I’ve dedicated a fair share of these weekly recaps to celebratory themes this season already and nearly took this in another direction. But you know what? If ever there was a season we all needed something to celebrate, this is it. Our Buffalo Bills have obliged too. Consider this next sentence carefully as you read it.
No matter what happens in the playoffs, this is already a historic season. Different eras I know, but Josh Allen just finished the best passing season in team history. A rookie many of us were concerned about just broke the single-season points record held by legend Steve Christie. Collectively the team broke the season record for points too. That 25-year home playoff game drought? That represents 40 percent of the team’s ENTIRE history!
So why the **** not take a minute and appreciate this every time we get the chance? It’s not like I can’t be analytical, informative, and celebratory at the same time, right?
Isaiah McKenzie’s big day—Part 1
The Bills started off incredibly slow, held without a score until this second-quarter touchdown. With Cole Beasley out, Isaiah McKenzie saw a lot of extra play time and repeatedly capitalized. I like the anticipation on the throw here. Though McKenzie isn’t normally asked to do a lot of this, Josh Allen trusted him to do his part. On McKenzie’s end, he slow burns the start of this route then kicks into high gear on the cut.
Isaiah McKenzie’s big day—Part 2
I’m not gonna say much here. If you enjoyed the broadcast angle, you’re gonna love the end-zone angle for this return. I recommend watching this a few times as there’s a lot to take in.
Dean Marlowe’s big day
This was the second interception for Dean Marlowe. If you look at both of them it’s easy to conclude he was just at the right place at the right time. But you should ask the question, “why was he in the right place?” Once the Bills built a lead they could use the clock as a weapon. By this time field goals were irrelevant and yard meaningless. The Bills de-emphasize the coverage on the running back. Yes I know the linebacker at the top is shadowing the back, but he’s also able to clog up the short zone passing lane(s) on that side.
Marlowe gets to hang back and prevent a quick score. When Tua Tagovailoa overthrows his target it’s easy pickings.
Tyler Bass—Most points in a single season
This is pretty great. Tyler Bass started a little shaky but has become quite the kicker in his rookie season. If Bass continues his clutch play and the Bills’ offense keeps scoring in 2021 this record might not stand for long. Mark it, 141 points is the bar to clear.
Josh Allen—New reigning passing champion
I used both camera angles here because the broadcast and stats don’t properly show the distance. Allen’s arm strength is a huge positive for these routine passes. This was a perfect play to break Drew Bledsoe’s former single-season yardage record for the Bills. It shows the difficulty in stopping this offense when they’re clicking and how Allen got to this point to begin with during the game.
Stefon Diggs—NFL receiving leader
Here’s Stefon Diggs’s final catch of the night. He had already set himself up well to take the receiving crown for this season but why not another one? Diggs slid all game. Buffalo was chasing records but kept their eye on this weekend.
Summary
What a phenomenal close to the best regular season in...
Well...
Possibly ever for the Bills.