Win the Turnover Battle
Since Josh Allen has taken over as the Buffalo Bills starting quarterback, the name of the game has been taking care of the football. This year, Allen has proven that he is more than capable of calculating when to take risks and when to just take what the defense gives him.
In last year’s Wild Card matchup against the Texans, Allen’s propensity to take risks was without a doubt a significant contributing factor to losing that game. He was as sloppy as Josh Allen has looked, but this Wild Card matchup against the Colts is his chance to since those doubters that don’t believe he can be his best on big stages.
The Colts are among the leagues best in terms of taking care of the football on offense while taking it away from their opponent on defense. The Colts are 3rd in fewest turnovers lost this season with only 15 and 5th in most turnovers forced with 25. This combination can be deadly to any opponent as this is a perfect formula to create more possessions for the offense which translates to a greater probability of scoring points.
As lackluster as the Bills defense has been at points this season, their totals start to put the season into perspective as the defense actually ranks 3rd in most turnovers forced with 26. Where the Bills need to be wary heading into this wildcard matchup is taking care of the ball on offense. While Allen has certainly gotten better in this regard, the entirety of the offense still ranks 20th in fewest turnovers lost with 22.
If the Bills can win the turnover battle in this wildcard matchup against the Colts it will go a long way towards the road to victory. After all, you can only score when you have possession of the football.
Additionally, if the Bills reduce turnovers it will force the Colts to start with average field position instead of getting the ball already in Bills territory. Conversely, if the Bills can force turnovers it will give Allen and the offense the advantage of having short fields to work with.