The Buffalo Bills silenced their critics by reaching their first AFC Championship Game since 1993 with an old-school, gritty approach.
For much of the playoff battle between the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens, two explosive offenses found trouble with the wind more than they found success. Following Taron Johnson‘s pick-six and a great performance by a stingy, resilient defense, however, it is Buffalo and Bills Mafia that will head to the AFC Championship Game next week after a 17-3 victory.
It wasn’t pretty and it surely wasn’t glitz and glamour. With little faith in the run game, the Bills tried to air it out on Saturday night and put the game on Josh Allen and the passing attack, headlined by Stefon Diggs. Though a defensive score essentially sealed the game but the offense did enough to keep the game in control.
That defense brought an old-school mentality to this dogfight as they made life uncomfortable for Lamar Jackson and backup Tyler Huntley. They carried the team with one big stop and big play after another.
Should Buffalo face Kansas City next week, containing Patrick Mahomes is extremely difficult and a greater challenge. If they host Cleveland at all, the challenge of stopping the run of Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb may resemble what took place against the Ravens. In other words, Buffalo has its work cut out for them.
The Buffalo Bills won with old-school defense but this is a different Bills team.
On this day of the offense running up and down the field, the defense won the game. Additionally, Buffalo showed that, on certain nights, a one-sided philosophy is a way to win a football game, a style that may not work out in the long run — especially with what is at stake for the franchise and their starving fanbase.
Many will recall the Bills’ run in the early 1990s, all of which resulted in no Lombardi Trophies coming back on the return flight from the Super Bowl. That sight is one that Bills fans are absolutely not wishing to see. How much would it mean to this fanbase to raise even a single Lombardi Trophy? Keeping it short, it would mean quite a lot.
It takes one victory to get to the Big Game. A loss would mean the end of a dream and the potential of the magic to disappear. The Buffalo Bills must retain their focus and continue to win by any means necessary if they want to keep their Super Bowl dreams alive.