The Buffalo Bills wrapped up the 2020 regular season with an exclamation point, thoroughly beating the Miami Dolphins in every phase of the game, 56-26. In the process, the Bills finished the regular season 13-3, and swept the AFC East (6-0) for the first time in franchise history.
The final Arrows of the regular season start with them pointing way up:
ARROW UP:
- Josh Allen
Allen probably played longer than most people expected, going the entire first half, but he certainly made the most of it. He finished his afternoon completing 18-of-25 passes (72.0%) for 224 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. In the process Allen broke the Bills’ single-season passing yardage record, passing Drew Bledsoe’s 2002 season record and finishing with 4,544 yards.
- Isaiah McKenzie
What a game McKenzie had. Not only did he catch six passes for 65 yards, but two of them went for touchdowns. Then on top of that, he returned a punt 84 yards for another score, finishing the day with 149 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns.
- Stefon Diggs
"Mr. Consistency" just kept grabbing footballs as he always does. He finished with seven catches for 76 yards on the day, and also earned the league title for both receptions (127) and yards (1,535) this season. His 127 catches are the sixth-most all-time for any player in any NFL season.
- Gabriel Davis
It wasn’t the quantity or volume of what Davis did, but it was the quality and efficiency. He only caught two passes, but one was for 51 yards and the other was for 56 yards, totaling 107 yards and a touchdown.
- Tyler Bass
Despite the Bills scoring 56 points, Bass didn’t even attempt a field goal. All of their scores came via touchdowns, and he nailed all eight of those extra point opportunities, becoming the all-time leader in points scored in any single season for the Bills with 141. That's as a rookie! He passed Steve Christie‘s mark of 140, set in 1998. Every one of Bass’ nine kickoffs also went for touchbacks.
- Sean McDermott
The Bills head coach had a lot to balance this week, playing for the No. 2 seed, but also wanting to get players out of the game healthy. On top of that, he had to keep in mind his Bills might have to play the Dolphins again next week. He obviously struck the right balance, with a convincing win, wrapping up the second seed, and, by all accounts, with all players escaping any major injuries.
- Antonio Williams
The Bills rookie running back, just elevated from the practice squad for this game and making his NFL debut, had quite the showing, running 12 times for 63 yards, averaging 5.3 yards per-carry, and finding the end zone twice. Williams also caught a pass that went for 20 yards, giving him 83 total yards from scrimmage on the day.
- John Brown
The Bills welcomed Brown back with open arms after suffering an ankle injury in their Week 10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Late in the second quarter, Allen found Brown with a terrific throw for a touchdown, giving Brown four grabs for 72 yards and a touchdown.
- Score, score, score!
The Bills scored 56 points on Sunday, which was the most they’ve scored since the AFL/NFL merger, and second-most in franchise history. They scored 58 in a game in 1966, also against the Dolphins. This season, in two games against Miami, the Bills scored 87 points, 12 touchdowns, gained 978 yards, and averaged 7.95 yards per-offensive play.
- Red zone offense
The Bills were a perfect 4-for-4 scoring touchdowns once they got inside the Dolphins' 20-yard line.
- Touchdowns, not field goals
The Bills had 12 offensive drives, not counting those at the end of both halves when they kneeled down. They scored touchdowns on six of them, including three straight in the second quarter.
- Big plays
On top of McKenzie’s 84-yard punt return, the Bills had four other plays that went for at least 31 yards, including two over 50 yards.
- Corey Bojorquez
The Bills punter had an absolutely perfect punt that bounced and went out of bounds inside the Dolphins' one-yard line. He put two of his four punts inside their 20, and had a gross average of 53.5 yards per-punt. Bojorquez finished the season with just enough punts to qualify among league leaders. He had 41 and the minimum is 39. He will finish No. 1 in the NFL in gross average at 50.8, and be the only punter in the league over 50.0 on the season.
- Penalties
The Bills committed only three penalties, costing them only 16 yards.
- Dean Marlowe
Once again, Marlowe made big plays in limited action, as he has often done this season. He had two interceptions, returning them for a total of 39 yards, to go along with two pass breakups.
- Josh Norman
Norman had a pick-six, his first since 2015 while with the Carolina Panthers, and third of his career. He added four tackles and two pass breakups in the win.
- Dane Jackson
The Bills rookie cornerback shined again when given an opportunity, finishing with three tackles, including one for a loss near the Dolphins' goal line, and two pass breakups.
- Tremaine Edmunds
Edmunds was flying around the field, sideline-to-sideline. He was the game’s leading tackler, ending with nine of them, including one for a loss, plus a sack and a quarterback hurry.
- Run defense
The Dolphins had to throw the ball a lot since they were down so much, but when they attempted to run, there wasn’t much there. The Bills held them to 70 yards on the ground and a 3.5 yard per-carry average.
- Third down defense
The Bills held the Dolphins to only converting 3-of-14 third down attempts (21%).
----------
ARROW DOWN:
- Defending DeVante Parker
In the first half, Parker only caught one pass for eight yards. In the second half, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa targeted him early and often. He finished with seven catches for 116 yards, giving fits to Buffalo's defensive backs on several occasions.
- Running game other than Antonio Williams
Williams put up very good numbers, but other than that, the Bills running game did not. Between Devin Singletary, Zack Moss, Josh Allen, Isaiah McKenzie, and Matt Barkley - who all had carries - the Bills ran for only 15 yards on 12 carries.
- First quarter offense
The Bills scored 56 points, and they all came after the first quarter. In that first 15 minutes, on three possessions, the Bills offense gained only 42 yards, punted twice and turned the ball over once.
Follow me on Twitter: @SalSports
