Grading out well
The Buffalo Bills earned an 'A' grade after their 37-20 win on Sunday from CBS Sports with an impressive bounce back.
Josh Allen wasn't the only one for the Bills who put on a show, so did Buffalo's defense. After watching Ryan Fitzpatrick lead the Dolphins to two straight upsets, the Bills never gave him a chance to get going on Sunday. The Bills terrorized Fitzpatrick for four straight quarters in a game where they totaled seven sacks, and the most impressive part is that those seven sacks came from eight different players. The Bills also got a much-needed rebound game from kicker Stephen Hauschka, who missed two field goals last week against the Browns. This week, Hauschka hit all seven of his kicks (three field goals, four extra points), including a 51-yarder in the first quarter.
It's a good week to be a New York quarterback
With Josh Allen's four touchdown performance on Sunday, the three quarterbacks in New York all had a good week says the New York Times’ Benjamin Hoffman.
Josh Allen of the Bills has been known to occasionally joke about being the only N.F.L. quarterback who actually plays in New York, but regardless of those semantics, he and his counterparts in New Jersey can be plenty satisfied with how things went in Week 11. Allen threw for three touchdowns and ran for another in a blowout over Miami; Sam Darnold of the Jets threw four touchdowns in a blowout over Washington; and Daniel Jones of the Giants was on a bye week, so he did not extend his six-game losing streak.
The Bills have a No. 1 wide receiver
It's official, John Brown has earned the title as a No. 1 wide receiver in the NFL. He ranks second in the AFC in receiving yards and had an incredible game on Sunday. NFL.com breaks it down.
Just as Allen had his best outing to date, Bills wideout John Brown had his best game this season and continued to put together a campaign that demands notice, whether he's tucked away in Buffalo or not. Brown posted season-highs of nine catches for 137 yards and, for just the second time in his career, had two touchdowns. Brown's 14 targets were more than double any other Bill. He and Allen clearly have chemistry, and the Bills are seeing clearer now that they have a bona fide No. 1 wide receiver.
Putting their foot down
Sports Illustrated’s Gary Gramling wasn't exactly kind to the Dolphins after the Bills thrashing of them.
Bills Put Their Foot on Miami's Collective Throat:Sunday was a reminder that the Bills are still pretty good—it was nice to see Josh Allen take advantage downfield against a really bad Dolphins secondary—and the Dolphins are still an embarrassment. Ryan Fitzpatrick's seven sacks taken were an accurate indication of Bills D vs. Dolphins O.
Gramling also predicted the AFC Wild Card race.
Bills Vs. Colts Vs. Texans Vs. Raiders:It seems like that's your four front-runners for three playoff spots in the AFC.
Stock up
Following the victory, Buffalo increased their playoff chances and SB Nation labeled them as a stock up team in the AFC playoff race.
I thought the Dolphins might steal this game but alas, I was wrong. The Bills won easily, which is important. They are still in the wild card race, with a tougher schedule down the stretch, including games against the Cowboys, Patriots, Ravens, and Steelers. The Bills need to keep up with the Patriots in the division and the other potential wild card teams.
Five seed
Buffalo has produced its best record in 20 years after 10 games (7-3) and currently sit in the fifth spot in the AFC playoff picture. ESPN’s Kevin Seifert has noted that the Bills have had success playing a schedule with a low-ranked strength of victory and things will get tougher as the team faces its final six games of the season.
The Bills' win in Miami didn't do anything to change the perception that they've feasted on bad teams. Their strength of victory (.214) is by far the lowest of any team among the top six seeds in either conference. But the Bills have only two games remaining against teams with losing records: Week 12 against the Broncos and Week 17 against the Jets. Wins in those two games, and perhaps one other, might be enough to get them into the postseason. FPI is pegging their chances at 63.4%.
