The Buffalo Bills clinched their second-consecutive AFC East division championship on Sunday with a 27-10 win over the New York Jets at Highmark Stadium.
Here are my Arrows Up and Down from the game:
ARROW UP:
Everything on defense
There would be so many separate Arrows Up for the defense I decided to just lump it all into one, because they were that terrific as a group. Some absolutely stunning numbers being posted:
- 53 total yards of offense allowed
- 1.2 yards per-play allowed.
- Jets were 1-for-14 (1.7%) on third down
- Nine sacks!
- Jets quarterback Zach Wilson was 7-of-20 (35%) for 87 yards
- Forced 10 punts
- Allowed 10 points
If not for a fourth down conversion that was turned into a 40-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown, it would've been as close to a perfect performance as you can get in the NFL, regardless of who you’re playing.
Harrison Phillips and Ed Oliver
Separately, Phillips and Oliver have been playing the best football of their individual careers. Together, the two defensive tackles have been the perfect complement for the Bills defense.
Against the Jets, they combined for six total tackles, including two for a loss, 1.5 sacks, and four quarterback hurries.
Stefon Diggs
"Mr. Consistency" continued his excellent season, grabbing nine catches for 81 yards and a touchdown, becoming the first Bills wide receiver to ever have back-to-back seasons with 100 receptions. Diggs also broke an NFL record for the most catches by a player in his first two seasons with a team.
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Allen-to-Diggs touchdown
The first touchdown of the game was a pretty incredible play by quarterback Josh Allen and a terrific catch by Diggs.
Allen was scrambling right and getting close to the sideline, but somehow fit the ball into the only spot he could to his receiver. Diggs caught it just as his right foot was leaving the ground and toe-tapped his left foot down.
Even the official on top of the play did not believe it was a score, and it had to be changed shortly after.
Blocked punt
Still in the first quarter with the Bills holding a 10-0 lead and the Jets punting from their own 45-yard line, cornerback Cam Lewis came up the gut against the Jets' punt team to block it. Fellow defensive back Jaquan Johnson recovered the football.
Devin Singletary and run game overall
Singletary continued his solid finish to the season, posting 88 yards on 19 carries, averaging 4.6 yards per-run, and also found the end zone once.
As a team, the Bills ran for 170 yards and averaged 5.2 yards a carry.
ARROW DOWN:
Matt Haack
The Bills punter had a really rough day.
He had a punt of only 28 yards, but had a chance to re-do it after a penalty. However, the re-do only went 21 yards. Then, two punts later, he bobbled the snap, dropped the ball, then picked it up and punted it only 22 yards.
Haack did have a couple of really nice punts later, but finished with a net average of 30.3 yards per-punt.
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Allen to Davis
Gabriel Davis was targeted 14 times by Allen, but only caught three passes for 39 yards. Maybe the weather played a part, but it also looked there were some communication issues on more than one occasion.
Third quarter offense
The third quarter was just awful for the Bills on offense. Allen was 3-of-13 for 39 yards. They had four possessions and punted on every one of them. Two of those were three-and-outs, and had 51 total net yards due to 30 yards in penalties.
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