WEBWIRE — Sunday, December 31, 2023
7 weeks earlier, the Buffalo Bills were far beyond the playoff photo after a 24-22 loss to the Denver Broncos. At 5-5, the Bills sat at 10th in the AFC and their staying 7 video games comprised maybe the most difficult stretch of their season.
Its not perfect, stated Mitch Morse after the loss. I believe now is going to be the genuine test for this group.
6 video games in, the Bills are 5-1 with their only loss to Philadelphia in overtime. Beyond a heartbreaking 37-34 loss to the Eagles, theyve aced the test.
After their 27-21 win over the New England Patriots, the Bills now sit at 6th in the conference and have a 95 percent possibility of making the playoffs according to The New York Times playoff simulator. With Baltimore beating Miami 56-19 on Sunday, Buffalo has a possibility to host a minimum of one championship game.
If Buffalo beats Miami next Sunday, they will win their 4th successive AFC East title and bring playoff football back to Highmark Stadium. The Bills can manage to lose, as their possibilities are up to simply 5 percent if they drop the Miami video game, however quarterback Josh Allen understands the weight that next weeks video game holds.
I clearly would enjoy to have a home video game in the playoffs, Allen stated after the video game. Would like to get in the playoffs, so thats. [Were] simply doing whatever we can do to offer ourselves a possibility of getting in.
According to linebacker Terrel Bernard, head coach Sean McDermott has actually stressed the significance of being durable in spite of the pressure of being on the beyond the playoff photo searching in.
Something that weve been speaking about the previous couple of weeks is simply the strength of the group and, you understand, comprehending were taking it one week at a time, Bernard stated. We have a great deal of things we wish to achieve, however were not looking too far ahead and not looking too far behind and remaining in our procedure throughout the week and being gotten ready for Sundays.
Being resistant is a familiar mindset amongst the group, as Micah Hyde kept in mind after the video game. The Bills were 7-5 entering into their last 6 video games of the 2021 season and rattled off 4 straight wins to end the season and clinch the AFC East title.
I do not wish to state I informed you so, however we constantly kept our head high around here and simply leaned on each other and here we are, Hyde stated. This is not the very first time that weve done this. I suggest, we continue to develop each other up and press each other to simply keep going next week.
McDermott utilized the very same word, durable, to explain what he has actually seen from his gamers over the last a number of weeks. In a season that has actually had lots of ups and downs, the Bills have actually rallied from being on the incorrect end of 6 one-score losses, consisting of 2 that was available in overtime.
Theyve been extremely resistant. And simply the important things that theyve discovered, I believe, through the journey that have actually gotten us to here and after that utilizing them week to week to discover a method to win video games, McDermott stated. Today we understood wasnt going to be simple and I believed that their resistant nature was on display screen in the 2nd half.
In the playoffs, records no longer matter beyond figuring out where the video game is to be played. All that matters is making it to the following week, a mindset the Bills have actually been required to embrace after losing early in the season.
Its likewise a mindset that might benefit the Bills come playoff time, as they continue to practice durability in order to keep their hopes of making a run in the playoffs alive.
Weve remained in the playoffs the last 4 or 5 weeks, stated tight end Dalton Kincaid. Each video game has actually been the most crucial video game and now that this video game is previous, next week is the most crucial video game for us.
Contributing Correspondent
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