1. How rookies Gabriel Davis and Tyler Bass helped secure a Bills win
Bills rookies Gabriel Davis and Tyler Bass made the most of their first postseason game and both made big plays to help get the team's first playoff win since 1995.
Davis finished the game with four receptions for 85 yards, which is the most by a rookie wide receiver in a playoff game in franchise history. In the last two minutes of the first half, Davis had two toe-tapping catches on the sideline that helped put the Bills up 14-10 before halftime. The rookie who has had a solid first year with the Bills explained what was going through his mind while making those two spectacular catches.
"Yeah, I just knew that the play was going longer than expected," Davis said. "I was getting closer and closer to the sideline, so I used my peripheral the best I could when I was looking at the ball to know where the sideline was. I was able to dead leg it as soon as I knew I had the ball in my hands."
Tyler Bass, who hasn't missed a field goal since Week 9, went 2-2 field goals and was 3-3 for extra points against the Colts. Bass connected on a 54-yard field goal in the fourth quarter that put the Bills up by 11 points. That tied Steve Christie (1993) for the longest playoff field goal in Bills history. It was also the longest field goal by a rookie in the playoffs in NFL history. Bass knew that even though the stakes were higher, it was just another kick.
"Yeah, I didn't really try to think much of it, just another kick," Bass said. "But I had a little bit of excitement going out and just trusted the process and we executed it."
2. McDermott's message to Bills Mafia
The Bills have won their first playoff game for the first time since 1995 and no one is prouder of his team than Sean McDermott. The head coach was able to use his past postseason experience to help earn his first playoff victory with the Bills. The game was special, but what made it even better is that part of Bills Mafia was there to enjoy it as well. McDermott in his postgame press conference praised the fans for the atmosphere they created at Bills Stadium during the game.
"I'm fortunate, I think this is my 28th or 29th playoff game so, I've had opportunities like this," McDermott said. "And I'm very grateful to get the win as head coach but I think I'm more happy for our team, our fans, Terry and Kim and all the people that have worked so hard even before we got here. Honestly, for the fans to stand behind this team the way they've done over the years, and the fans and how much noise they made today, even at 6,700, I guess was the final number, just incredible man. You could feel it in the air, just the atmosphere and the environment it was almost like it was full especially down the stretch there and just special. Only in Buffalo."
3. Bills Mafia was louder than Micah Hyde expected them to be
With the win today, the Bills snapped the fourth-longest playoff loss streak in the NFL. This was a big step that this Bills team knew they needed to get over and something they have been building towards since 2017. Micah Hyde was one of the first key pieces brought in to change the culture and he made quite a few big plays against the Colts on Saturday. Hyde touched on having fans in Bills Stadium for the first time all season and what his thoughts were when he first heard them.
"It's huge, it's another step of our season that we wanted to accomplish but we have a lot more goals to attain, but it was huge," Hyde said. "We came out today, running out of the tunnel and call it 6,700 fans but man that place was rockin', and it was louder than I expected, I'm not gonna lie. We didn't even have the upper deck; nobody was even in the upper deck and it was just wild to hear. But when I was running out of the tunnel, I literally got chills, thinking 'damn, fans are back, this is weird I'm used to it being quiet'. But it was awesome to get a win in front of Bills Mafia in Orchard Park for the first time this is '95."
