ESPN: After defeating the Lions, Sean McDermott of the Bills sends an urgent “rare” message.
Following Josh Allen’s record-breaking performance in the Bills’ Week 15 victory against the Lions, Sean McDermott expressed both gratitude and caution.
In Week 15, the Buffalo Bills defeated the Detroit Lions 48–42. Josh Allen’s four-touchdown effort, which included two touchdowns on the ground, helped Buffalo win in a possible Super Bowl preview, prompting Bills head coach Sean McDermott to express both gratitude and caution, according to the Associated Press.
“Up there with the best teams, it’s rare air,” McDermott remarked. “From now on, we will have to play in that manner each week.”
Now, the Bills are 11-3. They have won eight of their previous nine games, including a 30–21 triumph against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 11, and they have already secured the AFC East. The latter’s 15-game winning run, which included their postseason triumph on their way to the Chiefs’ second consecutive Lombardi Trophy, was ended.
Allen reaffirmed Sunday in the Motor City why Buffalo has the best chance of unseating Patrick Mahomes and company of any NFL club.
In addition to his four touchdowns, the Bills’ top quarterback completed 23 of 34 airborne passes for 362 yards. In addition, he averaged 6.2 yards per carry while running for 68 yards. He also carved apart the Lions with machine-like efficiency, not having a turnover or taking a sack.
When Josh Allen set a league record by tossing and running for multiple touchdowns for the sixth time in his career, Lions head coach Dan Campbell remarked, “He poses a huge issue.”
The Bills might win the top seed in the AFC.
Buffalo’s victories over Detroit and Kansas City in the regular season are significant achievements on a path the Bills hope will culminate in the team’s first Super Bowl victory. As coach McDermott cautioned, their strategy cannot falter in the closing weeks leading up to the playoffs, even with luck on the health front.
With two games against the New England Patriots and a game against the New York Jets in between, they will wrap out the regular season. For the postseason opponents Buffalo faces, those games represent chances to keep improving, even if those two teams are toward the bottom of the league rankings.
The Bills are also very close to surpassing the 13-1 Chiefs for the AFC’s top seed, which would provide them home-field advantage and a first-round bye if they play Kansas City in the postseason.
Their position at the top of the conference isn’t as stable as it previously seemed, as Mahomes sustained a high-ankle sprain in Sunday’s 21-7 victory against the Cleveland Browns and the Chiefs will play three games in 11 days beginning Saturday.
Josh Allen and company would have the opportunity to raise the Lombardi Trophy for the first time in the Bills’ history if they were to host the AFC Championship, but they must take things one step at a time.
