Is this the year for the Bills? After being underdogs in a home playoff game for the first time in franchise history and facing what seemed to be a matchup nightmare, the Bills knocked off the Ravens.
If you ask many Bills fans, they were more worried about losing to the Ravens than the Chiefs. Thus, Buffalo and BillsMafia have immense confidence in entering the AFC Championship. However, this tale has been seen as the Bills are 0-3 vs. Kansas City when it matters. This year has the potential to be different thanks to the team’s new identity, growth from the coaching staff and the ability to pull out close games. All of these have haunted the Bills in recent years.
Team Identity
Since week five, the phrases “everybody eats” and “the sum is greater than one” have shown their benefits. Schematically speaking, defenses are having a brutal time trying to eliminate the numerous ways the Bills can win offensively, as shown by their average of 29.0 points per game in the playoffs.
In years past it was the Stefon Diggs show with a limited non-Josh Allen run game. This postseason, the Bills have averaged 178.5 rushing yards on the ground and have had nine different receivers catch the football on only 48 passing attempts. When the Bills run for over 100+ yards this season, they are 12-3 and when they fail to do so they are 3-1. That speaks to the versatility and dynamic of this current Bills offense that past teams have lacked.
Growth From the Coaching Staff
Early in Sean McDermott’s head coaching career, he was criticized for not being aggressive enough. That narrative has completely died out. In 2022, McDermott kept the offense out for fourth down 13 times, 16 times last season, and 22 times this season. Slowly but surely McDermott has become aggressive offensively.
As far as a coaching personality standpoint goes, McDermott has also changed. The 50-year-old seems to have loosened up a bit. From doing snow angels after a week 13 win, to making fun of himself about past airplane references, and even creating “Dad Joke Fridays”, Sean McDermott is nowhere close to the same coach he previously was.
The It Factor
The Bills have “it” this year. In past seasons, the Bills struggled immensely in one-score games, most notably going 2-7 last season in such outings. This year has been a complete turnaround. The Bills are 6-2 in one-score games, excluding week 18.
Another prime example is the current state of the defense. The Buffalo defense ranks in the BOTTOM half of the league in yards allowed per game but is eighth best in the league in points allowed per game. The success in the points allowed category can be attributed to the Bills forcing the league-best number of turnovers per game (1.84).
Conversely, nobody has the “it” factory greater than the Chiefs. The Chiefs always make it when a play is needed to win a one-score, high-pressure game. Who knows, maybe one play is what it comes down to for the chance to go to the Super Bowl, but that’s for Sunday night to decide.