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(Bleacher Report) - The Buffalo Bills have played three visitor games this season against teams currently at .500 or more. After beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in primetime at Heinz Field on Sunday night, they go 3-0 in those games.
In those three wins over the Steelers, Tennessee Titans and Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo has delivered only 10.7 points per game.
That last victory, a triumph of 17-10, assured that the Bills go to the qualifiers for the second time in three years. And although it remains extremely unlikely that they will outperform the New England Patriots, leaders of the AFC Eastern conference, the victory over Pittsburgh confirmed that the annoying Buffalo will be difficult in January, regardless of whether Sean McDermott's team is in Orchard Park or somewhere else.
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Bills get their first 10-win season since 1999 and clinch the playoffs for the second time in three years 🐃 pic.twitter.com/RMIHIGZFlk
- B / R Gridiron (@brgridiron) December 16, 2019
This, of course, if it starts with that defense, which recorded two ball recoveries in Dallas and then turned to Pittsburgh five times on Sunday night. That opportunism is something that Buffalo lacked during much of October and November. The Bills had eight ball recoveries in September and only five in the next seven games, but now they are making plays against high-quality opponents.
Three of those initial moves came with the game on the line in a hostile environment on Sunday. In the second half of a critical and highly contested home game, the final six Pittsburgh series resulted in three triples and three interceptions.
"They have a very good defense," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters after the game. "We knew it and they confirmed it."
The Bills are always in games because they rarely bomb defensively. They have accepted more than 21 points only twice throughout the season, and it is clear that the 31 that delivered to the Philadelphia Eagles were a tremendous aberration. Only the Bills and the Seattle Seahawks have limited the offense of Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens to less than 20 first attempts this season, and only the Bills, Patriots and New Orleans Saints have kept the Cowboys' highly qualified offense to less than 20 points.
The Philadelphia game is their only defeat this season by a bulky marker, which is a testament to the idea that they are larger than the sum of their parts. Tre'Davious White is one of the best cornerbacks in the league, defensive end Shaq Lawson is finally emerging, and there's a lot of hope for young Tremaine Edmunds and Ed Oliver, but the Bills lack defensive superstars and that's fine.
What they do have is what I would call extreme depth, with that aforementioned quartet well supported by veterans Jerry Hughes, Trent Murphy, Jordan Phillips and Star Lotulelei in front, Matt Milano and Lorenzo Alexander in defense and Kevin Johnson, Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer in high school.
When you have so many quality pieces, several can afford to have days off without much cost to the team.
Put it all together and the Bills should scare the Patriots, who were lucky to beat Buffalo 16-10 in a game in which the Bills lost quarterback Josh Allen for a head injury in the last quarter and resigned to a touchdown of special teams in September.
They should terrorize the Ravens, who had won five of their previous six games by more than 14 points before having to work a victory in Buffalo last week. A rematch could be advantageous for the Bills, mainly because that defense now has first-hand experience defending Jackson.
The Kansas City Chiefs, winners of the West AFC conference, had a margin of scores of minus 12 at home before recently hitting the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos at Arrowhead, and have lost at home to the Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers. Buffalo seems to be a higher obstacle than those three rivals, so it's safe to assume that the Chiefs don't want anything to do with a tough team like the Bills on the wild card games weekend.
Buffalo could end up attracting the Titans to the road that weekend, which would be daunting for a Tennessee team that was completely stifled by the Bills' defense in a 14-7 home loss to Buffalo in October. But it is more likely that the place of the South division of the AFC is the Texans, who only a week ago were embarrassed by the Broncos at home.
No one in the AFC is infallible, at home or abroad. Even the winning streak of 21 New England games at Foxborough is over.
This could be the perfect year for a wild card team like the Bills, and the stars seem to be lining up.
Now, an inconsistent offensive that rarely illuminates the score could easily sink the Bills. In order for the franchise to play the spoiler and win its first postseason game in this century, it will need at least a constant performance from Allen and company. That unit has remained 20 points or less in three of Buffalo's last four games, but the schedule has been difficult.
Sunday's game was their first multi-rotation affair since September, and in their defense, the Steelers are the happiest football team. The Bills scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to get back on the road and get the best of one of the strongest and most defensive teams in the league, and that might not have happened if it hadn't been for a 40-yard pass from Allen to John Brown on the first play of the offense to win the game.
Allen tried only three deep passes. He contacted the hands of his receiver in laos three, completing two. The other resulted in an interception after a detour. His final numbers (13 of 25, 139 yards, a touchdown and a national team) were not sexy, but it was actually a performance that promised considering the circumstances, including the fact that he was trying to recover from a poor performance against Baltimore . In addition, he also ran for 28 yards and scored his ninth touchdown of the season.
John Brown's speed is absurd 🌬️ pic.twitter.com/3FASmy6TDv
- The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) December 16, 2019
Allen and the offensive generally run well and rarely deliver the ball. Occasionally throw a long pass, and that's all you need when your defense is as talented and productive as Buffalo's.
The rest of the AFC is officially notified. The Bills will go to the playoffs and that should be a terrifying idea for the rest of the Super Bowl contestants at the conference.
Brad Gagnon of The Bleacher Report.
NFL
