The Buffalo Bills were staring at another loss after a rough first half on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals before surging back for the victory. Buffalo had a league-worst 25 straight losses when allowing 21+ first-half points, but managed to put that trend to bed.
It wasn’t easy, by any stretch. Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense overcame the elements, two critical interceptions, and a fruitless performance from Ja’Marr Chase to keep it close in the final moments. Buffalo had some key mistakes of their own, particularly on James Cook’s goalline fumble.
There were plenty of times in the contest where the Bills looked down and out. But after the win, Bills head coach Sean McDermott leaned on the familiar message praising the toughness of his roster.
Sean McDermott credited the Buffalo Bills’ toughness amid first-half adversity
“The toughness of our football team, when you go through adversity in life and in football, in this case, you come out on the other side having learned some things about yourself and tougher because of it,” McDermott said. “It’s not easy. Nobody wants to go through adversity. But that internal, kind of, fortitude stuff is real.”
The 2025 Bills know adversity well, having traded wins and losses over the past five weeks leading into Week 14. They’ve finally broken that streak, winning consecutive games for the first time since Weeks 8 and 9.
“Listen, we’re not where we want to be, but winning games this time of year is huge. And the way we’re doing it is really good,” McDermott said.
With a winning record clinched, McDermott’s eighth consecutive winning season, the Bills are in better control of their postseason destiny. Buffalo now has a 95% chance of making the playoffs, according to the NFL’s playoff predictor. With Indianapolis taking a serious hit to its hopes in Week 14 and the Bengals and Ravens both falling as well, Buffalo has afforded itself plenty of cushion down the stretch.
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Still, to McDermott’s point, the work is far from finished, and more challenges lie ahead. Should Buffalo pick up a win next week against the New England Patriots, they still might not have a path to win the AFC East. There’s a challenge sure to bring about some level of adversity as well.
It’s certainly alarming that Buffalo imposes some of the adversity onto itself with mistakes, particularly in the first half. But it’s no less comforting that playmakers like Josh Allen, James Cook, and Christian Benford are making clutch plays when the team needs them most.