Alright Bills fans. Let’s all take a moment of silent reflection and look back on how many times the Bills “lost the big game.” No, I’m not talking about the four Super Bowls. I’m talking about over the last five-six years in which they had a game they absolutely needed to win to establish any sort of credibility or attention in the playoff hunt, and flat out stunk. We could go back as far as when they lost to the Steelers backups, but let’s not do that.
The hype amongst this one was exponential. Not just because of Rex’s return to New York, but because of all the playoff hype behind it. If Buffalo had lost, they would have positioned themselves two games out of the playoffs with the Jets having one game in hand and Pittsburgh owning the tiebreaker. Buffalo would have been eliminated. Just like last year when the Bills played against a bad Oakland Raiders team. A win and they would have been going forward to a game in New England (a game they ended up winning) with meaning. Instead, it was just another meaningless game in Buffalo.
The earlier game against New England this season, however, people also saw as a statement game. The Bills ended up losing 40-32.
Now, there could be a couple reasons to them losing these games, but not many as blatant as they just plain were not good enough to. The Bills this season have an explosive offense, with gamechanging weapons at every position. They have a defense that, when it wants and/or needs to, can step up and make a big play or get a stop. It’s not necessarily “elite” but it’s getting there. It certainly made its case at some points, but at others it just doesn’t (see, 40 allowed vs. New England, 34 against Cincy and Jacksonville).
The point here is, the Bills have turned a corner when it comes to winning a big game during their season. Thursday night was in no doubt a huge game to determine where the season was headed. As of now, the Bills own the sixth and final playoff seed, and can control their own destiny. Will Buffalo win on Monday night? I’m not too sure. All I know is, they have shown they can win a big game. That’s the first step to rebuilding back to the glory days.
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