[ad_1]
| USA TODAY
Lorenzo’s Locks: Best bets for Sunday NFL Division games
SportsPulse: Two GOATs go head to head in the Bayou as the Browns head to Kansas City. Lorenzo gives his two best bets for Sunday’s divisional round games.
USA TODAY
ORCHARD PARK, NY – For most of the season, the Buffalo Bills have soared on the wings of the most prolific offense in the franchise’s 61-year history, simply overtaking outclassed opponents along the way.
In Saturday night’s AFC Divisional playoff showdown against Baltimore, Josh Allen and the offense struggling to find rhythm most of the time, the Bills had to turn to their defense, and that happened with a performance for the ages.
Completely strangling the dangerous Lamar Jackson and throwing him out of the game at the end of the third quarter with a concussion, the Bills’ defense stole the show and clinched a 17-3 win that sends them to the Championship game of AFC next Sunday.
More: Opinion: Very zen Aaron Rodgers and his ‘attitude of gratitude’ make this Packers team special
More: Opinion: The magic of Lamar Jackson is over. Bills’ two major games knock the Ravens out
Now the Bills are waiting to see who they play – either the Chiefs in Kansas City or, if you can believe it, the Browns here at Bills Stadium.
The signing game was of course done by nickel cornerback Taron Johnson. Led 10-3, the Ravens were on their way to what looked like a touchdown tied in the third quarter when they ran into a third and a 9-goal.
Jackson stepped back to pass, had time, but the Bills’ zone defense had it all covered. Rather than take off and run what he’s known to do, he tried to pass through tight end Mark Andrews. Bad idea.
Johnson stepped in front to intercept it from a meter deep in the end zone, then ran 101 yards the other way as the crowd of 6,700 went mad.
It was undoubtedly the most important game, but all night the defense played a big role, until the very end, even when quarterback Tyler Huntley – who had just been called up from the practice team – threw an incomplete fourth and goal pass. in the end zone with 2:40 left.
It was only the fourth game of the year that the Bills had failed to reach 20 points, and it was only their second victory in those four games, the other against the Jets.
Presumably no one saw this game coming, especially what we saw in the first half, a 3-3 draw where Jackson had more passing yards than Allen (123-120), but that was the situation.
Allen just never looked comfortable, and given that offensive coordinator Brian Daboll called in 25 assists in a single set, it wasn’t a good development for the Bills. They needed Allen to be sharp, and he wasn’t.
He was 23 of 37 with one touchdown and no interceptions. The Bills rushed for just 32 yards.
No doubt the windy night was a factor, as it was with the placekickers. Each team missed two field goals.
So now the Bills will be playing for their first Super Bowl trip since the 1993 season. That game marked their fourth straight Super Bowl appearance – all losses.
[ad_2]
Source link