On Saturday night at a frigid Solider Field, the Buffalo Bills clinched their third-straight AFC East title.
Following their 35-13 win over the Chicago Bears (3-12), the Bills (12-3) took a moment to reflect on the achievement… full well knowing this is just the next step, but hopefully not the final one.
“Good to win. Really happy for the organization. Three AFC East Championships in a row, that’s hard to do,” Bills head coach, Sean McDermott said after the game. “It’s hard to get one, let alone three in a row. So, I’m just very grateful for the effort and our fans also that showed up today.”
Three division wins in a row seemed almost unfathomable back when McDermott arrived in Buffalo in the midst of the historic playoff drought. Times have changed and the Bills have gone from ‘in the hunt’ to the hunted.
“It’s a different feeling every time you go on the field because you know… everyone’s momentum is coming at us, you know, that way,” McDermott continued. “As opposed to trying to climb early on like we were. We won some of those and we lost some close ones, so I know what that feelings like. But you gotta keep that feeling too a little bit from that ‘humble and hungry’ approach. Even though you’re the one… we’re in a different position now, but still you gotta keep playing with that chip on your shoulder, coach with that chip on your shoulder and really put the work in.”
While the Bills remains stuck in Chicago due to a blizzard impacting travel back home, McDermott said the team would take time to enjoy the win.
“Ya, I think tonight I’d rather be with my family like we all would, but to be able to take a breath and like you said, reflect on what it’s taken to get here and listen, it’s more than one person, right? It’s all the people back home who aren’t with us,” McDermott told reporters. “We’re thinking of them and so appreciative of what they bring to our organization and so grateful. It’s not just the football side, it’s all the parts of our organization working together as one.”
Quarterback, Josh Allen seemed even keel when discussing the team’s division title. While it is a proud moment for the team, there’s still more work to be done.
“Ya, obviously it’s the next progression in our goal,” Allen said. “Playoffs, division title. We know what the next one is. So, got a couple more games to put our best foot forward and just try to go execute to the best of our ability.”
The, “next one,” Allen is referencing is of course capturing the first seed in the AFC and securing homefield throughout the playoffs. A position the Bills currently find themselves in with two weeks left to play.
“That’s the goal,” Bills safety, Jordan Poyer said during his postgame press conference. “We want teams to come here in the playoffs, in front of our fans… I guess not here, Buffalo in front of our fans. And like you said, we gotta take it one game at a time and go 1-0 next week.”
When asked how important is is to secure the top seed, Poyer didn’t shy away from the truth.
“In the past, we’ve obviously seen what it’s like to have to go on the road and win playoff games,” Poyer continued. “But it is important for us to get that homefield advantage. Get the crowd at home in cold weather games… not a lot of people wanna come to Buffalo in late January, early February. So, we’re gonna take it one game at a time.”
While the Bills are currently tied with the Kansas City Chiefs at 12-3 in the conference, Buffalo holds the tiebreaker thanks to their head-to-head win earlier in the season.
With two games to go, the Bills most likely need to win both their games to ensure they get the No. 1 seed.
One misstep and Buffalo would likely need to go Kansas City to get the ever elusive Super Bowl. A path that, based on recent history, they’d like the avoid.
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