Bills best the NFL in Week 15
Every game has mattered ever since the Buffalo Bills fell to 6-6 a few weeks ago and sure enough, Josh Allen and co. have responded with two season-altering wins over the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys.The Week 15 win against the Cowboys was easily the most impressive victory of the year and the fact […]
Every game has mattered ever since the Buffalo Bills fell to 6-6 a few weeks ago and sure enough, Josh Allen and co. have responded with two season-altering wins over the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys.
The Week 15 win against the Cowboys was easily the most impressive victory of the year and the fact Buffalo was able to follow up its most important win of the year with that performance really speaks to the trajectory of the team.
And, as a result, the Bills' playoffs increased by 27% in Week 15, the most out of any other NFL team, per the New York Times' playoff machine.
The Bills had a 42% chance of making the postseason before Week 15's Thursday Night Football matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders. Now that they've trounced the Cowboys, they have a 69% chance of reaching the playoffs. Buffalo also its chances of winning the division rise by 16% – only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers saw their chances of a division title rise more (21%).
Overall, the Bills' playoff odds have increased by 47% over the last five weeks. They're sitting at No. 9 in the AFC, but everything is set up for them to make the postseason if they handle their own business.
Bills' remaining schedule is why their playoff odds have sky-rocketed
What makes this even better for Bills Mafia is the fact the team got through the toughest stretch of its remaining schedule. Heading into Week 14, the Bills had the 10th-hardest remaining SOS thanks to the Chiefs and Cowboys games. Now, they have the league's ninth-easiest schedule with upcoming games against the Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots before closing out the season against the Miami Dolphins.
Credit Allen, too. He talked about how adversity brings the best out in this team before the Chiefs win and so far, that's been the exact case.
One really has to give credit to Sean McDermott and the staff for turning this around. The season isn't over by any means. There's still a long way to go and nothing is guaranteed. But at the same time, these last two games were going to make or break the Bills season and Buffalo responded in the best way, possible. That's hard to do, especially at this point in the season and with all the injuries the team has dealt with.
They found a way to get it done, though, and now they're in better shape than they've been in since Week 4's 48-20 win over the Dolphins.
