Buffalo Bills at Denver Broncos: First-half open thread

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NARRATOR: “It’s been 25 years...”

We begin our story today as the Buffalo Bills look to erase a quarter-century drought in the divisional title department. With a win over the Denver Broncos today, Buffalo will be crowned AFC East champions for the first time since 1995. Prepare for a slew of tweets noting everything from the Presidency to the cost of a gallon of milk to the country’s number-one song.

Sure, all of those hackneyed clichés may feel over the top, but let’s be real: we’re Bills fans. Over the top is our default setting. Give us something to be excited about in a year where we’ve had very little to be excited about and we’re going to take it to extremes.

Josh Allen has the opportunity to continue an MVP-caliber season in a scenario that no quarterback since Jim Kelly has had. His top target, Stefon Diggs, is one catch and 201 yards away from setting franchise records in receptions and receiving yards. With nearly all of Denver’s top corners unavailable for today’s game, he will almost certainly break the receptions record—my money is on him doing so on the game’s first play—but the receiving yardage record is in play, too.

Drew Lock leads a Denver offense that has plenty of young, explosive playmakers, so this won’t be some walk in the park for Buffalo. They’ll need to come out and play the kind of inspired, though football that has earned them solid victories over the San Francisco 49ers and the Pittsburgh Steelers in consecutive weeks.

Your open thread is here, ladies and gentlemen. Here’s to the Bills adding another strong chapter to what has been a phenomenal 2020 season. Enjoy the game, and go Bills!