For as many advancements as the Buffalo Bills have made since Sean McDermott took over in 2017, signature wins have been hard to come by. The Bills have been to the playoffs twice since McDermott took over, but have largely feasted on a schedule of lesser opponents. When facing some of the best teams in the NFL, the Bills have often struggled. In 2020, the Bills were defeated easily by Tennessee and Kansas City, two teams with a combined 14 wins.
Buffalo needed to prove it could win against one of the league’s best. They got the opportunity Sunday against a true Super Bowl contender – the 6-1 Seattle Seahawks.
The Seahawks came in with the perhaps the leading MVP candidate in quarterback Russell Wilson, who had a league-high 26 touchdown passes. The Bills had a monumental task ahead of them to slow down the league’s best passer and the explosive receiving duo of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.
The Bills passed the test with flying colors and secured their long-awaited signature win.
In perhaps their most impressive win since McDermott arrived, the Bills were unstoppable in a 44-34 shootout victory over the Seahawks. The Bills needed a great performance from quarterback Josh Allen to have a chance in this game and got it and then some. Allen put up one of the best passing performances in team history as he threw for 415 yards and three touchdowns, and added a touchdown run as well.
Meanwhile, the much-maligned Buffalo defense rose up to neutralize the Seahawks in the first half and put the game away with two huge turnovers in the fourth quarter, part of four total turnovers forced by Buffalo. Even though they gave up 34 points, it might have been the most impressive performance of the season for the Bills defense.
For a Buffalo team entering the toughest portion of its schedule, it was as good a performance as you could have hoped for. The win vaults the Bills to 7-2 and keeps them 2.5 games ahead of the 5-3 Miami Dolphins for first place in the AFC East. It was also much needed as the Bills saw all the teams around them in the AFC standings win on Sunday.
Still, with this win, the Bills put a little legitimacy around their 2020 resume as they have now beaten one of the league’s best. It makes it easier to take the Bills seriously as a contender in the AFC knowing they can go toe to toe with one of the league’s best.
Here are four things we learned from an impressive Bills’ win on a beautiful afternoon in Orchard Park:
Josh Allen Back To Premier Level
Heading into Sunday, the quarterback discussion mostly centered around Wilson, who headlines the list of MVP candidates. He was the center of attention for this game. And while he turned in another impressive performance with 390 passing yards and two touchdowns, as well as a rushing touchdown, it was the other QB in this game that stole the show.
Allen turned in one of the best games of his career, which, in turn, makes it one of the best passing performances in Bills history. Allen was the best player on the field and was in total control of this game from the start. Allen moved the Bills offense up and down the field and was on point. Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll designed the game plan around Allen and let him cook, so to speak, having attempt 28 passes in the first half as the Bills called just two designed run plays in the first 30 minutes.
For Allen, it was a return to the form from the first four games of the season, when Allen was routinely throwing for over 300 yards. That high level of play had mostly disappeared since that 4-0 start. There was some question whether Allen would get back to that elite level of play, or if that hot start was just an anomaly.
Allen left nothing to doubt on Sunday. He was on fire right from the get go, leading the Bills to scores on each of their first four drives. By halftime, Allen had completed 24 of 28 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns. Those are great numbers for an entire game; for one half, it’s sensational. At one point late in the first half, he had more touchdown passes than incompletions in the game.
What made this performance even more amazing was that Allen did it despite playing with a heavy heart. Sean McDermott revealed in his post-game press conference that Allen’s grandmother died on Saturday and that he talked with his quarterback about whether or not he wanted to play. Allen went ahead and played and delivered a masterpiece.
If you were wondering whether or not Allen could play at the high level he displayed back in September, you learned that he certainly can. You also learned that he can be counted on to carry this team in a big game. Allen and the Bills have left plenty to be desired in games against some of the league’s best over the past couple of years. That was not the case today as Allen looked like an MVP candidate against Wilson and the Seahawks.
This is one of those performances that eliminates any doubt about whether or not Allen is the Bills’ man going forward. Allen put the team on his back and kept them an arm’s length away from the Seahawks at all times. He outdueled the consensus league MVP head to head from start to finish. We will find out how often Allen can play like this going forward and what his level of consistency will be from here on out, but this type of performance cements Josh as the unquestioned franchise quarterback in Buffalo.