The Buffalo Bills are AFC East champions again.
For that, they owe a big thanks to their defense, which wasn’t just good during Sunday’s 27-10 victory over the New York Jets at Highmark Stadium – it was downright historic.
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The Bills (11-6) held the Jets (4-13) to just four first downs, setting a franchise record. It was also the fewest allowed by any NFL team since 1998. The Bills also allowed just 53 net yards, which is the second fewest in franchise history, trailing only the 26 gained by Cleveland on Dec. 12, 2004.
The Bills sacked Jets rookie quarterback Zach Wilson eight times as the defense picked up an offense that struggled for most of the game after a quick start. Heck, even receiver Jamison Crowder was sacked once. The nine sacks were the most by the Bills under head coach Sean McDermott and Leslie Frazier, breaking the record of seven set during a 37-20 win over Miami on Nov. 17, 2019. The season high prior to Sunday was six, also against Miami in Week 2.
The nine sacks were also the most since the Bills had 10 against Washington in a game played in Toronto in 2011.
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The Bills now head to the playoffs to face none other than the New England Patriots (10-7) in the AFC wild-card round at 8:15 p.m. Saturday.
“They're playing faster,” McDermott said of the defensive line. “You had some young players mixed in there and then you've got some older guys with Jerry (Hughes) and Mario (Addison). That blend has come together at the right time and I think they're playing fast.”
That the defense put forth a good effort was not a surprise. Under McDermott and Frazier, the Bills had faced rookie or first-year starting quarterbacks 11 times entering Sunday’s games. In those games, quarterbacks have thrown just four touchdowns and 20 interceptions.
Wilson threw one touchdown and wasn’t intercepted, but lost a whopping 79 yards in sacks. Combined with the sack of Crowder, the Jets finished with just 5 net passing yards.
The sack parade was led by veteran Mario Addison, who had two sacks to run his season total to a team-leading seven. Safety Jordan Poyer also had two sacks, while defensive tackle Ed Oliver had 1.5. A.J. Epenesa, Boogie Basham and Milano had one sack each, while defensive end Jerry Hughes had a half sack – which gave him 53 in his Bills career, moving him into fourth place on the franchise’s all-time list ahead of Cornelius Bennett.
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“Everybody eats,” Oliver said of the defensive line’s mentality. “Everybody was just on it today. It just seemed like everybody was flying around. He wanted to run around and just overlap and everybody's just rushing. … Everybody was just flying around, so that was a good sight to see, especially in a game like this with so much on the line.”
As they sat at the podium following their win, Oliver and defensive tackle Harrison Phillips were informed that the defense was going to finish the year No. 1 in average yards per game allowed, at 272.8. Even more impressive, the team allowed an average of just 17.0 points per game – leading the NFL in that category for the first time in franchise history.
“Yes sir!” Oliver said as he shared a high five with Phillips. “That's what I'm talking about!”
“I think that's awesome,” Phillips said. “I mean, big praise to Frazier for the way that he's called our defense all year. The leadership that we have on our back end, our captains, the older vets in our room, and then the growth of players like Ed and what he's done this year and how he's gotten better every single week and guys stepping up. I guess I've told you guys so many times, it takes 11 players every play to be a successful defense and we've had that happen more times than not. In your own words, the best defense in the NFL.”
What awaits that best defense in the NFL is a third matchup against New England, which will limp into the postseason after a 33-24 loss to Miami on Sunday. Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones went 20 for 30 for 261 yards and a touchdown, but also threw a pick-six in the first quarter and lost a costly fumble in Miami territory in the third quarter.
"We just need to execute better and that starts with me, just in practice, in the game,” he told reporters after the game. “You have to go out there and do much better than we did today. It’s super embarrassing, honestly, just from my point, just how I played. It wasn’t good enough, and I can do better. It starts with me, I’m the quarterback. That’s my job, to make people around me have success, and it starts with me."
The Patriots defeated the Bills on Monday Night Football in Week 13, 14-10, in a game played in exceptionally windy conditions. The Bills evened the score in the regular season with a 33-21 in Week 16 to take back first place in the AFC East, part of a four-game winning streak to end the regular season.
2. Show Stefon Diggs the money. The Bills’ No. 1 receiver came into the game needing six catches to reach 100 for the season.
Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs did their best superhero impersonations on the first touchdown in Sunday’s victory over the New York Jets.
It was a good bet the team was going to do everything in its power to get Diggs to that milestone, since doing so would earn Diggs a $750,000 increase to his base salary for the 2022 season and an $800,000 increase to his 2023 base salary. That follows bonuses Diggs unlocked last year for finishing with more than 100 catches and 1,375 receiving yards.
Diggs made quick work of reaching the century mark, logging eight catches for 73 yards and a touchdown in the first half alone. He nearly had a second touchdown, but the play was overturned after a video review showed Diggs wasn’t able to get both feet down inbounds.
“What bonus money?” quarterback Josh Allen deadpanned when asked if Diggs had texted during the week to remind him about his financial incentive. “To be honest, he didn’t send me any. I sent him a couple. Everybody who plays this game – obviously they love the game – but there's also the payment aspect of it and when you’ve got a guy in that type of situation, I'm not saying I'll try to force him the ball, but I might have given him a little extra second his way on some of these routes and just give him some opportunities tonight. But if it was anybody in that situation, I would have tried to do the same thing.”
Diggs finished the game with nine catches for 81 yards, and ended the regular season with 103 catches for 1,225 yards and 10 touchdowns. Diggs has 230 catches with the Bills in his first two seasons, breaking Wes Welker’s NFL record of 223 catches in his first two seasons with the Patriots in 2007-08.
3. Matt Haack’s streak came to an end – regrettably. The Bills ended a streak of two straight games without a punt when they sent Haack onto the field with 8:15 left in the second quarter. The decision to punt came after McDermott left the offense on the field in an apparent effort to get the Jets to jump offside before a fourth-and-1 play from the Buffalo 39-yard line.
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McDermott called a timeout, which was a waste and could have come in handy later in the second quarter, before Haack came out.
Haack ended up punting three times in the second quarter, and it wasn't pretty. The first one was a line drive that went 42 yards, but his next two were absolute shanks that went just 21 and 22 yards, respectively.
The crowd even gave Haack a Bronx cheer in the third quarter when he managed to get a punt in the air. Of course, he blasted it through the end zone for a touchback, but that was at least some progress.
To Haack’s credit, he did have a punt in the third quarter that went 53 yards in the wind, and also had another downed at the 2-yard line.
“I know Matt struggled early,” McDermott said. “There’s no sugar coating that, but I love the way how he fought back and fought through it.”
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4. Isaiah McKenzie reclaimed the returner job – temporarily. The Bills made rookie receiver Marquez Stevenson a healthy inactive. Stevenson lost a fumble last week on a punt return against the Falcons that led to a safety. With sustained wind and wet conditions, it wasn’t a big surprise to see McDermott make a change Sunday.
McKenzie, who didn’t even attempt to field the Jets’ first punt, appeared to be extra cautious with his returns. After losing 1 yard on his first two return attempts, the Bills switched to using safety Micah Hyde for punt returns. McDermott frequently uses Hyde when the primary objective is simply to field the ball cleanly. Hyde finished with three returns that gained 29 yards. He let the ball bounce first before fielding it.
“Whatever coach asks me, I'm just here to win games, man. They throw me back at whatever, I'm going to try to make plays,” Hyde said. “That wind was crazy. That was like that Monday night game against New England. You know, it's Buffalo. So I've been there for a few years catching punts. I understand that ball gets up there, it's tough, especially when the points are going all over the place. It's hard to read where the ball's going. So yeah, I wasn't about that life tonight. Let it bounce.”
5. McKenzie still found a way to contribute. The receiver has had a fascinating season. After being benched following his lost fumble on a kickoff return against Indianapolis, he eventually found his way back into the lineup. With receivers Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis out because of Covid-19 against the Patriots in Week 16, McKenzie responded with a career day as a receiver.
Against the Jets, he had one of the biggest third-down conversions of the season. Facing third and 6 from the Jets’ 15-yard line with 10:30 left in the fourth quarter, Allen rolled to his right, but everyone was covered. Sensing trouble, McKenzie cut back to the middle of the field, giving Allen enough of a lane to complete a 9-yard pass that moved the chains.
Devin Singletary scored three plays later, providing some-much needed breathing room.
The Bills clinched their second consecutive AFC East championship and their first back-to-back division titles since the 1990 and ’91 seasons. It was the first time they clinched the division at home since 1995.
6. Allen set an NFL record. The Bills’ quarterback finished with 239 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns. He finished the regular season with 4,407 passing yards and 763 rushing yards, becoming the first player in NFL history with at least 4,000 passing yards and 750 rushing yards in a single season.
Additionally, the Bills won all 11 of their games in the regular season by at least 12 points. They join the 1999 St. Louis Rams (13 such wins) and the 2007 New England Patriots (11 such winds) as the only teams to win that many games by 12-plus points.
7. Tyler Kroft had a quiet game for the Jets. The tight end, who spent the past two seasons with the Bills, was open in the left flat on a first-down play with 1:48 left in the first quarter, but was unable to haul in the pass. Kroft came into the game with 15 catches for 168 yards and one touchdown this year for New York, but finished with just one catch on three targets for 5 yards in his return to Buffalo.
Rachad Wildgoose, who was signed off the Bills’ practice squad to the Jets’ active roster in November, made a tackle on special teams for New York in the first half.
8. Emmanuel Sanders sat out for the third time in four games. The wide receiver, who was doubtful for the game because of a knee injury, was inactive. So, too, was defensive end Efe Obada, who was declared out Friday because of an ankle injury.
The Bills’ other two inactives were both healthy. Tight end Tommy Sweeney sat for the third straight game, while offensive tackle Bobby Hart was out for the second straight time.
9. Opponents for 2022 are now set. The Bills finished in first place in the AFC East, but were waiting on the results from some other games to determine the remainder of their cross-over games in 2022. With those games completed, the team’s schedule is set as follows …
In addition to their home-and-away series against the AFC East, the Bills will host the Browns, Steelers, Titans, Packers and Vikings.
They will travel to play the Ravens, Bengals, Chiefs, Bears, Lions and Rams.
