I owe the Buffalo Bills an apology.
In the days leading up to Monday night's game against the San Francisco 49ers, I kept talking about how nervous I was in regards to this match up. I'm sorry for any shred of doubt I had.
The Bills played their best and most complete game of the season, and there was never any reason to be nervous as they thumped the 49ers.
Josh Allen and the Bills passing game were phenomenal. They toyed with, what was, one of the better pass defenses in the league. You can add this performance to the list of Allen's best with the Bills, along with the Week 9 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks earlier this season, the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving game in 2019, and any time he has faced the Miami Dolphins.
Allen and company were almost unstoppable. They totaled 449 yards, 31 first downs and the 375 passing yards were the most given up by San Francisco this season. All this while scoring 30 or more points for the sixth time in 12 games.
The Bills put up points on six of their nine drives, and it was actually six consecutive drives spanning the second, third and fourth quarters. Buffalo had four drives of 10 or more plays and five drives of 70 or more yards. One other drive went for a measly 69 yards. The Bills didn't punt until there were three-and-a-half minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Allen was in a zone. He was in total control of the offense as the Bills, once again, turned to their strength, the passing game, to lead them to victory. Allen played with such calm and poise that he looked like a top-level veteran quarterback who had an answer for whatever the opposing defense was throwing at him.
Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll should also get full marks for his role in that. 49ers linebacker Fred Warner said the Bills were coming up with perfect calls against whatever the defense was dialing up.
Allen was accurate (80% completion rate), decisive, and made smart decisions. Allen beat zones, beat man coverage, he spread the ball around to his many qualified targets and exploited match ups like Cole Beasley against the 49ers' fourth-string slot cornerback. Allen, again, showed off his ability to extend plays when he needed to leave the pocket and make completions while throwing on the move. Basically Allen made it look effortless.
Allen did all of that without one of his top weapons as wide receiver John Brown remains on Injured Reserve. But Beasley was fantastic and Stefon Diggs was, well, Stefon Diggs.
Beasley has turned out to be a great pickup by head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane. The Bills' third receiver had his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season (third in the last six games), and is on pace for more than 1,000 yards this season. He can beat man-to-man coverage, and is so good at finding open spots against zones.
Diggs, as you well know, has been a huge pickup. He's tough to cover, but even when he is covered, Diggs will make the contested catch. Diggs had 10 catches in the win, and six of those were for first downs. He had big conversion catches on a third down and another on a fourth down on the fourth quarter touchdown drive that pushed the lead to 17 points and sealed the game. It took Diggs just 12 games to top the 1,000-yard mark.
It was a great night for the Bills, who showed off for the national television audience and moved one step closer to the franchise's first division title since 1995.
The Bills could clinch the AFC East as early as week 15. If they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday night and Miami loses to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Bills can clinch the division with a win over the Denver Broncos on Dec. 19.
That would be the holiday present all Bills fans were looking for.
