There is nothing pretty about the Buffalo Bills, but if you sleep on them in the NFL playoffs, do so at your own peril because they are good!
It’s been a while, but the Buffalo Bills have finally experienced a 10-win season this century. By defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 17-10 at Heinz Field on Sunday Night Football in Week 15, the Bills have clinched their second playoff berth in three seasons and their first 10-win season since Wade Phillips was their head coach back in 1999. Simply put, the Bills are good! But how good?
The Bills are good enough to enter Wild Card weekend as the No. 5 seed and feel confident about getting a road victory over the AFC South winners. This team is more consistent than the Houston Texans and a more mentally tough version of the Tennessee Titans. Buffalo just beat a fellow playoff contender on the road in primetime in Pittsburgh and the stage didn’t faze the Bills.
We saw glimpses of this when the Bills beat the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day in Arlington. That was a stage the Cowboys take part in every year and the Bills went in and dominated them like it was just another day at work. Their lunch pail mentality was key in them picking off Devlin “Duck” Hodges four times on Sunday night in a hostile road environment in Pittsburgh.
With two division games left, the Bills still have a shot to win the AFC East, as one of their games is against the New England Patriots, who are only one game up on Buffalo in the division standings. Given the Bills’ strong identity of great defense and punch-you-in-the-mouth running style, they play a brand of football that can beat any team they come across at any given time.
Buffalo is not just a playoff team, but a serious threat to represent the AFC in Super Bowl LIV down in Miami. No, the Bills will not have the cachet of the Baltimore Ravens, the Kansas City Chiefs or the Patriots, but that doesn’t mean they can’t hold their own with the crème de la crème of the AFC. This team proved it belongs on the big stage going forward the rest of the way.
This is a team that knows exactly who they are. At this point in the season, any contender who isn’t certain about its identity is doomed to fall apart for that very reason in the coming weeks. Sure, Buffalo may get beat by a superior team who plays better at any stage of the AFC playoffs. That being said, Bills Mafia has plenty to cheer for and if you sleep on this team, you’re a fool.