BY KYLE MAIER, SPORTS STAFFER
The Buffalo Bills sit 10th in the AFC playoff picture following their heartbreaking 37-34 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
With a record of 6-6, the Bills’ playoff chances look slim. They have only two home games left and the 10th-hardest remaining schedule.
Fans and media alike have written off the Bills. However, the opposite is in order.
The Buffalo Bills will run the table and surge into the NFL playoffs with an 11-6 record.
Call it delusion. Call it blasphemy. But Joe Brady and Josh Allen will achieve the improbable.
Since taking over as offensive coordinator, Brady’s new-look Bills offense put up 32 points and 405 yards against the Jets (who allow the 6th-least total yards per game) and 34 points and 512 yards against the Eagles’ star-studded defense consisting of Pro Bowlers Darius Slay, Fletcher Cox and Kevin Byard.
In Ken Dorsey’s nine games as offensive coordinator this season, the Bills’ offense put up 400-plus yards three times. They have done that twice in two games under Brady.
While Brady and the Bills offense still have some things to clean up, the team’s Week 13 bye will undoubtedly give them the time and rest to solidify their offensive schemes the rest of the way.
Along with signs of offensive efficiency under Brady, Josh Allen is becoming Josh Allen again. Allen threw for 339 yards while scoring four total touchdowns against the Eagles. He also ran nine times for 81 yards, the most carries and rush yards he’s had in a game this season.
The Bills are 15-7 in Allen’s career when he runs for 50-plus yards. While Dorsey diminished Allen to a pocket passer, it is evident Brady has given him the green light to scramble when necessary. With this dimension of the offense returning, the Bills can play to their strengths of years past.
Week 14, Buffalo’s defense, which allows the 6th least points-per-game and 10th fewest total yards-per-game, will march into Kansas City and expose the Chiefs’ lack of playmakers as Brady’s offense continues its dominance.
The following week, in front of a rambunctious home crowd, the Bills will stun the Dallas Cowboys, who have yet to beat a team over .500, and move to 6-1 at Highmark Stadium this season.
Week 16, Allen will pick apart a Chargers secondary that allows the most pass yards a game in all of the NFL.
Then, back in Buffalo, the Bills will get revenge on the crumbling Patriots, pummeling them by 20-plus points.
Finally, in the last week of the season, Allen will continue his ownership of the Miami Dolphins and move to 10-2 against them in his career.
Just like that, the Buffalo Bills will move to 11-6, run the table, and secure a wild card spot against all odds. When counted out, the Bills will stun the NFL community and silence all scrutiny.
Don’t believe it? You’ll have to when you see Josh Allen playing on your TV come January.
maierkj22@bonaventure.edu
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