Buffalo take bull by horns after quiet transformation
● Revitalised Bills have already won as many games this campaign as they did last season
Buffalo is home to the Bills. As fanbases go, there are few more committed to a team, showing up every week, no matter the weather, to sit in a giant bowl without a roof. It gets cold in Buffalo too.
But Bills fans have a feeling of hope as they sit just one game behind the New England Patriots with a record of six wins and two losses. To put that in perspective, the Bills won just six games in the whole of last season.
The Bills have been stuck in mediocrity for a long time, not achieving a double-digit winning season this century and only playing one play-off game in 20 years. But suddenly there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Buffalo were poor last year, but this season they have stepped up to become a force in the AFC. How have they turned it around? There isn’t one thing that they are doing better. There are many.
The offensive side of their game has improved, with an average of three points more per game. The secondyear quarterback Josh Allen has jumped from 52 per cent completion rate to 60 per cent and while his ball security hasn’t made a similar leap, his passing in the red zone has.
In defence, the team is led by a smart front and a solid, reliable duo of linebackers. Tremaine Edmunds has made a team-leading 61 tackles, and Matt Milano is not far behind with 51.
In all, the Buffalo Bills have been a team who have been significantly under the radar while keeping the hype in-house.
Head coach Sean Mcdermott has made small adjustments and built a team around sound defence. It’s little surprise that the Bills look like a team that could cause problems for anyone. After all, had it not been for a horrendous missed call the Bills would have beaten the Patriots in week four.
This Buffalo team could well replicate what the Carolina Panthers did in 2015. With a similar identify, they managed to pull together a Super Bowl run. Buffalo, who so often avoid the glare of the media spotlight, are just sneaking into the fringes of the play-off conversation.
The list of unbeaten teams is finally down to one as the 49ers picked up a tight 28-25 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. Meanwhile, the Patriots fell to their first defeat in a humbling fashion as Baltimore Ravens used Lamar Jackson’s escapability to win 37-20.
The Chargers upset the Packers in a comfortable home win – 26-11 – led by a nearly perfect Philip Rivers and two rushing touchdowns from Melvin Gordon. Also on the west coast, Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost 40-24 in overtime to the Seattle Seahawks. The win keeps the Seahawks in touch with the 49ers in the NFC West.
The Pittsburgh Steelers left it late to beat the Indianapolis Colts with a field goal just before the two-minute warning, setting up a 26-24 victory and moving them to 4-4 on the season. The loss will hurt the Colts as legendary kicker Adam Vinatieri missed his field goal with less than a minute to play.
In the final London game of the season Wembley regulars Jacksonville Jaguars were beaten by division rivals Houston Texans. While the defeat puts the Jaguars out of the play-offs, the Texans will be looking better knowing they have traditionally had a better second half of the season.
Minnesota Vikings were another unlucky loser as they lost to a late field goal in Kansas
City. The Chiefs back-up Matt Moore found Kareem Hunt on some long throws to keep them in the game before sneaking a win.
Miami Dolphins picked up their first win of the season. In a game where both defences scored safeties, it was a strong second quarter in which the Dolphins scored three touchdowns that proved the difference. Thatleavesthe Cincinnati
Bengals as the only team without a win at the halfway point.