Bills’ Short-Lived Playoff Run

Bills make and lose in the playoffs
Neel Cheruvu
The Buffalo Bills have made the playoffs for the first time since 1999. This drought was the longest in all of professional sports, causing years of despair and disappointment among Bills’ fans. The Bills fought hard in a 22-16 win over the Miami Dolphins and received some help from Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals in order to clinch the playoffs for the first time in the 21st century.
Going into the game against the Dolphins, the Bills stood with a record of 8-7 and were looking to secure a winning record for the season. In order for the Bills to make the playoffs, they needed to win against the Dolphins, plus a Ravens loss or losses from both the Titans and Chargers. The Bills were clearly locked in, as on their first offensive drive Tyrod Taylor led them down the field for a TD to Nick O’Leary. The Bills continued to dominate the game, eventually going up 19-0 off of a 1- yard TD run by Kyle Williams.
Williams is the Bills’ oldest player and has been loyal to the organization ever since he got drafted in 2006, never having gone to the playoffs. This moment meant a lot to the team and the entire city of Buffalo, as all of his teammates swarmed him on the sideline following his first career touchdown. The Bills started to give up their lead towards the end of the game, but they stay focused and safety Jordan Poyer secured the win with the game-winning interception. The Bills had won, but all attention turned towards the Bengals and Ravens game in Baltimore, due to the Titans and Chargers both winning. The Cincinnati Bengals were down 3, and faced a tough 4th and 12 with the game on the line, as well as the Bills’ playoff hopes hanging in the balance. Andy Dalton completed a game-winning TD pass to wide receiver Tyler Boyd and the Bills’ players watching the game in the locker room erupted into screams and shouts. This game-winning pass had put the Bills into the playoffs and broke their drought. Bills’ fans all over started donating to Andy Dalton’s charity and the Bills are supposedly sending him free chicken wings.
The only bad news from this day was that the Bills’ best player, running back LeSean McCoy, went down with an injury. However, he returned against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Coach Sean McDermott said he will play at about 80% power. McCoy finished the game with 75 yards on 19 carries, with a decent average of 3.9 yards/carry.
The Bills’ offense was stagnant the entire time, only being able to muster 3 points against a tough Jacksonville defense. The Bills had many opportunities to score, including a questionable play at the 2 yard line that ended up sending them back 15 yards on a penalty. They only came up with a field goal on that drive when a touchdown would’ve changed the nature of the game. Both offenses performed terribly, and both defenses played like elite defenses.
The Jaguars, however, scored a touchdown in the 3rd quarter that gave them the win. On a 3rd down play on the Bills’ potential game-tying drive, Tyrod Taylor went down with an injury and backup QB, Nathan Peterman, stepped in. Peterman ran for a first down on 4th down with the Bills season on the line and proceeded to complete a pass on the next play. He then fired a quick pass to Deonte Thompson, whom it bounced off and Jaguars’ cornerback Jalen Ramsey dove for the game-winning interception.
This interception was a questionable one, as the ball clearly hit the ground, but the refs barely took any time to review it. The Jaguars beat the Bills in this AFC Wild Card matchup by a final score of 10-3. This was the end of the Buffalo Bills season, and though it may have not turned out the way fans hoped, they have to be excited to break the drought and that the Bills have a very bright future ahead of them.