Prior to kickoff on Sunday, there were some rumblings of a potential upset and some of the pregame show hosts were picking the Denver Broncos to shock the Buffalo Bills. After surrendering an opening drive touchdown, the Bills outscored the Broncos 31-0 en route to a 31-7 blowout home win.
It was a slow start in the first half and the potential for an upset was there, but the Bills stepped on the gas in the second half to pull away and clinch a spot in the divisional round.
The Bills will get another shot at Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and the Baltimore Ravens. Fans know how the Week 4 game went in Baltimore, but the defense was without Matt Milano, Taron Johnson and Terrel Bernard. Coming away from Sunday’s beatdown of Denver, there were two areas that the Bills will need to improve on if they want to get their revenge next Sunday.
Red Zone Offense
Let’s be clear; the offense was mostly in rhythm the entire game on Sunday and managed to score 30+ points for the 13th time this season. James Cook was over 100 yards rushing and eight different receivers caught a pass from Josh Allen. Despite the statistics, there was still a glaring issue that will need to be improved come Sunday against Baltimore; the red zone efficiency.
Capitalizing on trips to the red zone is something that the Bills have excelled on this season. In the regular season, the Bills ranked second in touchdown percentage (71.6%). The only team better? The Baltimore Ravens.
On Sunday, the Bills stalled in the red zone, scoring just one touchdown in five trips. If Buffalo wants to find themselves in the AFC Championship game, the touchdown percentage in the red zone will need to improve significantly.
Penalties
Buffalo finished the season just outside the top ten in penalties. They averaged 6.5 penalties per game for around 50 yards. On Sunday, the Bills were called for seven penalties that amounted for 45 total yards. Early on in the game, the Bills backed themselves up on offense and likely cost the team some points. In a game like this one, it wasn’t a deal breaker but that will be a different story come Sunday night.
Carl Cheffers is the lead official for this matchup, and his crew has called the second fewest number of penalties in 2024. He has not officiated a Bills game this season, but he called three of their games last season:
Week 1 at NY Jets (Lost 22-16)
- five penalties for 40 yards
Week 14 at KC Chiefs (Won 20-17)
- four penalties for 35 yards
Wildcard vs Pittsburgh Steelers (Won 31-17)
- two penalties for 24 yards
Sunday’s matchup is the one that everyone has been waiting for. All eyes will be on Orchard Park to see who is going to punch their ticket to the AFC championship game. The Ravens are a matchup nightmare for a lot of teams across the league, so it’s critical that the Bills play a clean game and fire on all cylinders. Avoiding the self-inflicted wounds must be a focus for Coach Sean McDermott and his team.