For the past four weeks, the Buffalo Bills have been winning and they are coming alive at the right time to make a push for not just the playoffs but also the AFC East. They completed their final road regular season game with a win over the Cleveland Browns, but Bills fans had to watch a close game that shouldn’t have been that close.
While the NFL is a week-to-week schedule and anything can happen, there is a certain point when a top tier team should easily take care of business against a bad team. It’s very simple, yet Bills fans know that it wouldn’t be Buffalo football without a little bit of a scare.
The Bills had a 23-10 lead in the 3rd quarter, but the three points in the second half would be their only points as they wouldn’t come close to scoring again. They allowed Cleveland to get back into the game and the Browns gave the Bills a bit of a scare. Had it not been for the defense stepping up in the final three minutes of the game, who knows if the outcome would have been the same.
Even though Buffalo won the turnover battle, they allowed Cleveland to stick with them which applied a ton of pressure for the Bills. The Browns had more yards, first-downs, and were a lot better in third-down situations. Again, Buffalo’s defense fell apart in crucial moments which allowed the Browns to stay in the game.
Bills fans need to be seriously concerned moving forward, even with Week 16 win
There have been too many times this season where the Bills have not been the dominant team that they have shown to be. There have only been two games this season where the Bills came out swinging and didn’t let up to their opponents (vs. Jets and Panthers).
While they defeated the Steelers in a great fashion, it took Josh Allen taking a cheap shot and the start of the second half for them to finally start playing Bills football. They have had to make multiple comeback wins at times, and they have brought the game down to the wire against teams that are not as great as them.
At this point in the season, any win is important and that’s all that matters. But at the same time, the Bills have to find a way to come out from the start and not let up. To be a true championship contender, they have to realize that sometimes it’s just easier to get off to a hot start and stay ahead, rather than hope that things will bounce their way to win a game.