TONY’S TAKE – A PREVIEW OF BILLS-COLTS

by Tony Fiorello

Football: Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott in action, looks on vs Miami Dolphins at Highmark Stadium. Orchard Park, NY 11/3/2024 CREDIT: Erick W. Rasco (Photo by Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X164637 TK1)

Welcome to Week 10 of the 2024 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’ 10th game of 2024 will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana as they face the Indianapolis Colts. Here’s what you should know:

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - NOVEMBER 03: Joe Flacco #15 of the Indianapolis Colts hands the ball off to Jonathan Taylor #28 during the first quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on November 03, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

COLTS’ OFFENSE UNEVEN

A year ago Colts general manager Chris Ballard replaced coach Frank Reich with one of his former colleagues in then-Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen. Steichen, who worked with Reich as members of the Chargers’ staff from 2014-15 and also called plays for another Reich protégé in Nick Sirianni while in Philadelphia for two years (culminating in a run to Super Bowl LVII, has kept some things the same in Indianapolis while changing others.

The Colts’ offensive system derives from Doug Pederson’s scheme, who Reich worked for in Philly during their Super Bowl championship season in 2017 – and therefore, it also comes from Andy Reid, who Pederson both played and coached for. It’s a West Coast-style unit that is built off misdirection concepts, quick underneath throws (especially on slant-flat concepts), screens, bootlegs, run-pass options and occasional downfield route combinations – mostly outside the numbers.

While that part remains similar, a constant theme in Indy since the retirement of Andrew Luck has been the consistent changing of quarterbacks. After recycling through names such as Jacoby Brissett, Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan, in 2023 Ballard and Steichen drafted Anthony Richardson from the University of Florida.

The fourth pick in the entire draft, Richardson boasts impressive athletic traits – size (6’4”), speed (a 4.4 time in the 40-yard dash) and a strong arm, and has been compared to former league MVP Cam Newton. The issues with Richardson, however, are his accuracy (his completion percentage this season has been a horrendous 44 percent) and his inability to make routine, consistent plays from full-field progressions – hence his benching in favor of 17-year veteran Joe Flacco.

Flacco, the ex-Baltimore Raven, underwent a revival in Cleveland a year ago. 2023’s Comeback Player of the Year, he remains a capable quarterback with size and strength, some mobility and can still make most NFL throws – the former Super Bowl MVP became the first quarterback ever to throw for more than 250 yards and multiple touchdowns in each of his first five games with one team while a member of the Browns.

Indy’s best offensive threat is running back Jonathan Taylor. One of the NFL’s best at his position, his patience, vision and agility make him an ideal fit on inside zone and duo runs and screen passes.

Michael Pittman Jr., a former second-round draft pick and the son of former NFL running back Michael Pittman, is a threat with his size and physicality (and the Colts like to use Pittman on short routes and posts to maximize his ability to create yards after the catch). Slot receiver Josh Downs is just 5’9” but is quick and explosive with good ability to create yards after the catch and has great stop and start ability, and Alec Pierce and gifted rookie Adonai Mitchell back them up – curiously the Colt have had the worst catch percentage in the NFL at 57.2 percent (Pittman will not play due to injury).

Indy also uses two or three tight end sets on a high number of their plays and Mo Alie-Cox and Kylen Granson get most of the snaps there, with Alie-Cox being effective on ‘wham’ blocks.

The leaders of the Colts’ offensive line are left guard Quinton Nelson – one of pro football’s best at his position – and center Ryan Kelly, who is currently injured. They are joined by right tackle Braden Smith, left tackle Bernhard Ralmann and right guard Dalton Tucker, and this group has struggled to give a consistent push in the run game.

Naturally, Indy’s offensive production has been uneven. They come into this game 22nd in points scored, total yards and passing yards, and are 16th in rushing.

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - SEPTEMBER 08: Kenny Moore II #23 of the Indianapolis Colts celebrates after a sack by DeForest Buckner #99 in the second quarter of the game against the Houston Texans at Lucas Oil Stadium on September 08, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

INDY’S DEFENSE GOOD IN SOME AREAS BUT NOT SO MUCH IN OTHERS

Steichen retained defensive coordinator Gus Bradley upon his hiring, and given his reputation it’s easy to see why. Bradley’s philosophy originated with the Seattle Seahawks, where he and Pete Carroll popularized the Cover Three zone. The scheme typically aligns one safety deep in the center of the field and another playing close to the line of scrimmage in run support while the outside cornerbacks deploy deep zone coverage, the linebackers control the middle of the field and the flats and the front four defensive linemen rush the quarterback. Blitzes are rarely used – this approach allows defenders to play fast and rely on execution rather than outsmarting the opposition.

Indy’s defense is led by their defensive line. Two-time All-Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner is the team’s lynchpin here, as he is adept at both stuffing the run and rushing the quarterback. He’s also starting to get some help as the Colts have invested resources into getting younger and better along their front four over the years by drafting Laiatu Latu from UCLA, Kwity Paye from Michigan and Dayo Odeyingbo from Vanderbilt. Latu has some bend and power in his game with good hand usage, Paye can play both defensive end spots and boasts strength and leverage while Odeyingbo is long and athletic who can also play nickel defensive tackle. Buckner’s sidekick inside, Grover Stewart, is a good one-technique run defender and Zaire Franklin, E.J. Speed and Grant Stuard are the team’s linebackers.

The Colts have little depth in their secondary. While their best defensive back is one of the NFL’s better slot defenders in Kenny Moore II, who can blitz and cover at a high level, both of Indy’s outside cornerbacks – Jaylon Jones and Samuel Womack III – are beatable. Julian Blackmon and Nick Cross, who has limitations in coverage, are the safeties and have gotten torched in coverage this year.

Indianapolis has gotten gashed by the run this year and can be beaten over the middle of the field on play-action. They’ve given up a completion percentage of 70 percent going into Sunday’s game, the fourth-highest figure in the NFL and are 12th in points allowed, 29th in total yards surrendered, 26th versus the pass and second-last against the run. They are, however, tied for fourth in takeaways.

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 03: Greg Rousseau #50 of the Buffalo Bills sacks Tua Tagovailoa #1 of the Miami Dolphins during the first quarter of the game at Highmark Stadium on November 03, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)

BUFFALO’S DEFENSE USUALLY ELITE, BUT UNDERGOING CHANGES IN 2024

For most of head coach Sean McDermott’s time in Buffalo, the Bills’ defense has been one of the league’s best. Points allowed (fourth in the NFL in that category in 2023), total yards per game allowed (ninth), passing yards given up (seventh), rushing yards surrendered (15th), takeaways (third), interceptions (tied for fourth) and sacks (fourth, tied for second-most in their history with the 2014 team) have generally been the categories that the Bills have excelled at over the years, with last season’s sack total being the best in the McDermott era.

2024, however, will be a year of transition for the Bills on defense. Due to age and salary cap complications, out the door are longtime veterans such as Micah Hyde, Shaq Lawson, Jordan Poyer (Dolphins), Tre’Davious White (Baltimore Ravens), Leonard Floyd (San Francisco 49ers, who had 10.5 sacks a year ago – the most of any Bill since Lorenzo Alexander in 2016), Linval Joseph (Dallas Cowboys), Tim Settle (Houston Texans), Kaylon “Poona” Ford (Los Angeles Chargers), Tyrel Dodson (Seattle Seahawks) and Dane Jackson (Carolina Panthers).

Including names from the past such as Kyle Williams, Jerry Hughes, Mario Addison, Star Lotulelei, Carlos “Boogie” Basham and Harrison Phillips, that’s a lot of turnover over the last eight years – none more so than this past offseason. The answer, according to McDermott, general manager Brandon Beane and new defensive coordinator Bobby Babich (who will get the opportunity to call plays this season) is youth and cheap veterans to provide cost-effective depth.

Some of those younger players – albeit young veterans since they are in their fourth and fifth professional seasons, respectively – who will be asked to take on a greater role include Greg Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa, who can line up both on the edge and go inside in passing situations. Da’Quan Jones, perhaps their best run-stuffing lineman, is back healthy after tearing a pectoral muscle against Jacksonville last October and is effective on T-T stunts with Ed Oliver, an excellent gap penetrator.

They will be backed up by versatile free agent pickups Austin Johnson (who comes from the Chargers after stints with Tennessee and the Giants), Dawuane Smoot (Jacksonville) and Casey Toohill (Washington) along with rookies DeWayne Carter and Javon Solomon. Toohill is a core special teamer who reminds some of a more athletic Trent Murphy due to his length, height and movement skills while Solomon has been compared to a younger Elvis Dumervil with his lack of height yet long arms and strength and explosiveness off the edge. Smoot and Carter, however, are both out with injuries, leading the Bills to bring back two familiar faces in Jordan Phillips and Quinton Jefferson.

Over the years Buffalo has been inconsistent in two areas – creating a consistent pass rush (last year not withstanding) and, from time to time, stopping the run. These issues are mainly caused by poor tackling (their missed and broken tackle percentage has been among the highest in the NFL over the years), a lack of gap integrity and speed. They also gave up 4.6 yards a carry on inside runs last year, 30th in the NFL. Another issue was the Bills giving up tying or go-ahead drives in the final two minutes in four of their six losses last year – meaning they struggled to close out games.

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 10 years ago. With this in mind, two years ago 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 last season while recovering on the PUP list. He’s healthy now and was on a snap count as he shook off the rust (although by his own admission he shouldn’t have played in 2023) but has provided flashes of his old All-Pro ability and speed.

Schematically the Bills’ defense mostly relies on basic zones after the snap (they’re usually among the top units in the NFL in usage of coverages with two high safeties such as 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 Matt Milano and Terrell Bernard (who replaced the departed Tremaine Edmunds last year) to confuse opposing offensive lines and quarterbacks, but Buffalo rarely sends five or more pass rushers – their favorite blitz tactic besides A-gappers are four-man zone exchanges. Bernard has become a good blitzer and coverage ‘backer – his 6.5 sacks in 2023 were the most by an off-the-ball linebacker in Bills annals and he became the first NFL player since Seth Joyner in 1991 with six sacks, three picks and three fumble recoveries in a season.

But for the second straight year, Milano is out for the foreseeable future after suffering a major injury – this time a torn bicep –which means backup Dorian Williams will need to pick up the slack. The Bills struggled to defend the run well last year because of a lack of experience by Williams – he’s shown flashes of quickness and burst but was slow to key and diagnose at the line of scrimmage. He also took many false steps and needed to process better while in coverage, but is athletic, long and fluid – which should bode well for his future while improving with more experience game by game.

Additional depth comes from Baylon Spector and rookie Joe Andreessen. Andreessen, a University at Buffalo product who hails from nearby Lancaster, showed excellent diagnostic skills at the line of scrimmage in the preseason while also displaying strong hands, a quick downhill trigger that allows him to shoot gaps well and some speed and range. It helps that the rookie played in a similar role as Milano while in college.

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 more dime personnel after Milano’s injury last year with three safeties to help offset the loss of Milano in pass coverage, and that setup featured Hyde and ex-Ram Taylor Rapp on the back end and Poyer near the line of scrimmage.

With Hyde and Poyer’s elite ability to disguise coverages now gone, the Bills’ safety positions are now manned by Rapp (who is better playing near the line of scrimmage), the rangy and physical but inconsistent Damar Hamlin, veteran pickup Kareem Jackson (who brings physicality and smarts and can play in the box or on the back end), former Minnesota Vikings first round draft pick Lewis Cine and rookie Cole Bishop, who is an underrated and cerebral athlete (Jackson and Cine are both on the practice squad).

At the boundary cornerback spots replacing White and Jackson are Christian Benford and Rasul Douglas, and they are backed up by the tall and physical Ja’Marcus Ingram and Kaiir Elam, who has underwhelmed so far as a pro. 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 led the NFL in takeaways last year with six after he was acquired). Slot corner Taron Johnson remains elite – especially in in the quickness and tackling departments – and he’s backed up by tweener Cam Lewis.

Despite injuries, the Bills’ defense has worked to the tune of 15 takeaways (fourth), eighth in points allowed, 16th against the pass, 17th in total yards allowed and 15th against the run.

Two weeks ago Buffalo held Seattle to just 32 yards rushing and one yard in the first half – the second-fewest ground total they’ve surrendered in a first half this century (-11 in Week 17 versus Indianapolis in 2010).

Football: Buffalo Bills Josh Allen (17) in action, looks over the defense vs Miami Dolphins at Highmark Stadium. Orchard Park, NY 11/3/2024 CREDIT: Erick W. Rasco (Photo by Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X164637 TK1)

BILLS’ UPPER-ECHELON OFFENSE ALSO RETOOLING IN 2024

For four consecutive seasons, the Bills boasted one of the NFL’s elite offenses for the first time since the K-Gun was running roughshod over the league more than 30 years ago. Led by quarterback Josh Allen’s improved processing skills, ball placement, patience within the pocket and touch on passes and a cadre of gifted pass-catchers, they allowed Buffalo to become one of the most feared attacks in pro football (last year Allen was fourth in passing yards and tied for fifth in passing touchdowns while tying for third in rushing scores – leading the league in total yards and touchdowns in the process).

In 2023 the Bills were sixth in scoring, fourth in total yards, seventh in rushing and eighth in passing. They were also fifth in red zone efficiency, yet their offense performed poorly over a six-game stretch where they averaged just 20.5 points per game. It resulted in then-offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey getting the boot in favor of quarterbacks coach and former Carolina Panthers play-caller Joe Brady.

Like their defensive counterparts, the Bills are going through changes on this side of the ball because of age, the salary cap and a new coordinator. With Brady taking over the role full-time, the biggest philosophical question on offense for Buffalo will be how to retain elements of what made them so good in the first place while adding in new and fresh concepts.

Between 2018 and last year, Buffalo’s offense was an Erhardt-Perkins system brought in from New England by then-coordinator Brian Daboll. It was 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 and alignments that create favorable matchups and some trick plays with jet/orbit motion and sweeps. 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 would also go no-huddle from time to time to limit the opposition’s defensive calls.

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. 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 prior 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.

Daboll’s successor, Ken Dorsey, got away from some of those concepts and tried to rely on the talent at his disposal winning one-on-one matchups instead of having the scheme help them get open. Once Brady was promoted, the Bills returned to them. He also included more under-center formations and play-action (which can still stand to increase after being a top-four team in run-fakes in 2020 and ’21), pre-snap shifts, motions and designed passes to running backs and route combinations with defined reads for Allen so he can play within timing and structure.

Brady got his start in the NFL working for the New Orleans Saints and then-coach Sean Payton. Payton himself came from a melting pot of a background including stints running the Erhardt-Perkins scheme for Bill Parcells in Dallas and learning the West Coast offense from Jim Fassel in New York with the Giants and from Jon Gruden during their one-year stint together in Philadelphia in 1997, so Brady will bring a similar approach to the table while likely keeping some things the same in Buffalo.

Their biggest transaction on offense in the spring was trading the aging Stefon Diggs to Houston. Diggs, while never a burner on the outside, was an exceptional route runner who specialized in making contested catches and operated well out of bunch and stack formations – leading him to re-write many of the Bills’ single season receiving records.

In addition to Diggs, Buffalo has let veterans Gabriel Davis, John Brown, Cole Beasley, Isaiah McKenzie, Jamison Crowder, Trent Sherfield and Deonte Harty walk over the years. Many of them were productive, but nothing can last forever – hence the overhaul of the Bills’ wide receiver room in 2024.

The Payton offense is built through having big, physical targets who can get open over the middle of the field, especially on deep in-cuts, or “dig” routes. Payton has employed such players in those roles before like Marques Colston, Jimmy Graham, Michael Thomas and Courtland Sutton, and the drafting of rookie Keon Coleman from Florida State fits the bill for Brady. Coleman, whose game evoked comparisons to Colston, Brandon Marshall and Anquan Boldin coming out of college, brings size and physicality to the boundary ‘X’ position with good body control and strong hands to make contested catches and has some run after the catch ability. He does need to work on his speed, quickness and ability to beat press coverage, but in time he may improve in those areas.

While not a burner at the position (like free agent pickup Mack Hollins, who has similar skills), Coleman will be accentuated by speed in the form of Curtis Samuel, a poor-man’s Mecole Hardman who can line up both in the slot and outside the numbers and take handoffs. That speed was needed since Buffalo was just 28th in the NFL in plays of 20 yards or more last season according to Trumedia, and shifty third-year man Khalil Shakir returns to man the slot with his quickness, sure hands and savviness to get open versus zone coverage.

This group had been struggling to beat man coverage in recent games, and while more motion and bunch alignments may help in this regard Buffalo was lacking a true replacement for Diggs. Enter five-time Pro Bowler Amari Cooper, who was acquired from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a third-round draft pick in 2025. Cooper, who is making less than a million dollars this season, fits what the Bills need both financially and on the field – boasting size, speed, excellent route-running and vertical ability and is deadly on in-breaking patterns over the middle (Cooper and Coleman are both out due to wrist injuries).

Tight end Dawson Knox is joined by second-year man Dalton Kincaid, and their diverse skillsets should allow the Bills to throw curveballs at opponents with multiple tight end sets (so far the usage of “12” personnel – one back, two tight ends and two receivers – has gone up and the usage of “11” has decreased to just 50 percent of their snaps). Kincaid lived up to the hype with 73 receptions a year ago, the most of any Bills rookie and surpassed Pete Metzelaars for the most catches by a Bills tight end in one season. He also became the fourth rookie tight end since 1960 with 70 or more catches in a year.

The Bills’ offensive line is composed of Dion Dawkins, David Edwards, Connor McGovern (taking over at center for the departed Mitch Morse), O’Cyrus Torrence and Spencer Brown. This crew (which last year became the first unit to start every game in a regular season for Buffalo since 1989) along with fullback Reggie Gilliam (also injured) has mainly executed outside zone runs along with zone-reads, pin-and-pull concepts, traps (especially with Dawkins as the puller), counters, split inside zone/duo and sprint draw plays sprinkled in for running back James Cook. Cook, who had a breakout season in his first campaign as the starter, is backed up by physical rookie Ray Davis and ex-Jet Ty Johnson provides valuable depth with his receiving skills.

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. In the past, most of the team’s rushing production came from Allen’s legs and few came from their backs – the Bills’ rushing attempts per game in 2022, 18.2, was last in the NFL but that number jumped to the highest in the NFL after Brady was promoted. Additionally Allen was taken down just 24 times overall in 17 regular season outings, the best mark in pro football, and the team has continued to allow sacks at the league’s lowest rates with 11.

So far that approach has continued in 2024. Buffalo has also carried over their trend of using an extra offensive lineman to help in the running game. Now that Edwards has moved into the starting lineup, that extra guy is Alec Anderson, and through nine games the Bills have had the highest rate of offensive snaps with six linemen on the field (15 percent) – with most of them being called runs, and they also lead the NFL in yards per carry (five) and yards per play with six linemen.

One area the Bills needed to clean up is protecting the ball. Over the last two years they were one the league’s sloppiest teams – Allen had 14 interceptions and 13 fumbles in 2022 and Allen led the NFL with 18 interceptions last year. This year Allen has thrown just two interceptions – a sign of progress in this regard (Allen became the third signal caller in NFL history to start a season with 10 touchdowns and no picks through his team’s first seven games).

While punter Sam Martin and kicker Tyler Bass have been excellent in the past, Bass has been a bit shaky lately. When Martin was named the NFL’s Special Teams Player of the Month in December – the first Bills punter to do so since Brian Moorman in November 2006 – and Bass collected the same honor earlier in the year, it was the first time both Bills specialists have won the award in one season. But Bass’ field goal percentage took a dip in 2023 and hasn’t been great in 2024, to improve he will need to get over whatever mental block is impeding him (he did hit a franchise-record 61-yard field goal to beat Miami last week and is eight-for-eight on field goals in the last minute of the fourth quarter or overtime in his career).

Through nine weeks Buffalo is fourth in scoring, 15th in total yards, 16th in passing and 17th in rushing. But third down taken a dip. After leading the NFL in that category in each of the last two years, they’re near the bottom of the NFL so far and because of this downturn, they’re also among the worst in the league in average offensive snaps per game – a year ago, for reference, they were fifth (although they were eight for 15 on third down two weeks ago and had 38 minutes of ball possession).

Additionally, because of their heavy usage of the run and lack of production on early downs they’ve faced third-and-six or more on most of their drives.

McDermott and Brady also cost themselves a win against the Texans while trying to throw three successive times within their own three-yard line with less than a minute to go and no timeouts. With Houston having all three of their timeouts, three straight runs would have forced Houston to burn them to get the ball back – meaning they wouldn’t have had one to use to stop the clock to set up a game-winning field goal, which happened.

According to ESPN, the Bills became the only team in the last 45 years to be tied or winning in the last minute of the game, inside their own five-yard line and threw three straight passes. They’ll need to learn from that miscue going forward.

Buffalo Bills placekicker Tyler Bass (2) kicks the game-winning field goal against the Miami Dolphins in the final seconds of their NFL game at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (Al Diaz/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

12 STATS TO MUSE OVER

·         The Bills have compiled a road winning percentage of .667 (30-15) since 2019.

·         Since 2020 Buffalo has the best home record in the NFL – 36-9 including playoffs. They’ve also had 15 home wins of 24 points or more since 2020, the most in the NFL in that span.

·         Allen is just two rushing touchdowns away from moving past O.J. Simpson and 10 away from surpassing Thurman Thomas for second and first all-time, respectively, in Bills annals. He can also surpass Travis Henry for fifth in rushing yards and can surpass Jim Kelly for most total touchdowns with his next four.

·         Allen has moved past Joe Ferguson for second in Bils history in passing touchdowns. Jim Kelly is first with 237.

·         According to Trumedia, the Bills faced man coverage on 32.7 percent of their snaps last year – the most in the NFL. However, heavy usage of man coverage isn’t foreign to the Bills’ offense. It’s been a staple against them over the last five years (48 percent in 2019, first, 35 percent in ’20, fifth, 33.3 percent in ’21, fourth and 29.3 percent in ’22, fifth), and it’s been no different in 2024 as they have gone against man coverage on one of the highest figures in the NFL.

·         Allen’s career record is 70-32.

·         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) and has tied Derrick Thomas for 17th on the all-time sack list. 1.5 more will tie him with Rickey Jackson for 16th.

·         Buffalo can start 8-2 for the first time since 1993. They’ve been 7-3 three times in the last five years but have been 8-2 only five times since the merger (they all happened in a six-year span between 1988 and 1993 – each time Buffalo advanced to an AFC Championship Game).

·         The Bills haven’t won in Indianapolis since October 11, 1998 – when Peyton Mannin was a rookie and the Colts were still in the AFC East. In that game, Doug Flutie relieved an injured Rob Johnson and “Flutiemania” was born. The last time the Bills beat them was at home in the 2020 wild card round.

·         McDermott is the 13th coach all-time with 80 wins in his first eight seasons.

·         This will be Buffalo’s last 1 pm kickoff until Week 16 against New England. Three of their next four will be at 4 pm and one last primetime contest at home against San Francisco.

·         10 different Bills have had a touchdown catch this season, the most in the NFL.