5 early takeaways from the Buffalo Bills Week 17 showdown with the Patriots

I'm going to need the Buffalo Bills to start paying for my heart medication. All season, the Bills seem to play to the level of their opponent, which I guess is good for the playoffs, considering all the teams should be upper-echelon teams, right? Buffalo pulled this one out, but it wasn't pretty. The offense struggled and the special teams gave up an opening kick return for a touchdown. Fortunately, the Bills defense forced five turnovers in the first half.

Dalton Kincaid made an appearance as well, delivering a huge 51-yard reception to open the second half that led to a Josh Allen rushing touchdown. Buffalo's offense was better in the second half, but the Bills were just never able to simply put the Patriots away, winning with a final score of 27 - 21.

It's a win regardless and the Bills will now prepare to face the Miami Dolphins next weekend in a massive game that will decide the AFC East and the number two seed in the AFC playoffs. For the record, I said a few weeks ago the season was not over and pointed to the late-season pushes the Bills have gotten pretty good at, finishing the regular seasons with no less than four straight wins. Here we are now, four in a row and battling the Dolphins for the division.