Sometimes one event can facilitate two conclusions.
Witness Thursday night’s 24-10 victory by the Bills over New England at Foxboro’s Gillette Stadium.
Opening odds favored Buffalo by 5½ points, but by kickoff the margin had shrunk to 3½, an indication a lot of money was being wagered on the Patriots, in part because of coach Bill Belichick’s mystique.
But, in the end, that wasn’t worth much.
The Bills, playing far from their best, easily dispatched New England in totally workmanlike fashion. Quarterback Josh Allen didn’t have to be Superman, Buffalo ran more than it passed and that translated to over a 16-minute edge in time of possession.
Those two conclusions?
One, the Bills can win against average NFL opposition by playing traditional football, Allen doesn’t need to be Patrick Mahomes Part Deux every game.
And, two, New England, 6-6, is undeniably average … indeed its offense is substandard. Belichick’s crew has won six games because of its defense. The Pats have lost every game where the opponent scored at least 20 points. In a win over the Jets, his offense never did score a touchdown. It took an 84-yard punt return for a score, in the closing minutes, to secure a 10-3 victory over the Jets two weeks ago..
IN FAIRNESS, Allen wasn’t a total automatron against New England, as one play was vintage his style.
The Bills faced 3rd-and-goal from the Pats 8-yard-line and Allen was flushed from the pocket to the right with linebacker Mack Wilson in hot pursuit. Just as Wilson got a hold of him, Allen pulled away, leaped in the air as he was headed out-of-bounds and fired a touchdown pass to Gabe Davis. All three New England defenders around him had quit on the play assuming the QB was off the field. But Davis doubled back toward the middle of the end zone and was wide open.
When asked about the play, after the game, coach Sean McDermott, who rarely shows humor in sessions with the media, allowed, “I wasn’t looking. I closed my eyes when he did it … no, that’s part of who he is.”
However, he added, “The bottom line is you can’t put the ball in trouble, in danger. I thought that was a well-calculated throw. It was open and he got it to him. You never take away Josh’s instincts and his gut feel. He’s got a great feel for things. But at the end of the day, he knows we’ve got to continue to be smart with the football.”
Referencing the connection, Allen said of Davis, “I trust him. He made a play, just giving him a chance to do it. I appreciate him continuing to work on that play.
“I know I’ve got to be better down there (inside the opponent’s 20-yard-line), and there’s a few plays that I wish I had back today. But a win is a win, we’ll take them how we can get them.”
OF COURSE, the victory concluded a remarkable stretch where the Bills won three straight road games in a span of 12 days.
“We could have used every excuse in the book, but our guys work extremely hard,” Allen said. “We care about each other, we care about each other’s families, and I think when you have that type of love in the locker room, you’re going to find ways to win football games.
“It wasn’t easy, but I will say having this little mini-bye (next game versus the Jets at Highmark Stadium a week from Sunday) with five games left, that’s extremely beneficial for getting guys healthy and maybe a little mental reset because we know these games that are coming up matter. The ones in December and January, they all matter, and we’ve got to find ways to go win.”
And by then Buffalo’s outlook might well be even better.
This Sunday, both the Dolphins (8-3) and Chiefs (9-2) are playing games they could lose. Miami is facing the 49ers (7-4) at Santa Clara and a loss would put Buffalo (9-3) back atop the division. Meanwhile, conference-leading Kansas City visits the Bengals (7-4) in Cincinnati. Should KC lose, Buffalo would take over the AFC’s top spot based on its head-to-head win.
(Chuck Pollock, an Olean Times Herald senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)
