TONY’S TAKE – A PREVIEW OF BILLS-CHARGERS

by Tony Fiorello

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 17: Head coach Sean McDermott of the Buffalo Bills looks on during the second half against the Dallas Cowboys at Highmark Stadium on December 17, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)

Welcome to Week 16 of the 2023 NFL season. Here at Buffalo Sports Page we will attempt to inform and educate our readers about the Buffalo Bills’ upcoming opponent and what each team might do to emerge victorious.

The Bills’ 15th game of 2023 will take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California as they face the Los Angeles Chargers. Here’s what you should know:

LAS VEGAS, NV - DECEMBER 14: Austin Ekeler #30 of the Los Angeles Chargers runs the ball during an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on December 14, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

BOLTS’ OFFENSE AGGRESSIVE AND TALENTED BUT UNDERMANNED

During his time as an assistant coach with the Buffalo Bills from 2015-16, former Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn preferred a running game predicated on man-blocking schemes and gap/power principles with guards and tackles pulling around the edge. He and ex-offensive coordinators Ken Whisenhunt, Shane Steichen and Joe Lombardi brought that approach, plus a vertical passing game based off Coryell system concepts to Los Angeles, and it has been kept along with a few tweaks by current play caller Kellen Moore.

Quarterback Justin Herbert, while slightly overlooked coming out of Oregon and stuck in the shadows of Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa in his draft year, has shown to be a worthy successor to Philip Rivers. A mobile signal-caller with intelligence, a strong arm and improved ball placement, it was widely believed that the Ducks’ conservative system held Herbert back a bit and more creative minds could bring out the best in him, and so far that has been the case. He’s also shown to be disciplined, plays well within structure and has a good sense of timing and rhythm.

However, Herbert is out for the rest of the season after suffering an injury to a finger on his throwing hand and has been replaced by backup Easton Stick. Stick, a fifth-year signal caller out of North Dakota State, while not the most physically gifted quarterback (lacking a strong arm, size and aggressiveness), has shown intelligence and poise while attempting to get rid of the ball quickly. He’ll also try and avoid a pass rush (and gets caught at times looking at incoming defenders) rather than hanging in the pocket and trying to make plays down the field.

Herbert and Stick typically have a plethora of options at their disposal. The consistently overlooked Keenan Allen is one of the league’s best route runners when healthy (he excels on slants and pivot/whip routes) and understands how to play off opposing cornerbacks’ leverage. Counterpart Mike Williams is a solid downfield threat and physical red zone target, Josh Palmer and rookie Quinton Johnston both bring speed to the table and Gerald Everett remains one of the game’s most unappreciated tight ends. This group especially does well out of stack alignments, but Allen and Williams won’t be available this week because of injuries.

Running back Austin Ekeler, who is a shifty ball-carrier and a threat as a pass-catcher out of the backfield and while split out wide, also has a nose for the end zone having scored double-digits in total touchdowns in three of the last five years. He operates behind an offensive line made up of Rashawn Slater, Zion Johnson, Cory Linsley (out with a heart issue and replaced by Will Clapp), Jamaree Salyer and Trey Pipkins III.

While 10th in passing the Chargers rank just 17th in scoring, 15th in total yards and 27th in rushing.

Inglewood, CA, Sunday, November 12, 2023 - Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (26) is gang tackled by Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Khalil Mack (52), linebacker Eric Kendricks (6) and safety Derwin James Jr. (3) at SoFi Stadium. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

CHARGERS’ DEFENSE ALSO BANGED UP AND UNDERACHIEVING

After four years of executing Gus Bradley’s Cover Three zone philosophy, ex-head coach Brandon Staley brought a different approach to the Bolts in 2021. Staley, a former assistant under Vic Fangio and John Fox (and play caller with the Rams), favored a four-man pass rush and two-deep safety looks out of a 3-4 with well-disguised hybrid coverages that feature man and zone concepts – but mainly relied on Cover Four, or “quarters” coverage with each defensive back dividing the field into fourths and matchup principles to take away vertical concepts.

This approach has been gaining in popularity in recent years throughout the NFL. According to Smart Football’s Chris B. Brown, “It’s the most important defensive scheme of the past decade…. At first glance, Cover 4 looks like an anti-pass prevent tactic, with four secondary defenders playing deep. But therein lies its magic. The four defenders are actually playing a matchup zone concept, in which the safety reads the tight end or inside receiver. If an offensive player lined up inside releases on a short pass route or doesn’t release into the route, the safety can help double-team the outside receiver. If the inside receiver breaks straight downfield, it becomes more like man coverage. This variance keeps quarterbacks guessing and prevents defenses from being exploited by common pass plays like four verticals, which killed eight-man fronts. The real key to Cover 4, however, is that against the run both safeties become rush defenders (remember, the outside cornerbacks play deep). This allows defenses to play nine men in the box against the run – a hat-tip to the 46’s overwhelming force.”

The cornerbacks who play in these coverages for the Chargers are Asante Samuel Jr., Michael Davis and Deane Leonard. Samuel Jr. is a spitting image of his father, former New England Patriot and Philadelphia Eagle Asante Samuel – a gambling ballhawk who excels in man and zone coverage and takes chances to get interceptions. More often than not, he usually guesses right. Safety Derwin James is versatile enough to play as a deep centerfielder and as a box safety and Alohi Gilman is the other starter next to him. This group has had a tendency to give up a lot of big plays in the passing game this season.

Up front the Bolts are anchored by Austin Johnson, Nick Williams and Morgan Fox (Sebastian Joseph-Day, a talented run stopper, was suddenly released a few days ago) while Joey Bosa – out this week due to injury – and Khalil Mack make up one of pro football’s best pass rush combinations. At the second level, L.A.’s linebackers are composed of former first-round pick Kenneth Murray and Eric Kendricks. Murray is a sideline-to-sideline playmaker and is an A-plus athlete whose recognition of formations is up-and-down.

This unit may have been the root cause of Staley’s firing a week ago – they allowed 63 points to the Raiders on a Thursday night and are among the NFL’s bottom-five teams in points, passing yardage and total yardage surrendered. They’re sixth in sacks and so-so against the run (18th) but have allowed 146 rushing yards a game in their last six outings and have given up 718 yards after the catch, the second-highest total in the league. As a result, the Chargers have lost five of their last six games.

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 17: Greg Rousseau #50 and Leonard Floyd #56 of the Buffalo Bills celebrate after a sack by Rousseau during the third quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at Highmark Stadium on December 17, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)

BUFFALO’S DEFENSE USUALLY ELITE, BUT UNDERGOING CHANGES IN 2023

For most of head coach Sean McDermott’s time in Buffalo, the Bills’ defense – led by longtime stalwarts Tre’Davious White, Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, Matt Milano and Ed Oliver – has been one of the league’s best in the regular season. Points allowed (second in the NFL in that category in 2022), total yards per game allowed (sixth), rushing yards surrendered (fifth), takeaways (tied for fourth), interceptions (tied for fourth) and red zone defense (second) have generally been the categories that the Bills have excelled at (last year’s 15th ranking against the pass not withstanding).

Buffalo, however, was inconsistent in two areas – creating a consistent pass rush and, from time to time, stopping the run. These issues are mainly caused by poor tackling (a year ago their missed and broken tackle percentage were among the highest in the NFL), a lack of gap integrity and a lack of versatility along the defensive line. This problem came up again this year against the Jets in Week One, where the Bills allowed 172 yards on the ground but a week later they held Josh Jacobs – last year’s rushing champion – to -2 yards on nine carries, the first time a reigning rushing champion was held to negative yards in a game according to ESPN.

To address this over the years, McDermott and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier (who has taken this season off, leaving McDermott to call the defensive plays) have brought in more talent. Out went names like Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison, Star Lotulelei, Carlos “Boogie” Basham and Harrison Phillips, and in came talented and versatile linemen like Greg Rousseau, A.J. Epenesa (who earlier this season became the first Bills defensive lineman to return an interception for a touchdown since Aaron Schobel in 2009), Da’Quan Jones and Tim Settle, and the return of former Bills like Jordan Phillips (out with a wrist injury) and Shaq Lawson were also welcomed additions. This season Buffalo has signed veterans such as Leonard Floyd, Kaylon “Poona” Ford and Linval Joseph to help out, and they’ve fit like a glove – especially Floyd, whose length and athleticism were needed on the edge (he has 10.5 sacks, the most of any Bill since Lorenzo Alexander in 2016). They’ll be needed even more after Jones, perhaps their best run-stuffing lineman, tore a pectoral muscle against Jacksonville but he is close to returning to play.

Beyond improving against the run, the Bills had also lacked an elite pass rusher off the edge who could command double teams on a consistent basis since Mario Williams was employed nearly 10 years ago. With this in mind, in 2022 general manager Brandon Beane signed future Hall of Famer Von Miller. But Miller suffered a torn ACL after putting up eight sacks in 11 games and missed the first four games of this season while recovering on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. He’s back now and on a snap count as he shakes off the rust, but his return is good news regardless. With Miller the Bills were fourth in the NFL in pressure rate with four or less pass rushers in 2022, without him they were 27th in that category – however their pressure rate and sack percentage has been among the best in the league thus far even without Miller.

Schematically the Bills’ defense mostly relies on basic zone coverages after the snap (they’re usually among the top units in the NFL in usage of Cover Two, Four and Six) but before the snap it is complex – safety rotations to disguise their intentions keep opposing quarterbacks guessing and selective pressure looks at the line of scrimmage and coverage exchanges are the team’s calling cards.

Those blitz looks usually happen in the A-gaps with the smaller, but smart, speedy and athletic Milano and Terrell Bernard (replacing the departed Tremaine Edmunds) to confuse opposing offensive lines and quarterbacks, but they rarely send five or more pass rushers – their favorite blitz tactic besides A-gappers are four-man zone exchanges. Bernard has stepped up to the challenge so far, leading Buffalo in tackles and recording two sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery against Washington – becoming the first NFL player to do so in one game since Brian Urlacher in 2007. Milano, however, is out for the foreseeable future after suffering a broken leg and a knee injury against the Jaguars, so backups Tyrel Dodson and rookie Dorian Williams will need to pick up the slack. So far they’ve struggled to defend the run well because of a lack of experience and not diagnosing those plays at the line of scrimmage (especially Williams) and Dodson is limited athletically but has come on as of late.

The Bills mainly utilize nickel personnel, as evidenced by Buffalo using five defensive backs between 90 and 100 percent of their snaps since 2020. They did use nine snaps of dime against Kansas City in Week Seven last year – a matchup that saw them rely on three-man rushes and Milano utilizing a spy technique on Patrick Mahomes, and that setup has been relied upon again since Week Eight with three safeties to help offset the loss of Milano in pass coverage. Generally it features Hyde and ex-Ram Taylor Rapp on the back end and Poyer near the line of scrimmage.

White, one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, was back to full form after tearing his ACL against the New Orleans Saints two years ago but is injured again – this time after rupturing his Achilles tendon against Miami in Week Four. Opposite him at the other boundary corner spot were second-year man Christian Benford, Dane Jackson and Kaiir Elam, who has underwhelmed so far as a pro.

Slot corner Taron Johnson remains elite, but with White’s upper-echelon ability to play both man and zone coverage gone, will McDermott lean on more zone from Jackson, Elam, Benford, Johnson, Josh Norman and newly-acquired Rasul Douglas than they ever have? It would make sense, especially given that Douglas and Norman are primarily zone corners. Douglas, an ex-Green Bay Packer and Philadelphia Eagle, has great size and length, is versatile and a gambler – he can take chances because he understands route combinations very well (he had two interceptions and a fumble recovery against New York, the first Bill to do so in a game since Kurt Schulz in 1998).

Hyde and Poyer have reunited to form perhaps the league’s best duo on the back end after being in and out of the lineup with various injuries throughout 2022, and the rangy and physical but inconsistent Damar Hamlin has also returned to full health after suffering a cardiac arrest episode against Cincinnati in Week 16. Hyde, however, will miss a second straight game after suffering a stinger against the Chiefs.

Special teams were also solid for the Bills in 2022, having been 13th in punt return average and sixth in kick return average (which was boosted by Nyheim Hines’ two kick returns for scores in Week 18, the first player in Bills history to return two kicks for scores in one game and the first kick return for a touchdown by a Bill in three years) and were 18th and third in covering punts and kicks, respectively. However, Hines was lost for the season after a knee injury was sustained during the summer and the team allowed a punt return for a touchdown in overtime in Week One – the first time an NFL game ended on a punt return score since 2011.

Through 14 games Buffalo is fourth in points allowed, 12th in total yards allowed, ninth against the pass, 15th versus the run, fifth in sacks despite blitzing among the least of any NFL team and tied for second in takeaways. Their nine sacks and four picks against Washington allowed them to be the first team to put up those numbers in a game since the 1985 Dallas Cowboys and combined for six sacks and four turnovers against the Jets in Week 11 – they also held them without a first down on 11 third down tries, the first time since 1987 the Bills have prevented an opponent from converting on third down. They also held Dallas, the highest-scoring offense in the NFL a week ago, to just 10 points.

As well as they’ve played, however, their injuries have taken a toll. The Bills have given up tying or go-ahead drives in the final two minutes in four of their six losses – meaning they have struggled to close out games. As a result, they have gone 3-6 in one-score games (Buffalo was 7-3 in one-score outings a year ago).

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 17: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills hands the ball off to James Cook #4 against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half at Highmark Stadium on December 17, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. The Bills won 31-10. (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images)

BILLS’ OFFENSE AN UPPER-ECHELON UNIT, BUT REBOUNDING AFTER SLUMPING

Led by quarterback Josh Allen and a cadre of gifted pass-catchers the Bills have boasted one of the NFL’s elite offenses for the first time since the K-Gun was running roughshod over the league 30 years ago. Allen’s improved processing skills, ball placement, patience within the pocket and touch on passes have allowed Buffalo to become one of the most feared attacks in pro football (he was second in passing and total touchdowns and seventh in yards in 2022).

His core of targets is talented. Stefon Diggs is an exceptional route runner who excels in making contested catches and operates well out of bunch and stack formations. His presence along with the physical but inconsistent Gabriel Davis has balanced out Buffalo’s wide receiver corps. But one element – speed – was lacking a year ago, so the Bills addressed this by letting veterans Jamison Crowder, Cole Beasley, Isaiah McKenzie and John Brown walk and brought in names like Trent Sherfield, Deonte Harty and Andy Isabella to go along with second-year man Khalil Shakir. Tight end Dawson Knox is now joined by rookie first-round pick Dalton Kincaid from Utah, and their diverse skillsets should allow the Bills to throw curveballs at opponents with multiple tight end sets – Kincaid has lived up to the hype with 61 receptions, the most by any Bills rookie since Sammy Watkins in 2014 and is seven catches from tying Pete Metzelaars for the franchise record in catches by a tight end in one season.

The Bills’ offensive line is composed of Dion Dawkins, former Cowboy Connor McGovern, Mitch Morse, rookie O’Cyrus Torrence and Spencer Brown. This crew along with fullback Reggie Gilliam has mainly executed outside zone runs along with zone-reads, pin-and-pull concepts, traps, counters, split inside zone and sprint draw plays sprinkled in for running back James Cook. Cook has taken on more of a featured role and played well since Devin Singletary left for Houston and is backed up by physical ex-Patriot Damien Harris (out with a concussion and sprained neck) and veteran Latavius Murray, who has rushed for a touchdown with six NFL teams – tied with Adrian Peterson for the most all-time. Former Jaguar and Buccaneer Leonard Fournette, a bruising type, was also signed to the team’s practice squad and can catch out of the backfield along with ex-Jet Ty Johnson.

The starting front five had been iffy in providing push in the running game and in pass protection over the last couple of years but has become a strength for most of this season. Most of the team’s rushing production came from Allen’s legs and few came from their backs in the past – the Bills’ rushing attempts per game in 2022, 18.2, was last in the NFL but that number has increased this year. Rushing for 266 yards against Dallas, it was the most such yardage under Sean McDermott since 2017 and the Bills have averaged 37 minutes of possession in their last four games. Additionally, in Week One against New York Buffalo surrendered five sacks, tied for the fifth-most in Allen’s career, but has been taken down just 19 times total in 14 outings – the best mark in pro football so far.

Since 2018 Buffalo’s passing offense has been a Patriots-style system built upon concepts involving option and crossing routes from the slot, downfield routes from the outside, run-pass options (especially in the red zone), designed quarterback runs to take advantage of Allen’s mobility, deep dropbacks and alignments that create favorable matchups and some trick plays with jet/orbit motion and sweeps. They’ve also used plenty of pre-snap motion and shifts – in the past it was mostly out of “11” personnel groupings (one back, one tight end and three wide receivers) and “10” personnel (one back, no tight ends, four receivers) – and will also go no-huddle from time to time to limit the opposition’s defensive calls.

The Bills got away from those concepts for most of 2023 and tried to rely on their talent winning one-on-one matchups instead of having the scheme help them, but have returned to them the last four weeks with a season-high usage in motion, designed passes to running backs and route combinations with defined reads for Allen so he can play within structure. They have helped on third down, especially against Philadelphia, where he went 12 for 19 on third and medium or longer – the best of any signal caller in 20 years.

The Bills’ multi-receiver sets were traditionally their offensive calling card. In 2020 they used four wide receivers or more 155 times – the second-most in the NFL at the time – and they utilized someone in motion on 43 percent of their offensive snaps, a huge increase from their 25 percent rate in 2019. Former offensive coordinator Brian Daboll – now the head coach of the New York Giants – also called for a passing play on 64 percent of their first downs, according to ESPN Stats and Information – no team with a winning record in the last 20 years did it more than Buffalo – and that rate continued in 2021 and ’22 with “11” personnel used on nearly three-quarters of their plays.

Buffalo’s expected usage of “12” personnel (one back, two tight ends) has gone up a bit with the employment of Knox and Kincaid. They were last in the NFL in usage of that grouping a year ago (three percent – it has gone down again after injuries to Knox and Kincaid throughout the year), and their amount of play-action passes has dropped after being a top-four team in those concepts used in 2020 and ’21 and 25th a year ago – especially while under center, which when utilized helps the Bills be one of the most efficient play-action teams in football. It also gives Diggs time to set up double moves, masks any pass protection weaknesses and improves their timing, rhythm and efficiency.

For everything the Bills did right on offense last year (first in third down conversion percentage, second in points scored and in total yards per game, fifth in passing, seventh in rushing and ninth in red zone percentage), two flaws remained – they were one the league’s sloppiest teams with 27 turnovers and the team’s ability to create sustained offense slipped during the stretch run of the season. Allen had 14 interceptions and 13 fumbles in the regular season and had three turnovers in the wild card playoff round versus the Dolphins (mainly due to perceiving pressure that wasn’t there and playing too fast). Those issues have persisted in 2023 as Allen threw an interception in nine straight games, a career-high and the most of any Bills quarterback since Jim Kelly from 1995-96.

In 2022 the Bills won eight in a row (including playoffs, their longest streak since eight in 1990) and included winning six straight non-Sunday games – the first team to have done so since the 1962 Boston Patriots. Additionally Buffalo lost just three games by a total of eight points and tied the franchise mark for wins in a season with 13 (along with the 1990, ’91 and 2020 teams).

Through 14 weeks the Bills are sixth in scoring and rushing, fourth in total yards and eighth in passing yards. They’re also among the best in the league in third down rate (first) and red zone efficiency (third), yet their offense performed poorly over a six-game stretch where they averaged just 20.5 points per game. It resulted in offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey getting the boot in favor of quarterbacks coach and former Carolina Panthers play caller Joe Brady. Brady’s work is cut out for him – he needs to create better synergy between Buffalo’s running game and play-action plays and get back to more shifts, motions and under-center formations. Which he’s done so far, but it remains to be seen if it will continue moving forward.

Punter Sam Martin and kicker Tyler Bass have also been their usual excellent selves, especially Martin as of late. While McDermott elected to punt four times in fourth-and-one situations against Tampa (according to OptaSTATS, no other NFL team in the last 30 years got within a yard of or past midfield on each of their last four drives of a game and punted all four times), Martin answered the call by pinning the Bucs inside their own 10-yard line three times.

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 17: Stefon Diggs #14 of the Buffalo Bills catches the ball as Stephon Gilmore #21 of the Dallas Cowboys defends during the first half at Highmark Stadium on December 17, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. The Bills won 31-10. (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images)

STATS AND MUSINGS

·         Allen has compiled 38 career regular season games with a passer rating of 100 or better and has reached that mark in 21 of his last 36 outings. In those games Buffalo’s record is 35-3, and he had a perfect quarterback rating against Miami in Week Four – Doug Flutie was the only other Bills passer to accomplish that feat in one game.

·         Allen has tied Steve Young for most career regular season games (eight) with 300 or more passing yards and 50 or more rushing yards. He’s second all-time in games with a passing and rushing score (42) – behind just Cam Newton (64) – and became the first quarterback with 10 games of a rushing and receiving touchdown in one season.

·         Buffalo’s franchise quarterback has eight career games with three passing touchdowns and a rushing score – only Drew Brees and Tom Brady (nine) have more all-time. He also became the first signal-caller to throw for 250 yards, run for 50, toss three touchdowns, run for one, complete 80 percent of his throws and win a game in league history against the Rams in Week One last year. His completion percentage against Miami in Week Four was 84, the highest in team history.

·         Allen has moved past Young for second all-time in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback – only Newton has more (75).

·         Allen and McDermott have defeated every team in the NFL at least once except two – Arizona and Philadelphia. Allen’s also become the only signal caller with 4,000 passing yards and 750 rushing yards in a season twice (he’s the only one to do so once).

·         Diggs and Allen have connected for a touchdown 37 times, second on the Bills’ all-time list (Jim Kelly and Andre Reed have 65). Diggs also tied Bill Brooks’ team record for touchdowns in a season in 2022 (11), is fourth in franchise history in scores and receptions and has surpassed Frank Lewis for fifth in team annals in yards. He is the first Bills receiver with four straight 1,000 yard seasons.

·         Speaking of Diggs, he became the sixth player ever with 100 receptions and 1,200 receiving yards in three straight seasons – joining Jerry Rice, Marvin Harrison, Herman Moore, Antonio Brown and Michael Thomas. He’s also the first to do so in each of his first three years with one team and with nine catches could tie Keenan Allen, Wes Welker, Andre Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald for the second-most 100-catch seasons ever with five.

·         Secondary target notes – last year Knox moved past Jay Riemersma for second in team annals with 21 receiving scores by a tight end. He’s behind only Pete Metzelaars (25) and became the fifth Bill with five or more receiving scores in the playoffs all-time while also catching a touchdown in five straight games (only Travis Kelce and Rob Gronkowski have had longer streaks among tight ends). Meanwhile, Davis has the second-most receiving touchdowns in team playoff history (six), tying James Lofton. Reed had nine.

·         Since 2017 the Bills are 54-8 when leading at halftime and Week Six versus the Giants was the first game in which they were held scoreless through three quarters and won since December 1993 against Philadelphia (it was first time it had happened at home since 1987 – also against the Giants).

·         Miller is the first defensive player in league history to sign two contracts worth at least $100 million. He is also vying to be the second player to win a Super Bowl with three different teams (Matt Millen was the first), has moved past Robert Mathis for 19th on the all-time sack list and is two quarterback takedowns away from tying Dwight Freeney for 18th.

·         Buffalo’s point differential was plus-169 in 2022 – the second-best in the NFL and second-best in franchise history (2021) – and recorded 5,000 yards of offense for the third time in team history, joining the 1991 and 1975 teams.

·         After beating Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson in 2022, according to Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports Allen became the first quarterback to defeat three former MVPs in a four-game span since Troy Aikman downed Dan Marino, Young and Brett Favre in 1996. He’s also the first signal caller to beat three former MVPs in one month since David Woodley in September 1981.

·         The Bills have compiled a road winning percentage of .657 (25-13) since 2019. Buffalo is also 16-2 in December and January in the regular season since 2020 – the best mark in the NFL.

·         The Bills rushed for 100 yards in every game but one last year. They clinched a playoff berth for the fourth straight year, which tied the second-longest streak in franchise history (1963-66, six years from 1988-93 is the longest) and was the fifth time McDermott clinched a playoff berth, trailing just Marv Levy (eight) for the most. Buffalo also won a third straight AFC East title, which is their longest streak since 1988-91.

·         McDermott’s record against the AFC East since 2017 is 25-15 – a winning percentage of .625. He also became the 11th coach all-time to make the playoffs five times in his first six years – joining Andy Reid (PHI), John Harbaugh (BAL), John Madden (OAK), Mike Holmgren (GB), John Robinson (LAR), Paul Brown (CLE), Dennis Green (MIN), Chuck Knox (LAR), George Seifert (49ers) and Bill Cowher (PIT).

·         Buffalo hasn’t won a road playoff game since the 1992 AFC title game in Miami – they’re 0-7 since.

·         Buffalo’s regular season record over the last three years with Allen is 45-18, and he’s 60-31 all-time as a Bill. Allen is 20-6 against the NFC in his career.

·         Since 2020 the Bills’ record coming off a loss is 14-4 and in Allen’s career they’re 23-6 after a loss – a .793 winning percentage, the highest among NFL quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era (Joe Montana is second with a 33-10 mark).

·         McDermott is the third coach in Bills history to appear in 100 games with the franchise along with Levy and Lou Saban. He’s also moved past Saban for second in franchise annals in wins and the Bills haven’t lost coming off a bye week under him (in fact, they haven’t lost in their first game after a bye since 2014). However, he’s also 1-6 in overtime including playoffs.

·         Since 2020 Buffalo has the best home record in the NFL – 30-8 including playoffs.

·         Allen’s career record in primetime is 14-6 and he and McDermott are 5-1 on Sunday Night Football. They’re also 6-1 on Thursdays, but just 3-4 on Monday Night Football. Tonight’s game will be the fourth primetime game on a Saturday in franchise history (2000 at Seattle, ’05 vs. Denver and ’22 vs. Miami).

·         Allen’s thrown a touchdown in 22 straight games, a team record. He’s also broken Patrick Mahomes’ record for most scores by a quarterback in his first six seasons and he and Mahomes have the most total touchdowns in the NFL since 2018.

·         The Bills have won four games by 25 or more points this year – tied for their most ever in one season. They’ve also lost all six of their games by six points or less, the first team to do so since the 2015 Baltimore Ravens and ’12 Carolina Panthers.

·         Buffalo became the first team ever to convert 10 third downs, have 500 yards of offense and win the turnover battle and still lose when it happened against the Eagles. Teams were 39-0 before that, according to ESPN.

·         Cook’s usage has gone up in the last five games, posting 100 or more scrimmage yards in each outing and has accomplished that feat eight times in 2023. He’s also third in the NFL in scrimmage yardage behind the 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey and Miami’s Tyreek Hill, and is second in rushing. Cook also became the first Bill with 200 or more scrimmage yards, a rushing and a receiving score in a game since Thurman Thomas in 1991 and only the fourth Bill ever to accomplish the feat (Thomas in ’91 and ‘89, Greg Bell in ’84 and O.J. Simpson in ‘75).

·         Allen is just eight rushing touchdowns away from moving past O.J. Simpson and 17 away from surpassing Thurman Thomas for second and first all-time, respectively, in Bills annals.

·         Because of quirky scheduling practices prior to the Houston Texans joining the NFL in 2002 (forcing realignment), the Bills and Chargers didn’t play against each other at all between 1986-97 – meaning such notable names as Levy, Kelly and Steve Tasker never faced the Chargers as members of Buffalo. Also as a result, the Bills have lost their last six games in the Chargers’ home stadium and haven’t won there since 1981.