The Buffalo Bills served notice that they are not ready to surrender any chance they have to win the AFC East division title this year. They trailed the New England Patriots 21-0 in Week 15 and their situation looked grim, but the Bills rallied with a brilliant offensive show in the second half and pulled out a 35-31 triumph.
The victory allowed the Bills (10-4) to climb within one game of the Patriots in the division and it’s still something of a longshot for them to steal the crown this season, but the victory showed that Josh Allen and his teammates are likely to be quite dangerous when the postseason gets underway.
After putting on a powerful performance when the game was on the line against the Patriots, the Bills should be able to handle this week’s assignment against the last-place Cleveland Browns (3-11). However, these have been the type of games in the past that have given the Bills trouble. Head coach Sean McDermott can’t allow his team to have any kind of letdown or the struggling Browns could cause problems in this encounter in Cleveland.
Focus begins with Allen and he will throw for 2 TDs and score another
Allen has a chance to win the Most Valuable Player Award for the second straight season. Allen has put together another remarkable season. He has completed 284 of 406 passes for 3,276 yards with 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He is completing 70.0 percent of his passes and that’s the best mark of his career.
Of course, Allen is also a remarkable athlete who excels when he runs with the ball. Allen combines speed and power, and he can break long runs if the opposing defense does not keep a linebacker in range to prevent him from delivering an explosive paly. He has 98 carries for 535 yards with 12 rushing touchdowns. This is the 3rd consecutive year that Allen has 12 rushing TDs or more.
The quarterback explained that the Bills are going to put on a surge whenever they can to throw an opponent off of its rhythm.
“We’re going to continue to fight one play at a time,” Allen said, per The Athletic. “No matter what the score is, if it’s in the third quarter, if it’s in the fourth quarter, whatever it is, if we’ve got a chance and we’ve got the ball, we feel like we like our chances. That’s that.”
Running game has been dominant
Allen has gotten a big assist this year from running back James Cook, who has become one of the most effective running backs in the league. Cook has rushed for 1,415 yards and is averaging 5.2 yards per carry. He has scored 10 touchdowns for the Bills and broken 8 runs of 20 yards or more, including a long run of 64 yards. As a result of Allen and Cook’s performance, the Bills have the No. 1 running attack in the NFL.
Allen does not have superstar receivers at his disposal, but Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman are capable wideouts, while Dawson Knox is a solid tight end. Shakir is the Bills’ leading receiver with 62-650-4.
A sharp start for the offense could allow the Bills to open up a double-digit lead. If that happens, it may be very difficult for the struggling Browns to mount any kind of comeback.
Bills defense will go after QB Shedeur Sanders and Joey Bosa will have 1.5 sacks
Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
The Browns are coming off a brutal performance in Week 15 in when they were overpowered 31-3 by the NFC North leading Chicago Bears. The Brown are dependent on rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders at this point, and while he has demonstrated some accuracy with his passing, he can be a sitting duck in the pocket because it takes him too long to diagnose what the defense is doing and he struggles to make decisions when he has the ball in his hands.
Sanders has completed 72 of 138 passes for 946 yards as he gets set to make his 5th start of the season. He has thrown 5 TD passes and 6 interceptions.
The Bills will attempt to pressure Sanders right from the start, and veteran defensive end Joey Bosa is their biggest threat to come through with QB traps. He has 5.0 sacks, 8 tackles for loss and he has forced an eye-catching 5 fumbles. Sanders will be vulnerable to both the sack and the fumble.
In addition to Bosa, the Bills have gotten excellent production from their secondary. Safeties Cole Bishop and Jordan Poyer are their two leading tackles with 76 and 59 respectively. Bishop also has 7 passes defensed, 3 interceptions and 2.0 sacks. Poyer is known for his surgical tackling.
