For Sean McDermott and Josh Allen it wasn’t a beauty contest … but the result was, well, perfect.
Heading into Sunday afternoon’s game at Highmark Stadium, the Bills’ task was clearly defined.
Their fate atop the AFC East was simple, win yesterday afternoon at home against Atlanta and again a week later at the same site versus the Jets and they would be repeat division winners.
Trouble is, the oddsmakers put a target on the Bills by making them a 14½ -point favorite. This against a team still alive for a playoff berth and with only two fewer wins than Buffalo.
Then, of course, there was the weather, game-long snow and wind chills in the 20-degree range.
And while it wasn’t pretty, and Allen endured his worst passing day as a pro, the Bills, as the cliche goes, “took care of business” and Buffalo emerged with a 29-15 win that wasn’t as one-sided as the score until midway in the fourth quarter.
IN IMPROVING to 10-6, the Bills set themselves up for the division win, should they down the Jets (4-12) next Sunday, though it’s fair to note that yesterday afternoon they came within 20 seconds of beating the defending champion Buccaneers at the Meadowlands.
First the bad news.
Allen’s passing numbers were a nightmare: 11-of-26 through the air for a paltry 120 yards with a career-worst-tying three interceptions and a microscopic passer rating of 17.
However, the good news is he brought his legs and rushed 15 times for 81 yards and scored on runs of one and four yards. Allen also hit wideout Cole Beasley for a two-point conversion.
He had help too.
Running back Devin Singletary rushed for career highs in carries (23), yards (110) and rushing touchdowns (2) as he scored on runs of four and six yards.
In short, all four Buffalo TDs were on runs as Buffalo amassed season highs in carries (44) and rushing yards (233).
The loss dropped the Falcons to 7-9 and out of the playoff race.
IN TALKING about the Bills ground game, Allen allowed, “Especially with the elements that we play with here in Buffalo, we’ve got to be able to run the ball and there were a lot of situations where they knew we were going to run the ball and we did.
“When you can run it when they know you’re going to run it, that’s typically a sign of a good offense. And we did a good job with that today.”
He added, “Every game has a different flow, different types of situations … so whatever it takes for me to do, whether it’s handing the ball off 30 times, if it’s running an extra few times or finding completions and being quicker in my reads, given the flow of the game, you’ve got to figure that out.”
McDERMOTT, of course, was asked about the milestone of making the playoffs in four of his five seasons in Buffalo and recording double-digit wins in three straight years for the first time since 1990-93.
“It means a lot,” he admitted. “(But) I’m just one piece of it. That speaks to what Terry and Kim (Pegula, owners) give us and the resources they’ve provided us over the years. Then there’s the partnership I have with Brandon (Beane, general manager) … the coaches … and a lot of good players we’ve had over five years.
“It’s been a team effort, fans included. It hasn’t always been the high of highs at times, but in the NFL that’s to be expected.”
However, McDermott pointed out, “(This success) is what we expected since Day One. But I don’t want to get too far ahead of us … our focus needs to be what’s right in front of us.”
ALLEN’S TAKEAWAY was that he doesn’t have to carry the team, that it can survive when he’s not at his best.
“We’ve talked about it the last couple of weeks,” he said, “every game from here on out is a playoff game. Every game you win isn’t going to be pretty and that was the case today. I’m just fortunate to have teammates who step up in situations like this.
“Our defense stepped up, I put them in some (tough) situations early on, but they had our backs.”
To which defensive tackle Ed Oliver pointed out of holding the Falcons to only 265 yards, a mere 50 plays and a 12½-minute deficit in time of possession,
“Our job is to just go out there and play team defense,” he said. “That’s what we did – went out there and answered the call every time. You can’t ask much else.”
And, as Allen concluded, “No matter how we were going to get this one, we were going to do it … and we did.”
