After losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars 9-7, getting blown out by the Colts 41-15, and dropping two of their next three the Buffalo Bills were sitting at 7-6 heading into their 4 games of the season. It’s not as if the Bills were losing close games that could have gone their way, they were getting outplayed and outcoached by the Jaguars, the worst team in the league. Yet, heading into the Arrowhead for their divisional round playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs they are only sitting at -2.5 underdogs.
After a week 6 loss to the Tennessee Titans, the Bills were 4-2. Not bad considering the Titans game was only a three point game and the beginning of the season loss to the Steelers could be attributed to rustiness. The Bills were going to breeze through the AFC East, and challenge the struggling Chiefs.
The weeks after would shape an entirely different view of this team in the mind of most sports analysts. The Bills ended week 14 7-6, and things were not looking good. From a schedule perspective they would be playing easier opponents such as the Jets and Panthers, but the performance of the team was concerning. Josh Allen was throwing for good numbers, but the turnovers were killing him. In games where the offensive production was lacking, Allen had at least one interception. But we shouldn’t be putting all the blame on him because the Bills running game hasn’t been great either. There were multiple games in the season when the Bills had to rely on Allen as their leading rusher, with neither Devin Singletary or Zack Moss being effective. The defense was also getting diced up by run heavy teams like the Titans and Colts, but most of the blame goes on the offense that couldn’t seem to deliver.
While the Bills had a horrendous middle of the season and it looked like the Patriots might take the AFC East, Buffalo finished the season on a massive win streak. They beat rivals New England convincingly and had double digit wins for the last four weeks. The defense was shutting down both the running game and passing game. Most importantly, Josh Allen and this offense was clicking. While Allen did have a few mistakes, he was hitting his receivers and they were scoring. Devin Singletary also emerged as their top back, allowing Buffalo to run the ball effectively, making them even harder to guard. Going into the playoffs, the Bills would be facing New England in another cold weather game and this would be where they prove themselves. Is this the same Bills team that got beaten by Jacksonville and Pittsburgh or the one that dominated New England in Week 16. Well, the Bills are back because after a 47-17 beating on the Patriots it seemed like nothing could stop this team. Singletary went for 89 yards, Allen threw for 300 and the offense looked as dangerous as ever. Heading into Kansas City, we might get a battle between two of the heavyweight title contenders both operating at their best.
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