I try not to get too caught up in the moment, but Sunday’s 33-21 win for the Buffalo Bills in New England over the Patriots was the biggest regular season victory since the golden era of the 1990s.
There was the win in Miami over the Dolphins the day the drought ended in 2017, a playoff clinching win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019, and a division clinching win over the Denver Broncos in 2020. None of those games compare to the significance of Sunday's beat down of the Patriots.
The win was huge for the Bills for a multitude of reasons.
First-and-foremost was the ability to wrest control of the AFC East away from the Patriots.
The Bills' path to a second-straight division title for the first time since 1990 and 1991 is very clear. Beat the Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets at home - they will likely be favored by double-digits for both games - and the division crown stays in Orchard Park.
It was also big for the mental well-being/attitude of the team (and all of their fans).
A loss to the Patriots would not have crushed the Bills' playoff chances, but it could have had an impact on their confidence level going forward, and it would have extended the narrative of the Bills can’t beat a good team.
This win hopefully will slow down the out of control Patriots hype train. There was already talk out of New England about how the Bills were a one-year wonder and their Super Bowl window had already closed.
The Bills stopped all of that nonsense with this victory, a second-straight at Gillette Stadium. By the way, it's the first time a team won at New England in back-to-back seasons since the 2005 and 2006 Indianapolis Colts.
This game marked the return of the dominant Bills offense from 2020. They moved the ball against New England’s defense all day.
The Bills had eight drives, not including the kneel down at the end of the game, and they entered the red zone on seven of those eight drives. The offense produced 428 yards, four touchdowns, converted 50% on third down, had no turnovers, gave up no sacks and put up 33 points against, what was, the league’s No. 1 scoring defense.
This was a signature game for Bills quarterback Josh Allen. It was the kind of game you expect to get from a franchise quarterback.
Sitting behind New England in the standings, with a makeshift offensive line and down a couple of receivers due to COVID-19 protocols, Allen rose to the occasion. He was in complete control of the offense and played with poise. His decision making was excellent.
Allen took what the Patriots were giving him, and effectively used the middle of the field in the passing game. He used dump off passes and throws underneath their zone defense to keep moving the ball and make for shorter down and distance.
Allen still made throws downfield, and made some clutch throws as part of that 50% third down conversion rate.
His legs were a huge weapon, whether it was designed runs or scrambles after being flushed from the pocket. The fear of Allen running sucked in two Patriots defenders on his short shovel pass touchdown to tight end Dawson Knox. He also faked Patriots cornerback J.C. Jackson out of his equipment during a critical 4th-and-1 run conversion on the final touchdown drive that put the game away.
And how about head coach Sean McDermott.
As the season has played out, it sure looked like he was playing it safe too many times, going for field goals and trusting his defense.
McDermott coached aggressively in this game, and trusted his offense to come through.
On the Bills' first drive of the game, they faced a 4th-and-2 at the Patriots' three-yard line. The field goal team started to come out on the field and McDermott pulled them off. McDermott was letting his offense have a chance, and they came through with an Isaiah McKenzie touchdown catch.
The Bills converted 3-of-4 fourth down attempts, and it was a big factor in the victory.
The Bills offense might be hitting its stride at the perfect time. Going back to the second half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the offense has now scored 88 points over the last 10 quarters.
They also have 11 touchdowns in the last 16 red zone possessions.
