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The Buffalo Bills rode a strong second-half performance to defeat the Chicago Bears, 35-13, in Week 16.
The victory locked the Bills into a third-straight AFC East title.
Buffalo (12-3) shifted from their usually high-flying offensive aerial attack to a ground-and-pound focus against Chicago (3-12). With game conditions unfriendly to a pass-heavy attack and a Bears defense that was not particularly stout against the run, it made sense that the Bills would lean on Devin Singletary and James Cook.
Cook ran for 99 yards on 11 carries, while Singletary added 106 yards on 12 rushes. Both players scored a rushing touchdown.
Buffalo had trouble passing against Chicago’s zone defense. Quarterback Josh Allen threw two interceptions, both of which were passes forced into coverage.
Wideout Gabe Davis led Buffalo with three receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown. Stefon Diggs had a quiet, day, reeling in only two passes for 26 yards.
The Bears kept the Bills receivers from finding a great deal of separation, forcing Allen to take subpar options.
Buffalo’s defense kept Chicago’s offense under wraps.
Bears quarterback Justin Fields had a few nice passes. However, Chicago’s offense could not consistently string together fruitful drives.
Chicago opened the game with a nice eight-play touchdown drive culminating in a wide-open touchdown pass to receiver Dante Pettis. Buffalo’s secondary lost track of Pettis, leading to the easy score.
Aside from the initial drive and a long pass to receiver Velus Jones Jr., the Bears gained little traction on the offensive end. The Bills defense, even when started with suboptimal field position, kept the Bears from reaching the end zone.
Buffalo kept Fields in the pocket, eliminating the quarterback’s dynamic running ability. Fields rushed seven times for 11 yards. Through the air, Fields completed 15-of-23 passes for 119 yards.
Fields came into Saturday with 1,000 yards rushing on the season, the only QB in the NFL to reach that milestone.
Buffalo’s defense registered 11 tackles for loss. Tremaine Edmunds led the Bills with nine total tackles. AJ Epenesa and Ed Oliver added sacks to the defensive ledger.
The special teams unit struggled through the conditions as well. Returner Nyheim Hines muffed two kicks. Tyler Bass missed a field goal and an extra point attempt. On the flip side, the coverage unit allowed the Bears to have multiple long returns to Jones Jr.
Once again, it was a game in which the Bills found the most effective path to win the game. Buffalo rushed for a season-high 254 rushing yards. They played stout defense and limited the Bears to only 184 total yards. The Bills gave up only nine first downs.
Even when the Bills didn’t have their most explosive day on offense, they still managed to put up 35 points. The Bills were patient and ended with a convincing victory.
Buffalo takes on the Cincinnati Bengals (11-4) next Monday in Cincy. It will be a game that will have massive playoff ramifications in the AFC.
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