1. Numerous records are set in the regular season finale
The 2020 regular season was a historic one for the Buffalo Bills with great success on the field. The team produced multiple team and individual records. Below are a few of the many records the Bills achieved this season:
- Most wins, head coach, season: 13 Sean McDermott (also: Marv Levy 1990 and 1991)
- Most net passing yards gained, season: 4,620 (old record: 3,995, 2002)
- Most passing touchdowns, season: 40 (old record: 39, 1991)
- Fewest punts, 16-game season: 41 (old record: 54, 1991)
- Most points, season: 141 Tyler Bass (old record: 140, Steve Christie 1998)
- Highest completion percentage, season: 69.23% Josh Allen (396-572) (old record: 67.19%, Kelly Holcomb (155-230) 2005)
- Most touchdown passes, season: 37 Josh Allen (old record: 33, Jim Kelly 1991)
- Most receiving yards, season: 1,535 Stefon Diggs (old record: 1,368, Eric Moulds 1998)
2. Rookies show up big in Bills win
With a lot of the Bills starters exiting the game after halftime, there were a lot of young players on the roster that received meaningful playing time. Three rookies, in particular, had themselves a day in the 56-26 win over the Dolphins.
Undrafted free agent running back Antonio Williams out of North Carolina played in his first career NFL game after serving on the Bills practice squad all season. In the second half, the rookie had 12 carries for 63 yards and two rushing touchdowns. He became the first Bills undrafted rookie since 1970 to rush for two touchdowns in a game. Rookie wide receiver Gabriel Davis – who has been making big plays all year – had two receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown. It marked Davis's first game with 100+ receiving yards of his young career. He ended his rookie campaign with 35 receptions for 599 yards and seven touchdowns. He is now the third Bills rookie with seven or more touchdowns receptions in one season, joining Lee Evans with nine in 2004 and Elbert Dubenion with seven in 1960. The other rookie who set a franchise record in today's game was Tyler Bass. The rookie kicker has been automatic as of late, not missing a field goal since Week 9 and only missing two PAT's all season long. In Sunday's game, Bass increased his season total to 141 points which is a new single-season scoring record for the franchise. The previous team record was set by Steve Christie (140) in 1998, and the record by a Bills rookie/first-year player was Pete Gogolak (102) in 1964.
3. Bills dramatic increase in offensive production from 2019 to 2020
The Bills offense has seen a major increase in production from 2019 to 2020. The team went from scoring 314 points in 2019 to 501 points in 2020 – which is a franchise record. That averages to scoring 19.6 points per game last season to jumping up to 31.3 points per game this season. The Bills finished the 2020 season second in the NFL and first in the AFC in both points scored and points per game.
From 2019 to 2020, the Bills increased their points per game by 11.7 points marking the largest increase among all NFL teams. They also improved the number of touchdowns scored from only 35 in 2019 all the way up to 60 this season which is a new franchise record and also led the AFC. The Bills found their stride late in the season and have been playing their best football as they now prepare for a playoff run. They finished the month of December with a plus-79 point differential, which led the entire NFL.
