1. Jerry Hughes joins elite company in Bills postseason history
Jerry Hughes is the longest-tenured player on this Bills roster. He has stayed committed to Buffalo through up and down seasons since being traded here in 2013. It is the first time in his career that instead of hosting a watch party for the AFC Championship Game, he will be playing in it. Against the Ravens, Hughes totaled 2.0 sacks which now gives him 5.0 career postseason sacks as a member of the Bills. He is the fourth Bill with five-plus sacks in the playoffs since 1982. He joins Darryl Talley (6.5), Jeff Wright (9.0), and Bruce Smith (14.5). Hughes is the third player in team history with multiple multi-sack playoff games, joining Bruce Smith and Jeff Wright. Hughes shared his thoughts on joining legendary players in Bills franchise history.
"That's an honor, to be mentioned with Darryl Talley and big Bruce [Smith] that's a huge honor," Hughes said after the game. "Because walking into this building back in 2013, I used to see their faces plastered on the wall with all the great quotes and all the great things that they did for this organization. So, I certainly know all about those guys and that's just an honor to be mentioned in the same sentence as them."
2. Bills players knew ball security was crucial against the Ravens defense
After two games, the Bills continue to stay turnover-free in this postseason. Buffalo achieved its first-ever playoff streak of games without committing a giveaway. It marks the fifth time in Bills postseason history without a turnover in a playoff game - others: 12/26/64 vs. Chargers; 1/27/91 vs. Giants; 1/9/93 at Steelers; and last week vs. Colts. The Ravens came into this game as one of the top teams in the league in forcing turnovers with 10 interceptions and 12 forced fumbles on the season. The Bills players knew that if they didn't give the ball away, they had a great shot at defeating the Ravens.
Cole Beasley talked about the importance of ball security throughout yesterday's divisional-round win.
"It's super important, we talked about it all week that they were really good at getting the ball out," Beasley stated. "Again, that was kind of their calling card on the backend with their DBs. So, we talked about it all this week that ball security was key, and we felt like if we didn't turn the ball over, we'd win the game. That definitely showed tonight."
Devin Singletary also shared his thoughts on why holding onto the ball all the way to the ground was crucial against the Ravens.
"It was really important," Singletary said. "We know that those guys are like number one in takeaways. That's all they do; they go for the ball on defense. So, we knew that was going to be a big part of us winning the game."
3. Micah Hyde: "There's a different breed of guys in this locker room"
This season the Bills are achieving the goals that McDermott and his staff have set out to do since his arrival in Buffalo in 2017. For the first time since January 23, 1994, the Bills will be playing in an AFC Championship game with a chance to play in Super Bowl LV. This will be the eighth time in franchise history that the Bills will participate in an AFL or AFC Championship Game. Buffalo is 6-1 in previous games on Championship Weekend. Bills veteran safety Micah Hyde is blessed to be in this position and is proud of the work he and his teammates have put in to get to this point.
"It's a blessing, it's a blessing and it's awesome," Hyde stated. "We talked about this since the first day from training camp and we trusted the process, and we got better each and every day. We took some licks every now and then, we took some losses, but we learned from them. At the end of the day, we will continue to get better and the win is the result of what we've been putting in and grinding. There's a different breed of guys in this locker room. The guys in this locker room are willing to work and that showed in the outcome of this game."
Scroll through to see photos of all the action as the Bills take on the Ravens at Bills Stadium, presented by Imagine Staffing.