by Tony Fiorello
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 22: Head coach Sean McDermott of the Buffalo Bills looks on during the fourth quarter against the New England Patriots at Highmark Stadium on December 22, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
Welcome to Week 17 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’ 16th game of 2024 will take place at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York as they face the New York Jets. Here’s what you should know:
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 15: Sauce Gardner #1 of the New York Jets looks on from the field during an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium on December 15, 2024 in Jacksonville, FL. (Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images)
GANG GREEN’S DEFENSE BECOMING SEATTLE-LITE
Former Jets head coach Robert Saleh – who was fired two months ago – arrived in the Big Apple in 2021 from San Francisco where he oversaw a defense that was among the NFL’s better outfits. Saleh was one of the original architects, along with Pete Carroll, Gus Bradley and Dan Quinn, of the Seattle Seahawks’ fabled Cover Three scheme (featuring deep zone coverage from the outside cornerbacks with one safety in the box and a deep safety patrolling centerfield) which they employed en route to back-to-back NFC championships and a Super Bowl title between 2013-14. Saleh himself used those same tactics to help the 49ers make an appearance in Super Bowl LIV in 2019, although as of late New York has utilized more Cover Four and Cover One Robber concepts in the red zone.
In addition to his favored pass coverages, Saleh and defensive coordinator (now interim coach) Jeff Ulbrich would – like their predecessors – use one or two of their linemen to two-gap while the rest of the front seven will control just one, which eliminates the potential holes for opposing running backs to go through. They’ve also had their linemen liberally execute stunts, twists and slants out of overloaded fronts to create one-on-one opportunities in pass rush situations, and fortunately for them the Jets are accumulating the talent needed to make this system go.
New York once had shaky depth among their defensive backs, but not anymore. Rangy and intelligent safeties Chuck Clark and Tony Adams patrol the Jets’ back end while former 49er and Seahawk D.J. Reed holds down one outside cornerback spot. Michael Carter II, who is normally the team’s slot defender, is injured and replaced by Isaiah Oliver.
The opposite boundary corner position is occupied by Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner. 2022’s fourth overall draft pick out of the University of Cincinnati, Gardner – who boasts smarts, length, strength to jam wideouts in press coverage and adeptness in both man and zone coverage – may be the best Cover Three corner to enter the NFL since Richard Sherman. Given the amount of zone the Jets use, they rarely ask Gardner or Reed to shadow top wideouts in man coverage.
Up front New York has a pair of talented defensive tackles in All-Pro Quinnen Williams and ex-49er Javon Kinlaw. Former Eagles All-Pro Haason Reddick, Jermaine Johnson (out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon), Michael Clemons and Will McDonald IV are the team’s main edge rushers and they’re good enough to the point where Salah and Ulbrich hardly blitz.
Veteran C.J. Mosley (currently on injured reserve) continues to display a high football IQ, athleticism and good technique. He, Quincy Williams and Jamien Sherwood are New York’s starters at linebacker. As talented as they are, however, they’ve shown a tendency to have problems containing running plays on crack-toss concepts and dealing with unusual formations – they don’t communicate well when trying to defend unbalanced lines, for example.
As the Jets have accumulated more talent their defense has taken some big leaps in improvement over the last few years. After ranking dead last in the NFL in points allowed and total yards surrendered in 2021, New York was fourth and third in total yards given up over the last two seasons. This year they’re fourth in total yards allowed, fifth against the pass and 10th in sacks but 16th against the run and in points allowed, and 29th in takeaways. They’re also one of the most penalized teams in football.
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 15: Davante Adams #17 of the New York Jets and Aaron Rodgers #8 look on from the sideline during the national anthem prior to an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium on December 15, 2024 in Jacksonville, FL. (Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images)
BIG APPLE’S OFFENSE STILL STRUGGLING
Between 2021-22 Saleh’s offensive coordinator was Mike LaFleur, the brother of Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. Mike’s system was identical to that of his brother’s and his former 49ers boss Kyle Shanahan’s – it emphasizes a running game built around zone-blocking (especially to the outside on “stretch” plays) and passes that are created off the threat of run-action. It’s a West Coast philosophy that can create a lot of big plays down the field from craftily designed routes that work off one another, and the skill position players often line up in reduced splits to the line of scrimmage to become both extra blockers on runs and to have more room to run routes on the field.
Due to ineffectiveness, LaFleur was canned at the end of 2022 in favor of former Denver Broncos head coach (and ex-Bills, Jaguars and Packers coordinator) Nathaniel Hackett. Hackett employs the same system that LaFleur used, so there hasn’t been much of a change in offensive philosophy for Gang Green. But while Hackett remains the coordinator he no longer calls plays on gameday – leaving those duties to former Raiders and Titans shot caller Todd Downing.
There have been major changes in the personnel that Hackett and Downing have at their disposal compared to who the Jets employed a few years ago. To make this unit go, in 2023 Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas (who was also relieved of his duties earlier this season) gave up on former first round draft pick Zach Wilson and traded for future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers.
Now 41 years old, when healthy Rodgers is as strong-armed, accurate and intelligent as he was earlier in his career, but what’s interesting about Rodgers is at times he won’t play “on schedule”, as coaches like to put it. Sometimes he will try to play sandlot football – meaning not looking at his first receiver and holding onto the ball for too long to try and make a greater play than what the original call designed – but that approach may be working against him now as his mobility and ball placement have been diminished thanks to a torn Achilles tendon suffered a year ago and a torn MCL this season.
According to former MMQB/SI writer Andy Benoit: “Though he is capable of beating defenses with presnap reads and quick throws, Rodgers frequently passes up open receivers and leaves clean pockets, which would warrant a reprimand for most QBs. But he’s so exceptional that he often goes on to make a better play.
“The tricky part is that Rodgers’s approach is more conducive to spread formations and isolation routes which, when relied upon too heavily, can lead to dry spells in the passing game. The challenge is to find the proper mix.”
Those isolation routes – which ask for a receiver to win his one-on-one matchup at the line of scrimmage – and a lack of motion and shifts are being blamed for the Jets’ offensive incompetence. Since the Jets’ wideouts aren’t beating their competition, they may need more route combinations to create space for them to get separation – that task is up to Downing and Hackett to figure out.
Those wide receivers include an extraordinary route runner in Davante Adams (who is especially adept on double moves and is a favorite target from the boundary ‘X’ spot on third down), Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard, and all can carry out Rodgers’ favorite routes, which include such LaFleur staples as slants, posts and back-shoulder fades. Tyler Conklin, who is particularly good on seam routes, is New York’s tight end.
Breece Hall, who possesses good size and movement skills with pass-catching ability, is the Jets’ top running back and is backed up by rookie Braelon Allen. The two operate behind an offensive line that has undergone a facelift – while Alijah Vera-Tucker remains Gang Green’s right guard, new faces include former All-Pro Tyron Smith (currently injured), Morgan Moses, John Simpson, Joe Tippmann and rookie first round pick Olu Fashanu (also injured), who struggled while replacing Smith and Moses at various times this year. His concerns coming out of Penn State remain in that he has balance and body control issues while reaching and lunging at defenders too often and displaying stiffness in pass protection. Carter Warren and Max Mitchell have also seen playing time.
Like they have the last few years, New York has shown to be ineffective in the trenches. Their biggest problem has been providing production on the ground, as they have struggled in reaching the second level of defenses in the run game – especially on first and second down, resulting in being second-last in rushing.
Few other areas on offense have been better statistically for the Jets. So far they’re 23rd in total yards, 17th in passing and 24th in scoring. Additionally, they haven’t scored more than 22 points in each of their last 11 outings against the Bills.
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 22: Cam Lewis #39 of the Buffalo Bills intercepts a pass intended for Austin Hooper #81 of the New England Patriots in the third quarter of the game at Highmark Stadium on December 22, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. The Bills beat the Patriots 24-21. (Photo by Lauren Leigh Bacho/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 Shaq Lawson, Jordan Poyer and Tyrel Dodson (Miami Dolphins), Tre’Davious White (Baltimore Ravens), Leonard Floyd (San Francisco 49ers, who had 10.5 sacks a year ago – the most of any Bill since Lorenzo Alexander in 2016), Linval Joseph (Dallas Cowboys), Tim Settle (Houston Texans), Kaylon “Poona” Ford (Los Angeles Chargers) and Dane Jackson (Carolina Panthers).
Including names from the past such as Kyle Williams, Marcel Dareus, Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison, Star Lotulelei, Carlos “Boogie” Basham, Trent Murphy, Vernon Butler, Justin Zimmer, Efe Obada 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 have been asked to take on a greater role include Greg Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa, who can line up both on the edge and go inside in passing situations. 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 are backed up by versatile free agent pickups Austin Johnson (who comes from the Chargers after stints with the Tennessee Titans and the New York Giants), Dawuane Smoot (Jacksonville Jaguars) and Casey Toohill (Washington Commanders) along with rookies DeWayne Carter and Javon Solomon. Toohill is a 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. Carter and Smoot, while healthy now, were both injured early in the season which led the Bills to bring back two familiar faces in Jordan Phillips and Quinton Jefferson.
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. The run 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, inefficient communication and an inability to handle motion (which causes issues with leverage, spacing and run fits). They also gave up 4.6 yards a carry on inside runs last year, 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 that in mind, two years ago 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 healthy now and was on a snap count as he shook off the rust (although by his own admission he shouldn’t have played in 2023) but has provided flashes of his old All-Pro ability and speed – while his sack total isn’t high, he’s created numerous pressures as evidenced by his pass rush win rate.
Schematically the Bills’ defense mostly relies on basic zones after the snap (they’re usually among the top units in the NFL in usage of coverages with two high safeties such as Cover Two, Four and Six, although they used more single-high coverages against the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams so they could put more bodies in the box to stop the run and to limit communication) 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. He is also adept at being used as a quarterback spy.
For the second straight year, Milano suffered a major injury – this time a torn bicep – but is now back and presumably healthy. When he missed time earlier this year, backup Dorian Williams picked up the slack. The Bills struggled to defend the run well last year because of a lack of experience by Williams – he displayed flashes of quickness and burst but was slow to key and diagnose at the line of scrimmage. He also took many false steps and needed to process better while in coverage, but is athletic, long and fluid, and has improved with more experience game by game.
Additional depth comes from Baylon Spector (currently injured) and rookie Joe Andreessen. 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 used more dime personnel after Milano’s injury last year with three safeties to help offset his loss in pass coverage, and that setup featured Micah Hyde and ex-Ram Taylor Rapp on the back end and Poyer near the line of scrimmage.
The Bills’ safety position is now manned by Rapp, who is better playing near the line of scrimmage, the rangy and physical but inconsistent Damar Hamlin, veteran Kareem Jackson – who brings physicality and smarts and can play in the box or on the back end – Hyde, former Minnesota Vikings first round draft pick Lewis Cine and rookie Cole Bishop, who is an underrated and cerebral athlete. Hyde (who recently re-signed with the team after weighing retirement), Jackson and Cine are all on the practice squad, but that depth will be tested with Hamlin out for Sunday due to injury.
At the boundary cornerback spots replacing White and Jackson are Christian Benford and Rasul Douglas (also out for Sunday) and they 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 led the NFL in takeaways last year with six after he was acquired). Slot corner Taron Johnson remains elite – especially in in the quickness and tackling departments – and he’s backed up by tweener Cam Lewis, who can also fill in at safety.
McDermott and Babich have been experimenting with some tactical things in the wake of so many players nursing various bumps and bruises. Against Detroit, they used some different fronts, matched personnel instead of rolling out strictly nickel and blitzed and loaded the box far more often. It may be the norm going forward, as they limited Detroit to just 48 yards rushing.
Despite injuries, the Bills’ defense has had 28 takeaways (tied for third), and are 11th in points allowed and 14th against the run. They also have 108 points off takeaways, the most in the NFL (their highest total since 127 in 2011). But they’re 25th against the pass, 23rd in total yards allowed and are tied for the fourth-worst third down percentage in the league with Indianapolis and Arizona.
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 22: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills throws a pass during a game against the New England Patriots at Highmark Stadium on December 22, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
BILLS’ UPPER-ECHELON OFFENSE ALSO RETOOLING IN 2024
For five consecutive seasons, the Bills have 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. Led by quarterback Josh Allen’s improved processing skills, ball placement, patience within the pocket and touch on passes and a cadre of gifted pass-catchers, those factors allowed Buffalo to become one of the most feared attacks in pro football (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 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 question on offense for Buffalo will be how 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) and “10” personnel (one back, no tight ends, four 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 prior 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 some of those concepts 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 and designed passes to running backs and route combinations with defined reads for Allen so he can play within timing and 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 in the spring 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 like Gabriel Davis, John Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, Cole Beasley, Isaiah McKenzie, Jamison Crowder, Trent Sherfield and Deonte Harty 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 Mecole Hardman who can line up both in the slot and outside the numbers and take handoffs. 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 pass-catcher Khalil Shakir returns to man the slot with his quickness, sure hands and savviness to get open versus zone coverage.
This group had been struggling to beat man coverage at the beginning of the season, and while Brady used more ‘rub’ concepts and bunch and stack alignments to help in this regard Buffalo was lacking a true replacement for Diggs. Enter five-time Pro Bowler Amari Cooper, who was acquired from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a third-round draft pick in 2025. Cooper, who is making less than a million dollars this season, fits what the Bills need both financially and on the field – boasting size, speed, excellent route-running and vertical ability and is deadly on in-breaking patterns over the middle.
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 Bills 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, sweeps, split inside zone/duo 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 has since become a strength. 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. In 2023 Allen was taken down just 24 times overall in 17 regular season outings, the best mark in pro football, and the team has continued to allow sacks at the league’s lowest rate (14).
Buffalo has also carried over their trend of using an extra offensive lineman to help in the running game. Now that Edwards has moved into the starting lineup, that extra guy is Alec Anderson, and through 15 games the Bills have had the highest rate of offensive snaps with six linemen on the field – with most of them being called runs, and are near the top of the NFL in yards per carry and yards per play with six linemen.
Another area the Bills needed 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. This year Allen has cut down on his interception total significantly – a sign of progress in this regard (Allen became the third signal caller in NFL history to start a season with 10 touchdowns and no picks through his team’s first seven games).
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 2023 – 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 last year and he hasn’t been great in 2024. To improve he will need to get over whatever is impeding him, but he did hit a franchise-record 61-yard field goal to beat Miami a few weeks ago and is eight-for-eight on field goals in the last minute of the fourth quarter or overtime in his career.
Through 15 weeks Buffalo is second in scoring, seventh in total yards and ninth in passing and rushing yards. The Bills have also scored 30 points or more 12 total times in 2024, and are on the verge of becoming the highest scoring team in franchise history.
McDermott and Brady also cost themselves a win against the Texans while trying to throw three successive times within their own three-yard line with less than a minute to go and no timeouts. With Houston having all three of their timeouts, three straight runs would have forced Houston to burn them to get the ball back – meaning they wouldn’t have had one to use to stop the clock to set up a game-winning field goal, which happened. According to ESPN, the Bills became the only team in the last 45 years to be tied or winning in the last minute of the game, inside their own five-yard line and threw three straight passes.
They also botched three situations against the Rams – declining a penalty midway through the game that likely would have forced L.A. to punt, calling a running play when trying to tie the game late (and wasting a timeout in the process) and having just nine men on the field on the final play when trying to return a punt. They’ll need to learn from these miscues going forward.
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 22: James Cook #4 of the Buffalo Bills runs the ball during a game against the New England Patriots at Highmark Stadium on December 22, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
12 STATS TO MUSE OVER
· The Bills have compiled a road winning percentage of .667 (32-16) since 2019.
· Conversely, since 2020 Buffalo has the best home record in the NFL – 39-9 including playoffs. The Bills also have 10 straight home wins, the second-longest streak in team annals behind a 15-game stretch between 1990-91, and their next would make them undefeated at home for the first time since ’90.
· Allen is two scores away from surpassing Thurman Thomas for first all-time in Bills annals in rushing touchdowns. Two total touchdowns will tie him with Rodgers (six) as the only players with 40-plus total scores five years in a row.
· 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), and it’s been no different in 2024 as they have gone against man coverage on one of the highest figures in the NFL.
· 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) and has moved past Derrick Thomas for 17th on the all-time sack list. One sack will move him past Rickey Jackson for 16th.
· Buffalo has a 33-15 mark in divisional games, including playoffs, since 2017.
· The Bills are 8-4 in their last 12 games against the Jets with Allen as their starter, and six of those games have been decided by seven points or less. Buffalo has a 70-58 record against the Jets all-time, their best winning percentage against a divisional opponent.
· Rodgers has struggled against the Bills, never throwing for 300 yards or three touchdowns versus them in his entire career.
· Cook is tied with Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts for the most rushing touchdowns in the NFL in 2024. He’s also found the end zone from 40 yards away four times this year on the ground – no other Bills running back has ever done so.
· Cook also needs two rushing scores to tie O.J. Simpson for the most in one season by a Bill (16 in 1975).
· Cooper needs just 23 receiving yards to become the second wide receiver from Alabama – along with Julio Jones – to have 10,000 career yards.
· The Bills’ win over New England was their fourth of the season when trailing at the half – tying the most they’ve had in one season (1992).
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