‘Meanwhile, the Bills and Steelers, both division champs (East and North, respectively), are guaranteed home games to start the postseason, but it’s the next round where the No. 2 seed is critical. The team in that spot, if it wins the opener, is at home again for the divisional round. Should Pittsburgh occupy that position, if both those teams prevail in the first round, the Bills would find themselves playing at Heinz Field.’
Archives for December 30, 2020
Upon Further Review: Why Micah Hyde is glad ‘Hail Murray’ happened
‘“You know what? This is kind of crazy to say, but I’m glad it happened,” Hyde said. “I’m glad it happened just because, even after that game, we were talking, and we all knew we should have won that game. You can play what if? You can say, ‘What if you would have hit that ball down or whatever it may be,’ but I think that game really gave us confidence in the sense that, we’ve got to capitalize on each and every play. We know how good our team is.”’
What we learned from snap counts in Bills’ Week 16 win, game ball and more
‘Matt Milano is all the way back. The fourth-year linebacker played 44 defensive snaps (88%), tied for most on the team. Milano started in the team’s base defense for the first time since returning from injured reserve. That’s a good sign he’s as healthy as he’s been since originally suffering a partially torn pectoral muscle in Week 4 against the Las Vegas Raiders.’
Five takeaways from Tuesday’s Bills press conferences
‘With Beasley likely to miss this week’s game, the Bills would like to get Brown at least a few live game reps before the start of the postseason.’
Analysis: Balance shmalance, Bills’ Josh Allen letting it rip on first down
‘With Allen in the game Monday night in New England, the Bills passed on first down 25 times and ran four. That’s an 86% passing rate.’
Position grades: Bills’ pass protection game rises into NFL’s top 10
‘Offensive line (5.0): Tackles Dion Dawkins and Daryl Williams again gave Josh Allen superb protection. Williams gave up one hurry to Chase Winovich, who played 35 snaps. Dawkins made John Simon invisible. The Patriots have worries at edge rusher. Both Winovich, a third-round pick, and Josh Uche, a second-rounder, are situational rushers who don’t set the edge and haven’t produced much heat. Meanwhile, the middle three offensive linemen of Jon Feliciano, Mitch Morse and Ike Boettger did some good run blocking. Boettger handled Adam Butler at the point of attack on an 11-yard run. Morse continued his stout play, blocking Butler frequently and handling Nick Thurman at the point of attack on Zack Moss’ TD run.’
Jim Kubiak: Unleashing the fun has been among keys to Bills QB Josh Allen’s rise
‘Despite having two touchdowns bounce off Bills players in the end zone early in the first quarter, Allen never flinched. He rolled with it like he does with everything else, without a negative thought, free from doubt.’
Alan Pergament: As Bills dismantle Patriots, ‘Monday Night Football’ celebrates Buffalo
‘The only thing missing from the simulcast carried by ABC and ESPN was hearing Kool & the Gang sing “Celebration” as the Bills won in the stadium Levy called a “House of Horrors” for Buffalo.’
With No. 2 seed at stake, Sean McDermott has tricky decision regarding Bills starters
‘“Those conversations are taking place and we’ve got a plan on keeping those plans internal for a number of reasons,” McDermott said. “We’ve got a plan and we’ll execute that plan this week. I’m going to keep that within our organization for a lot of reasons. We could sit here all day honestly and talk about pros and cons.”’
Bills playoff opponent will either be Dolphins, Browns, Colts, Ravens or Titans
‘As for their potential opponents, the possibilities are multiple and include Indianapolis, Cleveland, Tennessee, Baltimore or Miami, but there are too many permutations in play to accurately predict who they would play.’
Bills’ Cole Beasley ‘week-to-week’ after suffering leg injury in 4th quarter vs. Patriots
‘Beasley has had a remarkable career year for the Bills, catching 82 passes for 967 yards and four touchdowns. His reception and yardage totals are new career highs. The leg injury has an added level of disappointment considering that had he recorded 33 yards against Miami in the final game this Sunday, he and Stefon Diggs would be just the third receiver duo in team history to both go over 1,000 yards in a season.’
Bills’ rout of Patriots punctuates breakthrough season
‘Buffalo still has much to prove in having not won a playoff game since December 1995, which happened to be the last time the Bills won the AFC East.’
Stefon Diggs’ epic performance Monday decided many fantasy leagues
‘Many fantasy owners who had all but resigned themselves to defeat instead enjoyed improbable comebacks, as the combination of the Bills’ overwhelming offense and the Patriots’ injury-plagued defense proved the perfect recipe for a huge night.’
Cole Beasley out ‘week-to-week’ with a leg injury
‘Beasley suffered the injury late in Buffalo’s 38-9 blowout win of the New England Patriots on Monday night in Foxboro. He went down awkwardly on a pass intended for him in the fourth quarter, and was later seen walking to the locker room with a trainer.’
Opinion: The Big Picture: Here we are!
‘Obviously there’s a difference between depth and talent on paper and going out and doing it. There were still questions, like if Josh Allen could take another step after a really nice one from Year 1 to Year 2. Questions about Stefon Diggs fitting in with Allen and the offense, especially in a shortened offseason. Questions about where the Bills fit in the AFC East, considering there were still the New England Patriots to deal with, it was still Bill Belichick, they had just signed quarterback Cam Newton. Check. Check. And checkmate.’