Buffalo’s depth could lead to deep NFL playoff run
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Buffalo Bills will tell you, over and over and over, that it takes every man on the roster to win games, and sometimes you roll your eyes because it always smacks as one of those vastly overused sports clichés.
But in Week 18, you had to concede that, at least as it pertained to their resiliently remarkable 21-14 victory over the Miami Dolphins, they were right.
This victory – which seemed so out of reach for most of the night thanks to all the mistakes the Bills made – was delivered in large part by a group of players who haven’t done a whole lot throughout Buffalo’s 11-6, AFC East Division-winning season.
“It speaks volumes about those guys and who they are, their DNA,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “They’re not household names and they haven’t been all season, but they continue to work and they’re ready to go when their number’s called. That’s how it’s been all season long. That’s how you win.”
Start with Deonte Harty, who has looked like a free agent bust all season before he ripped off the game-changing 96-yard punt return in the fourth quarter. Earlier, another free agent wide receiver who had produced very little,
Trent Sherfield, took over for injured Gabe Davis and made a great catch of a deflected pass for the Bills’ first touchdown.
There was linebacker Baylon Spector, filling in for injured Tyrel Dodson, playing snaps during a second half when the Buffalo defense blanked the high-powered Dolphins offense. There was cornerback Dane Jackson, stepping in for injured Rasul Douglas, breaking up a key third-down pass in the fourth quarter with the score tied 14-14.
And then at the very end, with hearts pounding out of chests all around Bills Nation, there was safety Taylor Rapp intercepting Tua Tagovailoa at the Buffalo 22 with 1:13 remaining to seal the victory.
Without a doubt, this time it truly was a 46-man, three-phase, one heartbeat, total team victory that enabled the Bills to earn the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs and at least one home game, perhaps two and, hey, maybe even three in the next month.
“It says a lot about the depth we have, but it talks a lot about the type of character we have in the locker room,” quarterback Josh Allen said. “Guys that haven’t been asked to do a whole lot and maybe at times being frustrated or not happy with the role that they have on this team, but not complaining, not getting upset, finding a way to help this team win games and make football plays, and you saw that tonight.”