There was a time this offseason, after the Buffalo Bills traded Stefon Diggs, in which the popular narrative was that Buffalo’s window as a Super Bowl contender might be closed.
It’s not. In fact, it’s wide open.
After this season, it’s fair to assume that the Bills will be a contender every season in Josh Allen’s prime. Allen is having an unbelievable season and it continued on Sunday. He carried the Bills yet again, pounding a Detroit Lions team that was 12-1 before Sunday. The Bills had 559 yards of offense and beat the Lions 48-42 in a game that really wasn’t that close. Buffalo improved to 11-3 with the win. Allen continues to march toward his first NFL MVP award. He had 362 yards passing with two passing touchdowns, and on the ground he had 68 yards and two touchdowns. In the past two games, Allen has five passing touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns. It’s rare for a quarterback to reach the level of play Allen has been at most of this season.
What could really push Allen to the next level, in terms of his ranking in the game and the perception of him, would be a deep playoff run. On Sunday, the Bills looked like the kind of team that could find itself in Super Bowl LIX.
Bills get off to a great start
The Bills made a statement immediately. They scored touchdowns on each of their first three drives. Allen had two rushing touchdowns to start it off and then James Cook scored to give Buffalo a 21-7 lead. It wasn’t just that the Bills were scoring touchdowns. There was almost no resistance to anything they did from the Lions defense.
Allen had 254 yards passing in the first half alone. The Lions were able to stay afloat on defense after Aidan Hutchinson’s injury weeks ago, but the injuries kept piling up on defense and the last couple of games haven’t been great. The Green Bay Packers moved it pretty easily against them in Week 14, although the Lions hung on for the win. The Bills took advantage of every flaw the Lions defense has. Allen hit pass after pass and when it wasn’t open for him, he just ran for a positive gain.
Detroit has a lot of offensive power and they put up some points. Tim Patrick scored on a nice play by Jared Goff. Offensive lineman Dan Skipper got a 9-yard touchdown on a trick play. But the Lions still trailed 28-14 at halftime because the defense had no answers.
Then again, there aren’t many answers for Allen this season from any defense.
Buffalo extends the lead
In the third quarter the Bills kept piling on. Amon Ra St.-Brown fumbled on a catch over the middle, and the Bills cashed that in with a Khalil Shakir touchdown. That gave Buffalo a 35-14 lead. There was 3:31 left in the third quarter and the Bills had 35 points and 455 yards of offense.
The Lions’ inability to stop Allen might have been a big factor in an unusual strategic move. With 12 minutes left Detroit cut Buffalo’s lead to 38-28 and decided to attempt an onside kick. Onside kicks almost never get recovered with the new rules, and trying one with 12 minutes left seemed foolish, but the Lions had to try one and hope. It’s not like they were stopping Allen anyway. The Bills recovered that desperation onside kick and returned it to Detroit’s 5-yard line. Ray Davis scored on the next play to push the Bills’ lead to 45-28.
Allen hasn’t yet won an MVP or gone to a Super Bowl. He’s probably winning that MVP award this season. Even though the Bills trail the Kansas City Chiefs by two games in the race for the AFC’s No. 1 seed, you can’t rule out Buffalo going to Kansas City and winning in the playoffs. The Bills looked like the best or second-best team in the NFL on Sunday (don’t forget the Eagles, who have won 10 in a row).
There’s a chance the Bills end this season in their first Super Bowl in three decades. Allen might make sure of it.
