NFL playoffs: Scouting the AFC playoff teams

A look at the AFC playoff teams from a statistical point of view before the postseason truly gets underway.

Buffalo Bills:

AP Photo/Adrian Kraus

The Buffalo Bills secured the fifth seed in the AFC with their 10-6 record in 2019, marking their first 10 win season since 1999. They finished second in the AFC East behind the Patriots.

Offense:

The Bills offense was functional in 2019, but under no circumstances would you call it a prolific unit. Led by quarterback Josh Allen, they put up the 24th most yards whilst scoring the 23rd most points. They were a productive ground team, with only seven teams amassing more rushing yards than the Bills 2,054. The Bills finished 26th in passing yards, but only attempted the 24th most passes. As one would expect given these numbers, an awful lot of Bills drives ended without points being put on the board. They scored on just 30.1% of their drives, the seventh-lowest rate in the NFL. The Bills did allow a sack on 7.2% of their dropbacks, the 12th highest rate in the league.

Defense:

What they lacked on offense however they more than made up for on the defensive side of the ball. Only the Patriots allowed fewer points than the Bills, while the Patriots and the San Francisco 49ers were the only teams to give up fewer total yards. The Bills were one of only four teams to allow an average of fewer than 200 passing yards per game. They also allowed the 10th fewest rushing yards in total at a league-average clip of 4.3 yards per attempt. The Bills had 23 takeaways, the 10th most, whilst also accumulating the 12th most sacks.

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