ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Here are my five takeaways from the Buffalo Bills’ 35-10 victory against the San Francisco 49ers Sunday night at Highmark Stadium:
1. In clinching a record fifth consecutive AFC East championship during a steady lake effect snowstorm, the Bills put the rest of the NFL on notice. They’re gearing up for a deep postseason run.
The team that was supposed take a backward step or even two after saying goodbye to several key players in the offseason has steadily gotten stronger. Not only didn’t it go backward, but it has gone forward perhaps more significantly than in any year since becoming a Super Bowl contender.
The Bills have found excellent chemistry on offense, especially in a receiving corps that lost its top two players, Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis. The back end of a defense that parted ways with a pair of fixtures, Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, has more than held its own.
The fact the Bills have won seven games in a row is impressive enough. The fact they’ve done so since suffering back-to-back losses and have scored at least 30 points in six of them and in nine of their 10 wins is astounding.
As the better and healthier team, the Bills figured to dominate this game. They performed accordingly.
With the Niners missing some of their top defensive players, including end Nick Bosa, the Bills moved the ball pretty much at will on the ground and Josh Allen was efficient with his passing. Buffalo’s defense allowed a couple of long runs but then put the clamps on a 49er offense missing the starting left side of its line and without running back Christian McCaffrey for most of the game with a potentially season-ending knee injury.
Name a better team in the AFC? There isn’t one. Name a better team in the NFL? If the Bills aren’t clearly the best, they’re very much in the conversation.
2. Josh Allen had a prime-time performance for the ages.
His statistics were far from spectacular. He threw only 17 passes, completing 13 for 148 yards and two touchdowns. He ran only three times for 18 yards, but one was for an eight-yard TD.
If Allen did nothing else, his output would be considered typically strong. However, there was more. Much more. There was the play that created a statistical anomaly that prompted many of us in the press box, including the official stats crew, to have discussions about how it should be recorded. And the result was this: Allen threw a touchdown pass and was credited with a TD reception … on the SAME play.
The astounding sequence happened with 5:58 left in the third quarter and gave the Bills a 28-3 lead. It began with Allen throwing a short pass to Amari Cooper, who made a one-handed catch and while on the verge of being tackled two yards behind the line of scrimmage, turned to lateral to Allen, who proceeded to run nine yards, dive and extend the ball with his right hand over the pylon. Allen became the first quarterback in league history to record passing, receiving and rushing touchdown in the same game.
“The DBs were on the bench, and we couldn’t believe our eyes,” a still stunned safety Taylor Rapp said. “Obviously, he took over this game, he takes over every single game. But that play was unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I kind of threw a bad ball, so I was just kind of chasing it,” Allen said. “We made eye contact he pitched it, and I had to go make a play. It was dope.”
Voting for the Associated Press NFL MVP award won’t take place until after the regular season. It is an honor based on a full regular season’s body of work, not one game. Still, it will be hard for voters (I am one of them) to ignore Allen’s incredible presence of mind and heroics Sunday night … or his amazing 26-yard scoring run on fourth-and-two against Kansas City in the previous game … or everything he has singularly meant to the Bills’ success.
3. Credit the Bills, players and coaches, for doing an exceptional job of preparing for and handling the slick field conditions created by the snow that fell throughout the game.
Sean McDermott and his staff made the potential for a challenging weather impact a point of emphasis during the week. The team’s equipment staff did a superb job making certain players had the right cleats that would provide the best possible traction.
The Bills showed good footing, particularly in the run game. James Cook gave an amazing performance in gaining 107 yards on 14 carries. Sixty-five yards came on a touchdown run, in which he reached a top speed of nearly 22 mph, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
The Bills finished with a total of 220 rushing yards and an average of 5.8 yards per carry. That’s a testament to their offensive line’s ability to get solid footing as well. The same goes for the Bills’ receivers, who ran amazingly precise routes, and their defenders, who mostly put themselves in position to make plays, which included three fumble recoveries.
4. Matt Milano received a surprisingly heavy workload.
Considering the linebacker was playing for the first time since suffering a leg injury early in the 2023 season – an absence extended by biceps injury sustained in training camp – there was reason to believe he would be on a pitch count.
Instead, Milano wound up with 37 snaps or 77% of the Bills’ defensive plays. He showed some understandable rust, especially when it came to defending against the 49ers’ rushing attack, which gave Buffalo’s defense some problems.
However, Milano provided his usual elevated level of instincts and awareness that helped put other defenders in proper position. He was credited with five tackles, including three initial hits.
One of the more moving moments Sunday night was the crowd giving Milano a rousing ovation when it was his turn to be introduced during the pregame introductions of the defensive unit.
“I don’t usually pay a ton of attention specifically to guys getting announced before the game,” Sean McDermott said. “This just so happened was the week the defense was up and to hear the crowd go crazy when Matt was announced, I don’t want to speak for the fans, but they appreciate how tough he’s had to be over the course of the last two years and his journey.”
5. Now that they’ve locked up a playoff spot, the Bills can operate with a little bit of a relaxed sense that comes with taking the first step toward achieving the ultimate goal of being a Super Bowl champion.
“It’s a good feeling,” Allen said. “This one feels a little bit different. This early in the season; we’ve still got five games left. So, the cool thing about it, we get to go out there and play free, no repercussions for what we’re doing.
“It’s going to be fun, to go out there and play free, relax and play loose. That can be a dangerous thing.”
The Bills’ next big step is securing the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. They trail the Kansas City Chiefs for that designation but have the head-to-head advantage over them and a realistic chance of overtaking them. The Chiefs have been barely able to win games, relying as much on incredibly good fortune as anything else.
The top seed assures that the Bills would be at home through the playoffs and also provide a first-round bye. The Bills have demonstrated they can lose at home, as easily as they can on the road, and must prove, once and for all, they can beat the Chiefs in the postseason.
“The biggest thing is where do we go from here?” McDermott said. “How do we reset? Certainly, enjoy this. Like I said to the team, being 50 years old, 20-plus years in this league, I’ve tried to enjoy the moments. This is a moment, right?
“And then, after that, tomorrow move forward and turn the page because it’s a week-to-week league and you’ve got to bring your A game. And for us it’s continuing to develop and grow in the areas we need to develop and grow in and take those necessary steps.”