by Tony Fiorello

INGLEWOOD, CA - DECEMBER 08: Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott shouts from the sideline in the second half of an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium, December 8, 2024, in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Tony Ding/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Welcome to Week 15 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’ 14th game of 2024 will take place at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan as they face the Detroit Lions. Here’s what you should know:

DETROIT, MI - NOVEMBER 17: Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14), Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5), and Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (26) walk to the sideline after Gibbs scored a touchdown during the first quarter of an NFL regular season football game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Detroit Lions on November 17, 2024 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LIONS’ OFFENSE PRODUCTIVE
Before the 2021 NFL season, new general manager Brad Holmes – originally from the Los Angeles Rams – sought to instill toughness in his team by hiring Dan Campbell as Detroit’s head coach. Campbell, an 11-year NFL veteran and former tight end (not to mention an ex-Lion), has helped the Motor City’s pro franchise make progress in that area and in results on the field, as evidenced last year by the Lions winning their division for the first time in 30 years and winning a playoff game for the first time since 1991 (and just their second playoff victory of the Super Bowl era).
Quarterback Jared Goff, the first overall pick in the 2016 draft who Holmes brought to Detroit in exchange for Matthew Stafford, is very good when it comes to the timing and rhythm portion of the passing game. He has good synchronicity with his receivers, is accurate, intelligent and throws a better deep ball than people realize. However, when under pressure Goff’s footwork can get a bit sloppy and isn’t always at ease when bodies are flying around him – especially when defenders are rushing up the middle.
Goff is also sometimes a tad late when it comes to exploiting coverages. According to SB Nation’s Doug Farrar, “(Goff) throws with anticipation to a degree, but he’s often throwing guys open when they’re already open, meaning that he’s throwing them closed and allowing defensive backs to jump and pick routes. The problem gets worse when his receivers are challenged.”
Fortunately for Goff – who has joined Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Kurt Warner and Brett Favre as the only signal callers to reach a conference championship game with multiple teams since 2000 – he executes an offensive scheme that’s similar to the one he had with the Rams. It’s one with plenty of under-center play-action (no team uses more under-center passes or play-action more than Detroit), shifts, motions, high-low concepts and downfield option routes with defined reads.
Goff has a talented cadre of pass-catchers. Amon-Ra St. Brown has cemented himself as one of the game’s better receivers while sharing targets with deep threat Jameson Williams, former Denver Bronco Tim Patrick and journeyman Allen Robinson. Sam LaPorta, one of the league’s most physically gifted players at his position, has taken over as the starting tight end following the trade of T.J. Hockenson two years ago to the Minnesota Vikings and he and backup Brock Wright have been part of the second-highest usage of “12” personnel (one back, two tight ends) in the league.
Two years after employing a solid running back tandem in Jamall Williams and De’Andre Swift, Detroit let the pair walk in free agency and promptly replaced them with ex-Chicago Bear David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. The two haven’t missed a beat – they’re frequently used on the field at the same time (also known as a “pony” package) and are a classic thunder-and-lightning combination. Montgomery runs with power and has a nose for the end zone while Gibbs has been compared to the New Orleans Saints’ Alvin Kamara. Quick and explosive with good balance and receiving skills, Gibbs complements Montgomery well, as they helped Detroit become the only team in the NFL with two backs who scored at least 10 rushing touchdowns apiece in 2023.
Gibbs and Montgomery run behind an offensive line that has executed mostly outside/wide zone runs, and while that is the team’s foundational run Campbell and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson will also use power plays, traps, sweeps, counters, inside zone, “duo” and pin and pulls as changeup tactics and will throw in some misdirection concepts like end-arounds and reverses as well. It’s anchored by three former first round picks in Taylor Decker, Frank Ragnow and Penei Sewell, and guards Kevin Zeitler and Graham Glasgow complete one of the NFL’s best line combinations.
For the third consecutive year, the Lions are fielding a top-five offense in pro football. First in scoring, sixth in red zone efficiency, second in total yards and time of possession, third in total plays with motion and fourth in rushing, passing and on third down, Detroit has certainly been dangerous.

DETROIT, MI - DECEMBER 05: Brian Branch #32 of the Detroit Lions looks on from the field during an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field on December 5, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
DETROIT’S DEFENSE AGGRESSIVE
For three years, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn – a former NFL cornerback for 15 seasons – had his hands full in trying to turn around this unit. The Lions’ defense didn’t perform consistently and 2023 was no exception as Detroit ended the season 19th in total defense, 27th against the pass, 23rd in points allowed and sacks and 18th in takeaways, but were second against the run.
This season has finally seen Glenn enjoy the fruits of his labor to a degree. Second in points allowed, fifth versus the run, 10th in total yards given up, fourth in red zone defense, sixth in takeaways and first on third down, Glenn’s charges – who execute well-designed pressure schemes (especially overload concepts) – have used the highest percentage of man coverage in the NFL (42.4) and blitz (fourth-highest) quite a bit as well.
One crucial area is where the Lions struggle to defend – the passing game. Just 23rd, it’s the result of numerous injuries in Motown – names such as Aidan Hutchinson, a product of the nearby University of Michigan, who performed well in his first two NFL seasons with a combined 21 sacks (averaging 10.5 a year), Levi Onwuzuriko, Mekhi Wingo, Marcus Davenport, Josh Paschal, James Houston, John Cominsky, Alex Anzalone, Derrick Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez and Jalen Reeves-Maybin have all missed time due to various ailments. Hutchinson’s injury has particularly hurt them as their pass rush has struggled without him in the lineup.
Hutchinson may not return unless Detroit reaches the Super Bowl, prompting the team to trade for former All-Pro Za’Darius Smith. He, Paschal, Alim McNeill and DJ Reader are the team’s current starters on the front four with Onwuzuriko, Al-Quadin Muhammad, Pat O’Connor and Brodric Martin all getting playing time as well.
Jack Campbell and David Long make up a solid run-stopping pair at linebacker with Ben Niemann and Kwon Alexander providing depth. On the back end, Detroit is held down by ex-Tampa Bay Buccaneer Carlton Davis, Terrion Arnold and Amik Robertson at cornerback. Brian Branch, one of the game’s rangiest and smartest centerfielders who can also play in the slot, holds down the fort at safety along with Kerby Joseph.

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 08: Puka Nacua #17 of the Los Angeles Rams is tackled by Taylor Rapp #9 of the Buffalo Bills in the first quarter of a game at SoFi Stadium on December 08, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/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 Shaq Lawson, Jordan Poyer and Tyrel Dodson (Miami 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) 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 have been 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 are backed up by versatile free agent pickups Austin Johnson (who comes from the Chargers after stints with the Tennessee Titans and the New York Giants), Dawuane Smoot (Jacksonville Jaguars) and Casey Toohill (Washington Commanders) 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. Carter and Smoot, while healthy now, were both injured early in the season which lead 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. The run 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, inefficient communication and an inability to handle motion (which cause issues with leverage, spacing and run fits). They also gave up 4.6 yards a carry on inside runs last year, 30th in the NFL. 2024 has been more of the same – against Seattle Buffalo held them 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) but yielded 153 yards rushing to San Francisco.
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 that 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 – they’re ninth in league usage of zone coverage this season) although they used more single-high coverages against the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams so they could put more bodies in the box to stop the run) 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. He is also adept at being used as a quarterback spy.
For the second straight year, Milano suffered a major injury – this time a torn bicep – but is now back and presumably healthy. While he was out, backup Dorian Williams picked up the slack. The Bills struggled to defend the run well last year because of a lack of experience by Williams – he displayed 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, and has improved 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 used more dime personnel after Milano’s injury last year with three safeties to help offset his loss in pass coverage, and that setup featured Micah Hyde and ex-Ram Taylor Rapp on the back end and Poyer near the line of scrimmage.
The Bills’ safety position is now manned by Rapp, who is better playing near the line of scrimmage, the rangy and physical but inconsistent Damar Hamlin, veteran Kareem Jackson, who brings physicality and smarts and can play in the box or on the back end, Hyde, former Minnesota Vikings first round draft pick Lewis Cine and rookie Cole Bishop, who is an underrated and cerebral athlete. Hyde (who recently re-signed with the team after weighing retirement), Jackson and Cine are all on the practice squad, but that depth will be tested with Rapp and Hamlin both out for Sunday due to injury.
At the boundary cornerback spots replacing White and Jackson are Christian Benford and Rasul Douglas (out for Sunday) 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 24 takeaways (third), eighth in points allowed, ninth against the pass, 14th in total yards allowed and 19th against the run. However, they have the eighth-worst third down unit in the NFL – on pace for the worst percentage of the McDermott era – and allowed 44 points to the Rams a week ago, their worst output since yielding 47 points to Baltimore in the 2018 season opener.

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 08: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills throws a pass against the Los Angeles Rams during the second quarter at SoFi Stadium on December 08, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
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 pass-catcher 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 Brady has used more ‘rub’ concepts and bunch and stack alignments to 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.
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. 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 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 rate.
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 13 games the Bills have had the highest rate of offensive snaps with six linemen on the field – with most of them being called runs, and are near the top of the NFL in yards per carry and yards per play with six linemen.
Another 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 cut down on his interception total significantly – 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 he hasn’t been great in 2024. To improve he will need to get over whatever is impeding him, but he did hit a franchise-record 61-yard field goal to beat Miami a few weeks ago and is eight-for-eight on field goals in the last minute of the fourth quarter or overtime in his career. The Bills have also allowed a pressure rate of 14 percent on punts this year according to NFL NextGenStats, the second-highest figure in pro football behind just San Francisco.
Through 13 weeks Buffalo is second in scoring, 10th in total yards, 12th in passing yards and 11th in rushing. They’re also ninth on third down, tops on fourth down and in turnover differential, second in point differential and fifth in red zone efficiency. The Bills have also scored 30 points or more in seven straight games – the longest streak in franchise annals – and have accomplished the feat 10 total times in 2024, breaking the mark held by the 1975, ’91, 2020 and ’21 iterations.
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 also botched three situations against the Rams – declining a penalty midway through the game that likely would have forced L.A. to punt, calling a running play when trying to tie the game late (and wasting a timeout in the process) and having just nine men on the field on the final play when trying to return a punt. They’ll need to learn from these miscues going forward.

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 08: Khalil Shakir #10, Dawson Knox #88, Mack Hollins #13, Curtis Samuel #1 of the Buffalo Bills celebrate a touchdown during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on December 08, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
12 STATS TO MUSE OVER
· The Bills have compiled a road winning percentage of .659 (31-16) since 2019.
· Conversely, since 2020 Buffalo has the best home record in the NFL – 38-9 including playoffs. The Bills also have nine straight home wins, the second-longest streak in team annals behind a 15-game stretch between 1990-91.
· Allen is four scores away from surpassing Thurman Thomas for first all-time in Bills annals in rushing touchdowns. He’s also become the first player ever with a passing, rushing and receiving touchdown in one game and the first with three passing touchdowns and three rushing scores in a game.
· Allen also broke Steve Young’s record for most career games with two or more passing touchdowns and two or more rushing scores.
· More Allen anecdotes – he has 73 regular season wins in his career, the third-most by a quarterback in his first seven seasons. Only Russell Wilson (75) and Patrick Mahomes (74) have more.
· 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.
· 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 moved past Derrick Thomas for 17th on the all-time sack list. One-half of a sack will tie him with Rickey Jackson for 16th.
· One more win would make McDermott the fifth coach ever with five straight 11-win seasons, joining Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, Tony Dungy and Tom Landry. He also has a winning percentage of 69% following a loss and can tie Mike Holmgren for the second-most wins in a coach’s first eight NFL seasons.
· Last week Buffalo scored their most points ever in a loss (42) – the old record was 37 against Dallas in 1971.
· According to OptaSTATS, the Bills became the first team ever to score six or more touchdowns in a game with no turnovers and still lose. It was also the first time in league history where both teams scored 40 points or more with no turnovers.
· Earlier this year Beane moved past John Butler as the winningest general manager in Bills history. Butler had 74, Beane currently has 83.
· Buffalo has had 12 different players catch a touchdown pass this year, which leads the NFL. One more doing the deed will tie the record of 13.
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