The Buffalo Bills put on an incredible performance on prime-time television for the third time in four weeks on Monday night.
Following a 38-9 drubbing of the New England Patriots on their home turf at Gillette Stadium, the second-largest loss in Bill Belichick’s entire tenure as head coach in New England (only behind the 31-0 loss to the Bills in Week 1 of 2003), Buffalo has reclaimed the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs, and heads into Week 17 with a 12-3 record.
New England isn’t the same Patriots team of old, that much is clear, and has been for some time this season. Belichick’s squad, now 6-9, will finish 2020 with a losing record for the first time since 2000, his first year as the team’s head coach.
Regardless of the Patriots’ struggles and the Bills’ successes this season, Monday night was a lot of fun. I don’t want to speak for all Bills fans, but it had to be the most fun game to watch all season, no?
Josh Allen shined on the big, national television-sized stage once again, with his favorite receiving target, Stefon Diggs right beside him helping drive the offense.
Monday night’s victory can be added to the growing list of games this season that will be remembered by Bills fans for quite some time. The victory earned Buffalo its first two-game sweep of New England since 1999, and puts the Bills in a position to finish a perfect 6-0 against AFC East teams with a win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 17.
However, the win itself, while doing a lot of good for the Bills in the standings and record books, is great, but it’s how the Bills won and how the game transpired that will really stick with those who watched it. After two decades, the tables have finally turned.
Here are three quick observations from the Bills win over the Patriots on Monday:
1.) How special is this Allen-to-Diggs duo?
What else is there left to say about Allen and Diggs that won’t get me in trouble with the Federal Communications Commission? Seriously, these two continue to impress and put on big performances week-after-week, and Monday night may have been the pinnacle of this inaugural year of the Allen-Diggs duo.
Both Allen and Diggs are having career seasons in Buffalo, but the amount of records the two of them broke Monday night, while also seemingly avenging 20 years of Patriots-related misery for Bills fans, was the cherry on top of, what was already, an incredible game to watch.
Allen continued his breakout season with four passing touchdowns, along with 320 yards and 27 completions on 36 throws. Allen’s fourth touchdown pass of the game was also his 34th of the year, passing Jim Kelly’s total of 33 in 1991 and setting a new Bills single-season record. The 320 passing yards also mark Allen’s eighth game this season throwing for over 300 yards, also a new franchise record.
Allen also now holds the franchise record for completions in a season, passing Drew Bledsoe’s previous record of 375, set in 2002, on Monday night. Allen has completed 378 passes so far this year.
For years, Belichick’s defenses have been known for taking away the opposing offense’s most-dangerous weapon. That didn’t happen on Monday night.
Diggs went absolutely wild on the Patriots, catching a game-high nine passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns, matching a career-high. Surprisingly, the nine receptions is Diggs’ lowest total in the last four games, furthering the point that he’s been nothing short of incredible this season.
Earlier this season, Diggs set a new franchise record for catches in a season, passing Eric Moulds’ previous record of 100. On Monday, Diggs moved ahead of Moulds to become Buffalo’s single-season reception yards record holder as well.
We’ve seen this Diggs and Allen relationship grow all season, and it's taken Buffalo, along with the entire league by storm. Diggs has caught more passes with the Bills this season than any other wide receiver in their first year with a team in NFL history.
With the chemistry these two have, and the success that the team is experiencing with an offense led by Allen and Diggs, there is a lot to be happy about, and a lot to still look forward to as well. I have a feeling we’ll see more games like this in the future.
At the rate these two have been going at, Allen and Diggs are only going to get better.
2.) The offense was fantastic, and they did it against Belichick
I don’t want to give Allen and Diggs all of the credit for Monday night’s offensive explosion, despite their stats. The offense, as a unit, performed really well, and did it against a notoriously well-prepared and stingy defense.
Allen did a good job spreading the ball around. 11 different Bills players recorded a catch, with Siran Neal being the only one not to catch a pass from the quarterback on a fake punt. The run game also did its job, chewing time off the clock late in the fourth quarter, giving Buffalo an opportunity to rest Allen and some of the other starters.
Buffalo’s 38 points on Monday night were the most the Bills have ever scored against the Patriots while Belichick has been the head coach in Foxboro. The 29-point differential also marks the second-largest New England loss under Belichick, only trailing the 31-0 defeat to the Bills in Week 1 of the 2003 season.
The Bills have also been consistent in their approach to start second halves. After struggling in third quarters in the first half of the season, Buffalo has scored a touchdown on its first drive of the second half in each of the last five games (which the Bills have won all of).
Don’t get me wrong, the defense played great. Regardless of the Patriots’ offensive struggles, holding New England to 201 total yards and one touchdown is an impressive feat. However, the defense has been Belichick’s calling card for a long time, and it was so nice to finally see a Bills offense be successful against that group.
3.) The Bills have (finally) put an end to the Patriots’ reign
This has to be the end, right? It feels like it is.
Buffalo blew out New England on prime-time television in its own stadium. The Bills are the division champions heading into the playoffs. The Patriots are the team with the losing record, eliminated from postseason contention with games still to be played in the regular season.
Monday night was the most fun I’ve ever had watching a football game. This season has started to become me writing about how it’s the first time I’m seeing "X" in relation to the Bills. Well, this was the first time I saw this team handle the Patriots, and it was awesome.
I genuinely let out a huge chuckle when Diggs caught his third touchdown and split those two defensive backs on his way to the end zone. It just felt like every score, every first down, every gain by the Bills was avenging the pain fans had felt for the previous two decades.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t totally confident that the Bills had finally “gotten over” the Patriots following the win in Buffalo earlier this season. But how can I not after Monday night?
The demons have been exercised. The New England-sized monkey is finally off the Bills’ backs. And all this team needed was one game like this.
Buffalo’s 38-9 victory on Monday could mark the official end of the Patriots’ reign of terror in Western New York.
Time will tell if Belichick and co. can quickly rebuild and make New England a competitor again in 2021. For now, though, the AFC East belongs to the Bills. After Monday night’s game, and the recent weeks prior, I don’t think it’d be crazy for anyone to say that this Buffalo team is the hottest in the league right now, and could be one that nobody wants to see come playoff time.