by Tony Fiorello
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 8: Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott on the field before a game against the Arizona Cardinals at Highmark Stadium on September 8, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
Welcome to Week Two of the 2024 NFL season. Here at Buffalo Sports Page we will attempt to inform and educate our readers about the Buffalo Bills’ upcoming opponent and what each team might do to emerge victorious.
The Bills’ second game of 2024 will take place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida as they face the Miami Dolphins. Here’s what you should know:
FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 05: Tua Tagovailoa #1 of the Miami Dolphins passes to Tyreek Hill #10 of the Miami Dolphins in the first quarter during the NFL match between Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs at Deutsche Bank Park on November 05, 2023 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
MIAMI’S OFFENSE PLAYING AT A HIGH LEVEL
After winning 10 games in 2020 for just the third time since 2008, owner Stephen Ross gave general manager Chris Grier – the brother of ex-Buffalo Sabres winger Mike Grier – the authority to build the team as he and former head coach Brian Flores saw fit. However, after a nine-win campaign in 2021 Grier decided to make a coaching change and replaced Flores with then-San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel.
Under Flores, new faces were a constant at one area for Miami – offensive coordinator. While the basis of Flores’ philosophy stayed the same – using the Erhardt-Perkins concepts that his former employer, the New England Patriots, based their passing game around for more than 20 years – the man calling the plays changed in all three of Flores’ seasons in South Beach. After trying out Chad O’Shea and Chan Gailey in 2019 and ’20, Flores decided to promote then-tight ends coach George Godsey (a former coordinator with the Houston Texans) and running backs coach Eric Studesville to passing game and running game coordinator, respectively. Neither panned out.
In contrast, McDaniel – a longtime protégé of Mike and Kyle Shanahan – has brought their version of the West Coast offense to South Beach. The system is very creative in its ability to attack matchups and utilizes a lot of play-action passes, bootlegs and rollouts designed around the threat of outside-zone runs.
The Dolphins’ running philosophy relies on a mobile offensive line that pushes defenders from sideline to sideline on “stretch” runs that encourages its tailbacks to find holes on the opposite side of the play’s direction and cut back against the grain. Executing these blocks are former All-Pro Terron Armstead, Isaiah Wynn (out with an injury), Liam Eichenberg, Aaron Brewer, Austin Jackson and Robert Jones, versatile fullback Alec Ingold and tight end Durham Smythe, and allowed the fifth-fewest sacks in the NFL despite fielding 11 different combinations a year ago.
While the outside/wide zone is the team’s foundational run, McDaniel will also use power plays, traps, sweeps and counters as a changeup tactic and will throw in some misdirection concepts like end-arounds and reverses as well. These are usually carried out by speed threats Raheem Mostert (who had a career year but also suffered through knee and ankle issues in 2023 and is out for Thursday’s game with a chest ailment), Jeff Wilson Jr. and De’Von Achane, who is questionable. This system has made many a star of running backs for decades and most of Miami’s runs are executed out of “21” personnel (two backs, one tight end).
The reason why the Shanahan coaching tree likes to have two running backs on the field most of the time is to give credibility to the belief that they will call a running play at any time while also taking advantage of smaller defenders who are used to being on the field to stop the pass and forcing the opposition to use more basic coverages. According to former MMQB/SI writer Andy Benoit, “Shanahan plays with two backs more than any schemer, by a wide margin…. with two backs in, the Niners compel defenses to prepare for more run possibilities, which limits their options in coverages. Shanahan exploits the suddenly predictable coverages through route combinations or mismatch-making formation wrinkles.”
Wideouts Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are similar receivers – each are polished route runners, have good hands and speed to burn, and are adept at picking up yards after the catch, especially on in-breaking routes. They can also return punts in a pinch and are liberally used by McDaniel in jet and orbit motion to influence defenders’ responsibilities and create leverage and space. Hill and Waddle are also dangerous ballcarriers and will sometimes line up at running back. They are backed up by former All-Pro Odell Beckham Jr. (currently on the Physically Unable to Perform list with an injury), Braxton Berrios, Robbie Chosen and River Cracraft.
Hill is perhaps the league’s fastest player and can line up anywhere – out wide, in the backfield and in the slot, where he is especially dangerous on post routes out of trips formations. The “Cheetah” was on pace to break the NFL’s single-season record for yardage a year ago before an injury derailed those aspirations – Hill and Waddle’s speed dissuades the opposition from using single-high coverages against them.
Like his colleagues, McDaniel will have his wide receivers, running backs and tight ends line up in unusual places in the formation to determine if defenses are playing man or zone coverage and will have his wide receivers stay inside the numbers to give them extra room to run routes and to serve as additional blockers. His scheme makes excellent use of shifts and motions, especially to create false reads and favorable angles in the running game, and the receivers’ pass patterns work well off one another with many intersecting routes at all three levels.
At the helm of this attack is signal caller Tua Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa, a rhythmic, precision passer and 2020’s fifth-overall draft pick out of Alabama, has most of his passing concepts come in the form of short and intermediate plays to play to his strengths as an intelligent passer who can get the ball out on time and to hide his limitations – particularly an arm that isn’t one of the league’s strongest, and he also isn’t comfortable going to his second and third reads in pass progressions. Nevertheless he finished first in the NFL in passing yards in 2023.
Miami’s offense has become one of the league’s best. Early last year the Dolphins had a 70-point, 700-yard performance against the Denver Broncos (becoming the first team ever to put up both numbers in one game, the first to score 70 in a game since 1966 and just the fourth team ever to score 70 in a game) and were second in points, first in passing and total yards and sixth in rushing. However they’ve shown to have one crucial weakness – while they are excellent out of their 3x1 (three wideouts on one side, one on the other) formations, they can be predictable in 2x2s (two on each side). They love to use play-action in this set and zone runs compared to gap runs in 3x1s – for more info, read this: What a difference one change in alignment makes for the Dolphins - Sports Info Solutions.
MIAMI GARDENS, FL - SEPTEMBER 08: Miami Dolphins safety Jevon Holland (8) and Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey (5) during the game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Miami Dolphins on September 8, 2024 at Hard Rock Stadium in Maimi Gardens, Fl. (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
DOLPHINS’ DEFENSE HAS A SWITCH IN PHILOSOPHY - AGAIN
Heading into 2024, McDaniel has a new play-caller on this side of the ball for the third consecutive year. After inheriting Josh Boyer from Flores’ old staff in 2022 and trying out one of the best defensive minds the NFL in Vic Fangio last season, McDaniel has done an about-face and switched to former Baltimore Ravens defensive line coach (and ex-Houston Texans coordinator) Anthony Weaver.
Weaver, naturally, brings a Ravens-flavor to South Beach. Baltimore traditionally has one of the most effective blitzing defenses in the NFL and mostly do so on overload and fire zone rushes out of single-high coverage looks – which aren’t totally foreign to the Dolphins given that Boyer employed similar coverage concepts on the back end.
Miami is led in their secondary by three-time All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey (who is excellent in zone coverage) and Kendall Fuller. Kayden Kohou normally mans the slot and the team’s starting safeties are ex-Bill Jordan Poyer and Jevon Holland. Backup Marcus Maye, a former New York Jet and New Orleans Saint, will be utilized heavily in three-safety packages, otherwise known as “big nickel”.
At linebacker the Dolphins employ Bradley Chubb, Jaelen Phillips, David Long, Jordyn Brooks, Emmanuel Ogbah and rookie Demeioun “Chop” Robinson (Chubb, their sack leader a year ago, is on the PUP list and will miss the team’s first four games), and their defensive linemen are veteran Calais Campbell, Benito Jones and Zach Sieler.
A year ago Miami was 10th in total yards given up, 15th versus the pass, eighth in takeaways, seventh against the run and third in sacks. But they were 22nd in points allowed, and the Dolphins ended 2023 with a 1-5 record against playoff teams with a -91 point differential against such opponents – only the New York Giants and Washington Commanders were worse.
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 8: Von Miller #40 of the Buffalo Bills and Greg Rousseau #50 of the Buffalo Bills celebrate a play against the Arizona Cardinals at Highmark Stadium on September 8, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
BUFFALO’S DEFENSE USUALLY ELITE, BUT UNDERGOING CHANGES IN 2024
For most of head coach Sean McDermott’s time in Buffalo, the Bills’ defense has been one of the league’s best. Points allowed (fourth in the NFL in that category in 2023), total yards per game allowed (ninth), passing yards given up (seventh), rushing yards surrendered (15th), takeaways (third), interceptions (tied for fourth) and sacks (fourth, tied for second-most in their history with the 2014 team) have generally been the categories that the Bills have excelled at over the years, with last season’s sack total being the best in the McDermott era.
2024, however, will be a year of transition for the Bills on defense. Due to age and salary cap complications, out the door are longtime veterans such as Poyer (Dolphins), Micah Hyde, Tre’Davious White (Los Angeles Rams), Leonard Floyd (San Francisco 49ers, who had 10.5 sacks a year ago – the most of any Bill since Lorenzo Alexander in 2016), Jordan Phillips and Linval Joseph (Dallas Cowboys), Shaq Lawson, Tim Settle (Houston Texans), Kaylon “Poona” Ford (Los Angeles Chargers), Tyrel Dodson (Seattle Seahawks) and Dane Jackson (Carolina Panthers).
Including names from the past such as Kyle Williams, Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison, Star Lotulelei, Carlos “Boogie” Basham and Harrison Phillips, that’s a lot of turnover over the last eight years – none more so than this past offseason. The answer, according to McDermott, general manager Brandon Beane and new defensive coordinator Bobby Babich (who will get the opportunity to call plays this season), is youth and cheap veterans to provide cost-effective depth.
Some of those younger players – albeit young veterans since they are in their fourth and fifth professional seasons, respectively – who will be asked to take on a greater role include Greg Rousseau (who became the first Bill with three sacks in a home opener since Ben Williams in 1983) and A.J. Epenesa (who last season became the first Bills defensive lineman to return an interception for a touchdown since Aaron Schobel in 2009). Da’Quan Jones, perhaps their best run-stuffing lineman, is back healthy after tearing a pectoral muscle against Jacksonville last October and is effective on T-T stunts with Ed Oliver, an excellent gap penetrator.
They will be backed up by versatile free agent pickups Austin Johnson (who comes from the Chargers after stints with Tennessee and the Giants), Dawuane Smoot (Jacksonville) and Casey Toohill (Washington) along with rookies DeWayne Carter and Javon Solomon. Toohill is a core special teamer who reminds some of a more athletic Trent Murphy due to his length, height and movement skills while Solomon has been compared to a younger Elvis Dumervil with his lack of height yet long arms and strength and explosiveness off the edge.
Over the years Buffalo has been inconsistent in two areas – creating a consistent pass rush (last year not withstanding) and, from time to time, stopping the run. These issues are mainly caused by poor tackling (their missed and broken tackle percentage has been among the highest in the NFL over the years), a lack of gap integrity and a lack of versatility along the defensive line. They also gave up 4.6 yards a carry on inside runs, 30th in the NFL. Another issue was the Bills giving up tying or go-ahead drives in the final two minutes in four of their six losses last year – meaning they struggled to close out games.
Beyond improving against the run, the Bills had also lacked an elite pass rusher off the edge who could command double teams on a consistent basis since Mario Williams was employed 10 years ago. With this in mind, in 2022 Beane signed future Hall of Famer Von Miller. But Miller suffered a torn ACL after putting up eight sacks in 11 games and missed the first four games of last season while recovering on the PUP list. He’s back now and was on a snap count as he shook off the rust (although by his own admission he shouldn’t have played) but provided a flash of his old All-Pro ability and speed with his first sack in two years last week against Arizona.
Schematically the Bills’ defense mostly relies on basic zone coverages after the snap (they’re usually among the top units in the NFL in usage of Cover Two, Four and Six) but before the snap it is complex – safety rotations to disguise their intentions keep opposing quarterbacks guessing and selective pressure looks at the line of scrimmage and coverage exchanges are the team’s calling cards.
Those blitz looks usually happen in the A-gaps with the smaller, but smart, speedy and athletic Matt Milano and Terrell Bernard (who replaced the departed Tremaine Edmunds last year) to confuse opposing offensive lines and quarterbacks, but Buffalo rarely sends five or more pass rushers – their favorite blitz tactic besides A-gappers are four-man zone exchanges. Bernard has become a good blitzer and coverage ‘backer – his 6.5 sacks in 2023 were the most by an off-the-ball linebacker in Bills annals and he became the first NFL player since Seth Joyner in 1991 with six sacks, three picks and three fumble recoveries in a season.
But for the second straight year, Milano is out for the foreseeable future after suffering a major injury – this time a torn bicep –which means backup Dorian Williams will need to pick up the slack. This led to the Bills struggling to defend the run well because of a lack of experience by Williams – he’s shown flashes of quickness and burst but was slow to key and diagnose at the line of scrimmage. He also took many false steps and needs to process better while in coverage, but is athletic, long and fluid – which should bode well for his future.
Should Williams continue to struggle, rookie Joe Andreessen could get the nod in his place. Andreessen, a University at Buffalo product who hails from nearby Lancaster, showed excellent diagnostic skills at the line of scrimmage in the preseason while also displaying strong hands, a quick downhill trigger that allows him to shoot gaps well and some speed and range. It helps that the rookie played in a similar role as Milano while in college.
The Bills mainly utilize nickel personnel, as evidenced by Buffalo using five defensive backs between 90 and 100 percent of their snaps since 2020. They did use more dime after Milano’s injury last year with three safeties to help offset the loss of Milano in pass coverage. That setup featured Hyde and ex-Ram Taylor Rapp on the back end and Poyer near the line of scrimmage.
However, with Hyde and Poyer’s elite ability to disguise coverages on the back end now gone, the Bills’ safety positions are now manned by Rapp (who is better playing near the line of scrimmage), the rangy and physical but inconsistent Damar Hamlin, veteran pickup Mike Edwards (he brings physicality and smarts and can play in the box or on the back end) and rookie Cole Bishop, who is an underrated and cerebral athlete.
At the boundary cornerback spots replacing White and Jackson are Christian Benford and Rasul Douglas, and are backed up by the tall and physical Ja’Marcus Ingram and Kaiir Elam, who has underwhelmed so far as a pro. Douglas, an ex-Green Bay Packer and Philadelphia Eagle, has great size and length, is versatile and a gambler – he can take chances because he understands route combinations very well (he had two interceptions and a fumble recovery against the New York Jets in November, the first Bill to do so in a game since Kurt Schulz in 1998 and led the NFL in takeaways last year with six after he was acquired). Slot corner Taron Johnson remains elite, but will miss Thursday’s game with an arm injury and will be replaced by tweener Cam Lewis.
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 8: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills waits for the snap against the Arizona Cardinals at Highmark Stadium on September 8, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
BILLS’ OFFENSE AN UPPER-ECHELON UNIT, BUT EVOLVING
Led by quarterback Josh Allen and a cadre of gifted pass-catchers, the Bills boasted one of the NFL’s elite offenses for the first time since the K-Gun was running roughshod over the league more than 30 years ago. Allen’s improved processing skills, ball placement, patience within the pocket and touch on passes allowed Buffalo to become one of the most feared attacks in pro football over the last four years (last year Allen was fourth in passing yards and tied for fifth in passing touchdowns while tying for third in rushing scores – leading the league in total yards and touchdowns in the process).
In 2023 the Bills were sixth in scoring, fourth in total yards, seventh in rushing and eighth in passing. They were also first in third down rate and fifth in red zone efficiency, yet their offense performed poorly over a six-game stretch where they averaged just 20.5 points per game. It resulted in then-offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey getting the boot in favor of quarterbacks coach and former Carolina Panthers play caller Joe Brady.
Like their defensive counterparts, the Bills are going through changes on this side of the ball because of age, the salary cap and a new coordinator. With Brady taking over the role full-time, the biggest philosophical change on offense for Buffalo will be to retain elements of what made them so good in the first place while adding in new and fresh concepts.
Between 2018 and last year, Buffalo’s offense was an Erhardt-Perkins system brought in from New England by then-coordinator Brian Daboll. It was built upon concepts involving option and crossing routes from the slot, downfield routes from the outside, run-pass options (especially in the red zone), designed quarterback runs to take advantage of Allen’s mobility and alignments that create favorable matchups and some trick plays with jet/orbit motion and sweeps. It was mostly out of “11” personnel groupings (one back, one tight end and three wide receivers), “10” personnel (one back, no tight ends, four receivers) and “12” personnel (one back, two tight ends and two receivers) – and would also go no-huddle from time to time to limit the opposition’s defensive calls.
The Bills’ multi-receiver sets were traditionally their offensive calling card. In 2020 they used four wide receivers or more 155 times – the second-most in the NFL at the time – and they utilized someone in motion on 43 percent of their offensive snaps, a huge increase from their 25 percent rate in 2019. Daboll – now the head coach of the New York Giants – also called for a passing play on 64 percent of their first downs, according to ESPN Stats and Information – no team with a winning record in the last 20 years did it more than Buffalo – and that rate continued in 2021 and ’22 with “11” personnel used on nearly three-quarters of their plays.
Daboll’s successor, Ken Dorsey, got away from those concepts for most of 2023 and tried to rely on the talent at his disposal winning one-on-one matchups instead of having the scheme help them get open. Once Brady was promoted, the Bills returned to them. He also included more under-center formations and play-action (which can still stand to increase after being a top-four team in run-fakes in 2020 and ’21), pre-snap shifts, motions, designed passes to running backs and route combinations with defined reads for Allen so he can play within structure.
Brady got his start in the NFL working for the New Orleans Saints and then-coach Sean Payton. Payton himself came from a melting pot of a background including stints running the Erhardt-Perkins scheme for Bill Parcells in Dallas and learning the West Coast offense from Jim Fassel in New York with the Giants and from Jon Gruden during their one-year stint together in Philadelphia in 1997, so Brady will bring a similar approach to the table while likely keeping some things the same in Buffalo.
Their biggest transaction on offense was trading the aging Stefon Diggs to Houston. Diggs, while never a burner on the outside, was an exceptional route runner who specialized in making contested catches and operated well out of bunch and stack formations – leading him to re-write many of the Bills’ single season receiving records.
In addition to Diggs, Buffalo has let veterans Gabriel Davis, John Brown, Cole Beasley, Isaiah McKenzie, Jamison Crowder, Trent Sherfield, Deonte Harty and Andy Isabella walk over the years. Many of them were productive, but nothing can last forever – hence the overhaul of the Bills’ wide receiver room in 2024.
The Payton offense is built through having big, physical targets who can get open over the middle of the field, especially on deep in-cuts, or “dig” routes. Payton has employed such players in those roles before like Marques Colston, Jimmy Graham, Michael Thomas and Courtland Sutton, and the drafting of rookie Keon Coleman from Florida State fits the bill for Brady. Coleman, whose game evoked comparisons to Colston, Brandon Marshall and Anquan Boldin coming out of college, brings size and physicality to the boundary ‘X’ position with good body control and strong hands to make contested catches and has some run after the catch ability. He does need to work on his speed, quickness and ability to beat press coverage, but in time he may improve in those areas.
While not a burner at the position (like free agent pickup Mack Hollins, who has similar skills), Coleman will be accentuated by speed in the form of Curtis Samuel – a poor-man’s Deebo Samuel who can line up both in the slot and outside the numbers and take handoffs – and deep threat Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who needs to work on his inconsistent hands. That speed was needed since Buffalo was just 28th in the NFL in plays of 20 yards or more last season according to Trumedia, and shifty third-year man Khalil Shakir returns to man the slot with his quickness, sure hands and savviness to get open versus zone coverage.
Tight end Dawson Knox is joined by second-year man Dalton Kincaid, and their diverse skillsets should allow the Bills to throw curveballs at opponents with multiple tight end sets. Kincaid lived up to the hype with 73 receptions a year ago, the most of any Bills rookie and surpassed Pete Metzelaars for the most catches by a tight end in one season. He also became the fourth rookie tight end since 1960 with 70 or more catches in a year.
The Bills’ offensive line is composed of Dion Dawkins, David Edwards, Connor McGovern (taking over at center for the departed Mitch Morse), O’Cyrus Torrence and Spencer Brown. This crew (which last year became the first unit to start every game in a regular season for Buffalo since 1989) along with fullback Reggie Gilliam has mainly executed outside zone runs along with zone-reads, pin-and-pull concepts, traps (especially with Dawkins as the puller), counters, split inside zone and sprint draw plays sprinkled in for running back James Cook. Cook, who had a breakout season in his first campaign as the starter, is backed up by physical rookie Ray Davis and ex-Jet Ty Johnson provides valuable depth with his receiving skills.
The starting front five had been iffy in providing push in the running game and in pass protection over the last couple of years but became a strength last season. In the past, most of the team’s rushing production came from Allen’s legs and few came from their backs – the Bills’ rushing attempts per game in 2022, 18.2, was last in the NFL but that number jumped to the highest in the NFL after Brady was promoted. Rushing for 266 yards against Dallas was the most such yardage under Sean McDermott since 2017 and in Week One against New York Buffalo surrendered five sacks (tied for the fifth-most in Allen’s career) but was taken down just 24 times overall in 17 regular season outings – the best mark in pro football.
One area the Bills need to clean up is protecting the ball. Over the last two years, they were one the league’s sloppiest teams – Allen had 14 interceptions and 13 fumbles in 2022 and Allen led the NFL with 18 interceptions last year.
While punter Sam Martin and kicker Tyler Bass have been excellent in the past, Bass has been a bit shaky lately. When Martin was named the NFL’s Special Teams Player of the Month in December – the first Bills punter to do so since Brian Moorman in November 2006 – and Bass collected the same honor earlier in the year, it was the first time both Bills specialists have won the award in one season. But Bass’ field goal percentage took a dip in 2023 – the question with him is, was it because he was getting acclimated to a new holder, or was it a mental block? Time will tell.
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 08: Khalil Shakir #10 and Dalton Kincaid #86 of the Buffalo Bills celebrate after Shakir's receiving touchdown during the third quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at Highmark Stadium on September 08, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)
STATS AND MUSINGS
· Allen has compiled 41 career regular season games with a passer rating of 100 or better and has reached that mark in 24 of his last 40 outings. In those games Buffalo’s record is 38-3, and he had a perfect quarterback rating against Miami in Week Four of last year – Doug Flutie was the only other Bills passer to accomplish that feat in a game back in 2000.
· Allen has the most career regular season games (eight) with 300 or more passing yards and 50 or more rushing yards. He’s second all-time in games with a passing and rushing score (44) – behind just Cam Newton (64) – and last year became the first quarterback with 11 games of a rushing and passing touchdown in one season.
· Buffalo’s franchise quarterback has eight career games with three passing touchdowns and a rushing score – only Drew Brees and Tom Brady (nine) have more all-time. He also became the first signal-caller to throw for 250 yards, run for 50, toss three touchdowns, run for one, complete 80 percent of his throws and win a game in league history against the Rams in Week One last year. His completion percentage against Miami in Week Four was 84, the highest in team history and became the first with 350-plus passing, 65-plus rushing and a 75 percent completion rate in one game against Miami in Week 18.
· Allen has moved past Steve Young for second all-time in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback – only Newton has more (75) and has become the first quarterback with four straight 40 total touchdown seasons. He’s also joined Jalen Hurts as the only signal callers with 15 or more rushing scores in a season, and has the fourth-most rushing yards by a quarterback in the playoffs all-time (behind Young, Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick).
· Allen and McDermott have defeated every team in the NFL at least once except one – the Philadelphia Eagles. Allen’s also become the only signal caller with 4,000 passing yards and 750 rushing yards in a season twice (he’s the only one to do so once).
· Knox is second in team annals with 22 receiving scores by a tight end. He’s behind only Pete Metzelaars (25) and became the fourth Bill with six or more receiving scores in the playoffs all-time (James Lofton and Gabriel Davis also have six). Andre Reed, who is first, had nine.
· Since 2017 the Bills are 57-9 when leading at halftime (including playoffs) and Week Six versus the Giants was the first game in which they were held scoreless through three quarters and won since December 1993 against Philadelphia (it was first time it had happened at home since 1987 – also against the Giants).
· Miller is the first defensive player in league history to sign two contracts worth at least $100 million. He is also vying to be the second player to win a Super Bowl with three different teams (Matt Millen was the first), has moved past Robert Mathis for 19th on the all-time sack list and is one quarterback takedown away from tying Dwight Freeney for 18th. Two will tie Derrick Thomas for 17th.
· Buffalo’s point differential was plus-169 in 2022 – the second-best in the NFL and second-best in franchise history (2021) – and recorded 5,000 yards of offense for the third time in team history, joining the 1991 and 1975 teams. Last year their differential was plus-140, fourth-best.
· After beating Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson in 2022, according to Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports Allen became the first quarterback to defeat three former MVPs in a four-game span since Troy Aikman downed Dan Marino, Young and Brett Favre in 1996. He’s also the first signal caller to beat three former MVPs in one month since David Woodley in September 1981.
· The Bills have compiled a road winning percentage of .675 (27-13) since 2019. Buffalo is also 24-6 in December and January in the regular season and playoffs since 2020.
· Buffalo clinched a playoff berth for the fifth straight year, the second-longest streak in franchise history (six years from 1988-93 is the longest) and it was the sixth time McDermott clinched a playoff berth, trailing just Marv Levy (eight) for the most by a Bills coach. The Bills won a fourth straight AFC East title, which tied their longest streak since 1988-91 and they have five straight seasons with double-digit wins, a team record (they also have 11 wins in four straight years, their most since 1990-93).
· McDermott’s record against the AFC East since 2017 is 27-15 – a winning percentage of .642.
· Buffalo hasn’t won a road playoff game since the 1992 AFC title game in Miami – they’re 0-7 since. However their playoff record at home is 15-5 all-time, and 14-3 at Highmark Stadium.
· Buffalo’s regular season record over the last three years with Allen is 48-18, and he’s 64-31 all-time as a Bill. Allen is 21-6 against the NFC in his career.
· Since 2020 the Bills’ record coming off a loss is 14-4 and in Allen’s career they’re 23-6 after a loss – a .793 winning percentage, the highest among NFL quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era (Joe Montana is second with a 33-10 mark).
· McDermott is the third coach in Bills history to appear in 100 games with the franchise along with Levy and Lou Saban. He’s also moved past Saban for second in franchise annals in wins and the Bills haven’t lost coming off a bye week under him (in fact, they haven’t lost in their first game after a bye since 2014). However, he’s also 1-6 in overtime including playoffs.
· Since 2020 Buffalo has the best home record in the NFL – 33-9 including playoffs. They’re also 11-2 in games including playoffs with a temperature of 32 and under since 2017.
· Allen’s career record in primetime is 15-6 and he and McDermott are 5-1 on Sunday Night Football. They’re also 6-1 on Thursdays, but just 3-4 on Monday Night Football.
· Allen’s broken Patrick Mahomes’ record for most scores by a quarterback in his first six seasons and he and Mahomes have the most total touchdowns in the NFL since 2018. The two also have the most total offensive yards per game in playoff history and Allen and Mahomes also have the most games with 200 yards passing and 50 yards rushing in the playoffs.
· The Bills won four games by 25 or more points last year – tied for their most ever in one season. They also lost all seven of their games including playoffs by six points or less, but haven’t lost a game by more than six points in their last 41 outings – the longest streak in NFL history.
· Buffalo became the first team ever to convert 10 third downs, have 500 yards of offense and win the turnover battle and still lose when it happened against the Eagles. Teams were 39-0 before that, according to ESPN.
· Cook posted 100 or more scrimmage yards eight times in 2023. He was also fourth in rushing, becoming the first Bill with 1,000 yards on the ground since LeSean McCoy in 2017. Cook also became the first Bill with 200 or more scrimmage yards, a rushing and a receiving score in a game since Thurman Thomas in 1991 and only the fourth Bill ever to accomplish the feat (Thomas in ’91 and ‘89, Greg Bell in ’84 and O.J. Simpson in ‘75). He also helped the Bills rush for 179 yards versus Pittsburgh in the playoffs, their most in a playoff game since 1995 against Miami.
· Allen is just two rushing touchdowns away from moving past O.J. Simpson and 11 away from surpassing Thurman Thomas for second and first all-time, respectively, in Bills annals.
· Clinching the AFC East for the fourth straight year also gave the Bills the AFC’s second seed for the third time in four years. According to OptaStats, since the NFL started to seed teams for postseason play in 1975 last year’s Bills were the only team to be at or below .500 with five games or less to go and still get a top-two seed.
· Buffalo and Kansas City are the only teams to win 10 or more games and reach the playoffs in each of the last five years. The Bills are also tied with Philadelphia for the second-most playoff appearances since 2017 (six), behind only the Chiefs.
· More Allen stats – against the Steelers he became the first quarterback ever with three passing scores, 70 or more rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground in the playoffs – the only other to have a game with three scores and 70-plus rushing yards (but no rushing scores) is Otto Graham, who accomplished the feat in 1950.
· According to buffalobills.com, Allen’s 52-yard run versus Pittsburgh was the longest touchdown run in the playoffs in team annals and the second-longest run for a score by a quarterback ever in the postseason (Kaepernick had a 56-yarder in 2012 against San Francisco). Allen’s also two passing scores away from breaking Kelly’s career playoff franchise mark.
· Buffalo is tied for the most regular season wins over a five-year span to not reach a Super Bowl – they had 58 victories from 2019-23.
· According to Trumedia, the Bills faced man coverage on 32.7 percent of their snaps last year – the most in the NFL. However, heavy usage of man coverage isn’t foreign to the Bills’ offense. It’s been a staple against them over the last five years (48 percent in 2019, first, 35 percent in ’20, fifth, 33.3 percent in ’21, fourth and 29.3 percent in ’22, fifth).
· After last week’s victory, the Cardinals have gone 0-4 in Buffalo since they moved to Arizona in 1988.
· McDermott is 6-2 all-time in home openers.
· Allen also became the second player ever with a completion percentage of 78, 230 passing yards, two passing and two rushing scores and 35 rushing yards. The only other quarterback to do so was Steve McNair against Jacksonville in November of 2001.
· Including playoffs Allen is 11-2 all-time against Miami and has thrown for at least two touchdowns in every game – the longest streak by one quarterback against one opponent all-time. Since 2017 the Bills are 13-2 against Miami.
· Buffalo has had 300 total net yards in each of their last 32 road games – the longest streak by any team since 1950.
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