by Tony Fiorello
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - DECEMBER 15: Head coach Sean McDermott of the Buffalo Bills looks on during the game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on December 15, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
Welcome to Week 16 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’ 15th game of 2024 will take place at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York as they face the New England Patriots. Here’s what you should know:
Glendale, AZ - December 15: New England Patriots QB Drake Maye throws a pass in the first quarter at State Farm Stadium. (Photo by Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
A NEW OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK FOR NEW ENGLAND
After 24 years, nine AFC championships and six Super Bowl titles, Bill Belichick is no longer the head coach in New England. After he and the Patriots decided to part ways in January, owner Robert Kraft promoted linebackers coach Jerod Mayo to be the team’s new head honcho. Mayo, a former linebacker himself who played for Belichick from 2008-15, has kept some things the same (mainly on defense – more on that side of the ball in a minute) but offensively he and new coordinator Alex Van Pelt have wiped the slate clean.
For nearly a quarter of a century, New England’s offense – executed under center by future Hall of Famer Tom Brady, former MVP Cam Newton and disappointments Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe – was based off the highly-successful Erhardt/Perkins scheme (check out Chris B. Brown’s excellent piece about it here: http://grantland.com/features/how-terminology-erhardt-perkins-system-helped-maintain-dominance-tom-brady-patriots/). Nowadays, it’s a version of the Shanahan-Kubiak-McVay block of the West Coast offense. It’s 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 triggerman for this attack now is rookie Drake Maye. The third overall selection out of the University of North Carolina (ironically also the school at which Belichick will be plying his craft at next fall), Maye has drawn some comparisons to names such as Andrew Luck and Justin Herbert. Boasting good size with mobility, poise, a strong arm and accuracy, sometimes he misses routine throws – this can be attributed to his downfield vision needing some work. From time to time, Maye also drifts to his left a bit during his dropback – which causes him to be pressured and messes up his timing and rhythm, and he’ll also check down quickly if he doesn’t like what he sees.
Luckily for Maye, those are issues that can be fixed with good coaching and a competent surrounding cast. Mayo’s staff has yet to prove whether they can be up for the task, but what can’t be disputed is that Maye lacks consistent offensive weapons.
New England’s offensive line is made up of David Andrews, Cole Strange (both are currently injured), Mike Onwenu, Vederian Lowe, Layden Robinson, Ben Brown and Demontrey Jacobs, and they’ve struggled this year due to ineffectiveness – especially in pass protection, leading to the Patriots using nine different combinations this season. The men usually running behind them are Rhamondre Stevenson and ex-Washington Commander Antonio Gibson, who bring physicality and downhill ability with some speed to the table.
New England’s wide receivers are Kendrick Bourne, DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte and rookie Ja’Lynn Polk. Unfortunately for Mayo and company, this group of targets doesn’t possess much speed to take the top off defenses vertically and struggle to get separation at the line of scrimmage. Tight ends Hunter Henry (a decent red zone target) and Austin Hooper are used a lot in “12” personnel packages (one back, two tight ends).
Given their woes, the Pats are naturally near the bottom of the barrel in most offensive categories. They’re last in passing, second-last in scoring, third-last in total yards and in the red zone, surrendered the fourth-most sacks and are 14th in rushing.
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 24: Christian Gonzalez #0 of the New England Patriots defends against Malik Washington #83 of the Miami Dolphins during an NFL football game at Hard Rock Stadium on November 24, 2024 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
THE PATRIOTS' DEFENSE IS CONSTANTLY EVOLVING
Early in Belichick’s tenure in New England his defenses were versatile and unpredictable, with intelligent veterans carrying out his voluminous schemes. But it has done a complete about-face over the past decade.
According to former MMQB/SI writer Andy Benoit, “The Patriots were known for being a certain defense one week and a totally different defense the next. They could run any coverage, play out of any structure – be it 4-3, 3-4 or a blend – and disguise pressures and post-snap rotations like none other.
“(Their) defense is, and has been for roughly 10 years, a simple bend-but-don’t-break unit….. They play a lot of straight man coverage, often with one safety deep and the other robbing over the middle. They blitz rarely….. even presnap disguises can be few and far between. When the Patriots do get aggressive is usually when the offense approaches scoring range. That’s the ‘don’t break’ part.”
The Patriots also like to apply pressure on opposing quarterbacks by rushing six players with stunts and twists out of a “diamond” front when opposing offenses show a five-man protection scheme – often with man-coverage across the board and no deep safeties (also known as Cover Zero). Mayo has kept most of these concepts the same while also incorporating some dime and quarter (seven defensive back) formations, however they’ve taken a downturn in 2024 due to poor communication in game situations.
New England’s back end is held down by heady veterans Kyle Dugger, Jabrill Peppers and Marte Mapu at safety while Christian Gonzalez, Marcus Jones (out for Sunday’s game), Jonathan Jones and Alex Austin are at cornerback. Gonzalez had a standout rookie season a year ago and is a rising talent – especially in man coverage.
The Patriots' linebackers are led by former Lion Jahlani Tavai, Anfernee Jennings, Christian Elliss, Yannick Ngakoue, Sione Takitaki and Ja’Whaun Bentley (currently injured). Deatrich Wise and Keion White are the team’s main pass rushers while Davon Godchaux and Christian Barmore (also injured) are excellent and versatile run stuffers up the middle.
As previously mentioned, this defense has taken a dip in production this season. They’re 23rd in points allowed, 21st in total yards and rushing yards surrendered, and 16th versus the pass.
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - DECEMBER 15: Ed Oliver #91 of the Buffalo Bills celebrates with teammates after recording a sack in the first quarter against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on December 15, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/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, 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 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 (Oliver had 10 pressures against Detroit, no other defensive tackle in the NFL has had that many in one game this year).
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 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. 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 elite pass rush win rate (25 percent, third).
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) 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 – and while he came back a few weeks ago and played reasonably well, he is out again this week. 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 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 Rapp and Hamlin both 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.
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 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 25 takeaways (sixth), 12th in points allowed, 25th against the pass, 23rd in total yards allowed and 14th against the run.
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - DECEMBER 15: The Buffalo Bills offense huddles against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on December 15, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Nic Antaya/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 Gabriel Davis, John Brown, 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 in recent games, 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 (13 through 14 games).
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 14 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 in 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 14 weeks Buffalo is second in scoring, seventh in total yards and passing yards and ninth in rushing. They’re also third in red zone efficiency. The Bills have also scored 30 points or more in eight straight games – the longest streak in franchise annals and tying a league record – and have accomplished the feat 11 total times in 2024.
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.
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - DECEMBER 15: James Cook #4 of the Buffalo Bills runs the ball up the field in the third quarter of a game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on December 15, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/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 – 38-9 including playoffs. The Bills also have nine straight home wins, the second-longest streak in team annals behind a 15-game stretch between 1990-91.
· Allen is two scores away from surpassing Thurman Thomas for first all-time in Bills annals in rushing touchdowns. He’s also become the first quarterback ever with multiple passing and rushing touchdowns, 350-plus passing yards and 60-plus rushing yards in one game, the first signal caller with 25-plus passing scores and 10 or more rushing scores in consecutive seasons and the first with six passing and six rushing touchdowns over a three-game span.
· 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-half of a sack will tie him with Rickey Jackson for 16th.
· McDermott became the fifth coach ever with five straight 11-win seasons, joining Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, Tony Dungy and Tom Landry. He also tied Mike Holmgren for the second-most wins in a coach’s first eight NFL seasons and since he’s facing a rookie quarterback this week he has an 8-3 record against first-year signal callers.
· Cook and Johnson became the first duo with one back having a 100-yard rushing performance and the other with 100 yards receiving in the same game since Darren Sproles and Pierre Thomas with New Orleans in 2012.
· The Bills had 559 yards of total offense against Detroit – the fifth-highest total in franchise history and the most in the Josh Allen era.
· Buffalo clinched their division in Week 13 and haven’t played the Patriots until now. According to OptaSTATS, no one else has ever won their division more than one week prior to playing one of their division rivals for the first time.
· This will be the latest in a season Buffalo has played a divisional opponent for the first time since Week 13 of 1963 against the New York Jets.
· The Bills became the first team ever to end multiple nine-game winning streaks in one season – first Kansas City, now Detroit. Additionally, according to Fox Sports they are the only team since the 1970 merger with three straight games of five or more touchdowns (17 total), no turnovers and no sacks.
· Buffalo has a 32-15 mark in divisional games, including playoffs, since 2017.
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