Bills' Sean McDermott sends urgent 'rare' message after beating Lions
12/16/2024 05:46 PM
The Buffalo Bills earned a 48-42 win vs. the Detroit Lions in Week 15. Bills head coach Sean McDermott voiced praise and caution after Josh Allen’s four-touchdown performance, including two scores on the ground, led Buffalo to victory in a potential Super Bowl preview, via the Associated Press.
“It’s rare air up there with the best teams,” said McDermott. “That’s how we’re going to have to play every week moving forward.”
The Bills are now 11-3. They already clinched the AFC East and have won eight of their last nine games, including a 30-21 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 11. It snapped the latter’s 15-game win streak, which included their postseason success en route to the Chiefs’ second straight Lombardi Trophy.
Sunday in the Motor City, Allen reinforced why Buffalo is as likely as any team in the NFL to dethrone Patrick Mahomes and Co.
The Bills star quarterback paired his four touchdowns with 362 yards passing, completing 23-of-34 attempts through the air. He also ran for 68 yards, averaging 6.2 per carry. Furthermore, he did not have a turnover or take a sack, carving up the Lions with machine-like efficiency.
“He poses a huge issue,” Lions head coach Dan Campbell said of Josh Allen, who extended a league record, throwing and rushing for multiple touchdowns for the sixth time in his career.
Bills have a chance to claim AFC’s top seed
Buffalo’s regular-season triumphs over Detroit and Kansas City are noteworthy accomplishments on a journey the Bills are hoping ends with the franchise’s first Super Bowl win. However, alongside good fortune on the health front, as coach McDermott warned, their approach can’t waiver in the final weeks before the playoffs.
They’ll finish the regular season with two games against the New England Patriots and a matchup vs. the New York Jets sandwiched in between. While those two reside near the bottom of the league’s standings, those contests are opportunities to continue building for the playoff opponents placed in Buffalo’s path.
The Bills are also within striking distance of overtaking the 13-1 Chiefs for the top seed in the AFC, which would give them a first-round bye and home-field advantage if they face Kansas City in the postseason.
With Mahomes suffering a high-ankle sprain in Sunday’s 21-7 win vs. the Cleveland Browns, and the Chiefs taking the field on Saturday as part of a grueling stretch where they’ll play three times in 11 days, their standing atop the conference isn’t as secure as it once appeared.
While the Bills must take it one step at a time, hosting the AFC championship would give Josh Allen and company a chance to lift the Lombardi Trophy for the first time in franchise history.
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