive that began at the Bills' 49-yard line. He used his legs on a first play scramble and a pump fake to freeze defenders. 32 yards later, Allen had set the Bills up at the Jets' 19-yard line.
Later in the drive, he made one of those "you aren’t supposed to do that" throws that Allen can pull off most of the time. On a 3rd-and-6 from the 15-yard line, Allen was flushed out of the pocket and ran to his right. He was running out of time and space as he was being chased towards the out of bounds line. Allen spotted an open Isaiah McKenzie and threw back across his body for a nine-yard gain.
A Devin Singletary touchdown run gave the Bills a 10-point lead moments later.
If you were nervous at all prior to that drive, you would have been very confident of a win since the Jets offense made one big play the entire game.
On the next drive, which produced an "icing on the cake" touchdown, Allen made a beautiful throw on the very first play. His picture-perfect pass to Gabriel Davis went for 27 yards and set them up at the Jets' 21-yard line.
A Singletary touchdown catch ended up capping that drive off.
Singletary is playing his best football of the season at the right time. The Bills remain - as they should be - a pass-based offense, but if you felt they were leaning too much on that, Singletary’s late season surge should make you feel better. Singletary is averaging 75 yards rushing a game and a strong 4.6 yards per-carry, to go along with five touchdowns over the last five games.
Now it's time for Round 3 between the Bills and New England Patriots this season. I’m feeling very confident about this matchup.
The Bills have a big edge at quarterback. That would not have been the case if they faced the Los Angeles Chargers. As I previously mentioned, the Bills have an improved running game that doesn’t just count on Allen to make plays. The offensive line is playing better since the addition of Ryan Bates at left guard.
At this point, the weather forecast isn’t calling for crazy winds that would derail the Bills' passing attack in two of the four quarters. It'll just be a bit chilly.
We should have another game where not having Tre'Davious White shouldn’t be a big problem. Defending the Patriots' group of wide receivers is better than trying to stop Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.
Rookie quarterback Mac Jones has struggled down the stretch, as the Patriots have lost three of their last four games. Jones has had some of his worst showings of the season in defeats at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts, Bills and Miami Dolphins. He has completed just 56% of his passes, and has thrown just three touchdowns to five interceptions.
Losi and Gangi
