The Bills fell to the Ravens 24-17 last week, but folks around the NFL have recognized the effort Buffalo put in during the contest. In some power rankings this week, the Bills were even on the rise.
Among those nationally recognizing the Bills was the MMQB’s Albert Breer. In his weekly Monday column earlier this week, Breer wrote about the “fight” the Bills displayed in their loss to the Ravens:
Love the Bills’ fight: down 24–9, coming all the way back against the best team in the league, and getting to the doorstep of tying the game. (Obviously, the aforementioned fourth-and-eight from the Baltimore 16 didn’t work for them.) But they were right there, and their persistence and awareness were illustrated greatly on the play before that fourth down, a third-and-8 on which a Ravens blitz caused a jailbreak. Josh Allen broke two tackles and threw the ball away. In that one fell swoop, Allen showed not only toughness and kept his head about him by avoiding a fourth-and-20 or so by getting rid of the ball. I continue to think Buffalo’s a year away from something really good. And they’re pretty good as is.
This Bills have certainly proven they’re a fourth quarter team this year. Quarterback Josh Allen has a knack for good play late in games. He’s second in the NFL with four game-winning drives this season. As a team, the Bills have also done their most scoring in the final quarter, 12 touchdowns, in total.
Buffalo’s problem this season isn’t scoring in the fourth quarter, it’s having to. The Bills have had a knack for bad third quarter play, putting themselves behind the eight ball. Good teams do find a way back, but most would prefer to already have an opponent put away by then.
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