The Buffalo Bills ended the 2020 regular season with an absolute drubbing of the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, defeating their AFC East foes, 56-26.
With the victory, Buffalo clinched the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs, meaning the Bills would have home-field advantage for the first two rounds, should they advance past Wild Card Weekend. After watching Sunday’s game though, I’m not sure this Bills team is going anywhere any time soon.
Despite having the ability to rest some key players in Week 17 (the Bills didn’t have to play for the No. 2 seed, and they would’ve clinched it with a Pittsburgh Steelers loss on Sunday regardless of the result against Miami), Buffalo came out and played the first half like it was any other game this season. After somewhat of a slow start, the Bills came alive in the second quarter, put the game away early, and gave fans and team personnel a chance to breathe a little easier in the second half.
In just one half of play, Josh Allen threw for 224 yards and three touchdowns, along with an early interception. Allen also became Buffalo’s all-time leader in passing yards for a single season, passing Drew Bledsoe’s previous record of 4,359 in 2002 with a six-yard completion to running back Devin Singletary in the second quarter.
With key defensive starters like cornerback Tre’Davious White and defensive end Jerry Hughes out to rest up for the postseason, the unit stepped up and forced four turnovers in the game (three interceptions and a fumble), including an interception return touchdown from cornerback Josh Norman in the third quarter.
Sunday’s win truly was a great example of complimentary football.
The offense exploded for 56 points against the NFL’s top scoring defense (Miami averaged only 18.8 points-against per-game heading into Week 17), the second-most in a game in Bills history (58 vs. Miami in 1966). The defense forced turnovers and accounted for points. Heck, the Bills even got a return touchdown for the first time since 2014 when Isaiah McKenzie took a punt 84 yards to the house.
The Bills will now begin to get ready for the franchise’s first home playoff game since December of 1996; a Wild Card Weekend matchup against the No. 7 seed Indianapolis Colts, coached by former Bills quarterback Frank Reich.
Here are three quick observations from the Bills win over the Dolphins on Sunday:
1.) Isaiah McKenzie stole the show
While wide receiver John Brown did make his return to the Bills lineup for the first time since Week 10 on Sunday, with Cole Beasley now out week-to-week with a knee injury, it felt like another receiver needed to step up.
It was McKenzie who ended up answering the call.
The receiver recorded the first multi-touchdown game of his career with a pair of touchdown catches in the first half. He later added to it with the previously mentioned 84-yard punt return touchdown, giving the Bills a 21-3 lead at the time.
Buffalo didn’t score any points in the first quarter, and it took a little while for the offense to get going. McKenzie’s early scores gave the team some life and, as we saw, the offense took off from the start of the second quarter onward.
With Brown still getting back into the full swing of things, and with Beasley’s status questionable for the first playoff game, McKenzie stepped up at the right time. With the emergence of Gabriel Davis, who also caught a touchdown pass against Miami, and McKenzie, the Bills’ receiving corps is proving to be deep and reliable, which is great for this pass-heavy unit.
2.) Sunday’s game featured a lot of points, but even more records broken
Allen’s slow start (37 passing yards in the first quarter) didn’t keep him from having another spectacular afternoon. In only one half of play, Allen completed 18-of-25 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns. After throwing an interception on the opening drive of the game, it was a nice bounce back.
A six-yard completion to Devin Singletary early in the second quarter gave Allen the new Bills single-season record for passing yards, moving him ahead of Drew Bledsoe’s previous record of 4,359 yards in 2002.
Allen finishes the regular season with 4,544 passing yards and 37 passing touchdowns, along with eight rushing and one receiving, for a total of 46, another franchise single-season record.
Sunday’s win over Miami wasn’t just big for Allen, though.
The offense, as a whole, performed well. The unit tied franchise record with its ninth game this season scoring 30 points or more, matching the 1991 squad. Buffalo also set a new franchise record for total points in a season, scoring 501, surpassing that aforementioned group from 1991, and becoming the first Bills team to score 500 points in a season.
Also, while he had a quiet day by the standards he’s set this season, Stefon Diggs still led the Bills in catches, reeling-in seven passes for 76 yards.
Diggs ends the regular season with 127 catches and 1,535 yards, the most in the NFL for both categories. It’s the first time in team history the Bills have had a player lead the league in catches or receiving yards. Diggs’ 127 catches are also the sixth-most in a single season in NFL history.
3.) Could there have been any better way to end this regular season?
Seriously, what a way to put a bow on, what was, the best regular season of Bills football in at least 20 years.
A blowout win over a division rival (that also ended up eliminating Miami from playoff contention), earning Buffalo its first undefeated finish against its divisional opponents in franchise history (6-0); a 56-point explosion that featured points from all three phases. And, Allen may have even furthered his case for MVP with that impressive first half against one of the NFL’s best defenses.
One can always have reservations about dressing starters and key players in a game that isn’t a “must-win”. Buffalo could’ve easily taken things lightly in Week 17 and trusted the Cleveland Brown to beat Pittsburgh in order to get that No. 2 seed in the AFC. However, the Bills decided to control their own destiny, while also showing the Dolphins they’re not ready for the playoffs just yet.
Sunday’s win seems like it can be the ultimate confidence boost for this team heading into the postseason. The Bills, aside from the Kansas City Chiefs maybe, are the hottest team in the NFL. They’ve won nine of their last 10 games, including the last six in a row, the team’s longest since 2004.
Buffalo is also 7-1 at home this season, with the only loss coming against Kansas City back in Week 6; an important stat to remember with at least one (and possibly two) upcoming home playoff games.
With Allen and the offense clicking on all cylinders, along with the defense playing its best ball all season, and the special teams finding consistency, everything is falling into place at the right time for the Bills. This team is going to be talked about a lot around the league as playoff time begins.
With the run they’re on right now, I have no problem saying the Buffalo Bills are entering the playoffs as a true Super Bowl contender.