Last January, the Buffalo Bills hosted the Indianapolis Colts in the Wild Card round in the team’s first home playoff game in 24 years. Josh Allen tossed a pair of touchdown passes—one to Stefon Diggs and one to Dawson Knox—and added a rushing touchdown as the Bills raced out to a 24-10 fourth-quarter lead and held on for a 27-24 win, the franchise’s first home playoff victory in a quarter of a century.
The game was played before 6,700 football-starved fans due to COVID-19 restrictions. Fast forward ten months, and the two former AFC East rivals are at it again, this time in front of a sold-out, raucous #BillsMafia crowd.
As the Bills (6-3) prepare to take on the Colts (5-5) at 1 p.m. EST Sunday at Highmark Stadium in Week 11, this game has major implications in the AFC playoff picture.
A win over Indianapolis ensures the Bills hold onto first place in the AFC East over those pesky New England Patriots (7-4). A loss, and Buffalo would fall from the top spot in the division for the first time since September, and the Bills could find themselves either in sixth or seventh place in the conference.
In Week 10, the Bills rebounded from arguably the worst loss in head coach Sean McDermott’s tenure, to trounce the New York Jets 45-17. Allen went 21 for 28 passing with 366 yards and two touchdowns, Diggs caught eight passes for 162 yards and a touchdown, and Matt Breida added a rushing and receiving touchdown to fuel a resurgent Buffalo offense.
On defense, the Bills picked off Mike White four times as every member of Buffalo’s secondary came away with a turnover—Jordan Poyer, Tre’Davious White, Taron Johnson and Levi Wallace recorded interceptions, while Micah Hyde forced and recovered a fumble.
As for the Colts, they played the Jacksonville Jaguars and took a 17-0 lead before hanging on for a 23-17 triumph in Week 10. Jonathan Taylor rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown and the Colts sacked Trevor Lawrence three times. But they also allowed Jacksonville to hang around and the win wasn’t secured until Dayo Odeyingbo and DeForest Buckner combined on a strip sack of Lawrence in Colts territory late in the fourth quarter.
Sunday’s matchup is the 72nd all-time between these teams. Buffalo holds a 38-32-1 edge in the all-time series.
Besides the Wild Card clash in 2020, Buffalo also defeated the Colts 13-7 in the Snowvertime game on Dec. 10, 2017, as LeSean McCoy’s 21-yard touchdown run in overtime kept Buffalo’s playoff hopes alive. Thanks in large part to that overtime victory, the Bills would go on to snap their 17-year playoff drought that season.
Buffalo, which has won three of the previous four matchups with the Colts, is listed as a seven-point favorite. The Bills will be wearing their blue jerseys with white pants and white helmet. Here are all the ways to catch Sunday’s game from home.
TV/Streaming/Radio Schedule
Date: Sunday, November 21, 2021
Time: 1 p.m. EST
Channel: The game will be carried on CBS on WIVB and CFTO in Buffalo, WROC in Rochester, WKTV, WTVH, and WBNG in Syracuse, WBNG and WENY in Elmira, WKTV, WTVH, and WRGB in Utica, WKTV and WRGB in Albany, WWNY in Watertown, and WSEE in Erie. View the broadcast map.
Announcers: Kevin Harlan (play-by-play) and Trent Green (analyst).
Streaming: FuboTV and the Buffalo Bills app (especially helpful for those with Directv)
Location: Highmark Stadium | Orchard Park, N.Y.
Radio: WGR 550 AM (Buffalo), WCMF 96.5 FM and WROC 950 AM (Rochester), Fan 590 AM (Toronto), WKRL 100.9 FM and 106.5 FM (Syracuse), and the rest of the Buffalo Bills Radio Network.
Radio Play-by-Play: John Murphy and Eric Wood with sideline reporter Sal Capaccio.
Online: NFL Game Pass, NFL.com Game Center
Betting Odds
Line: Bills by 7
Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.
Social Media
Twitter: Follow @BuffRumblings for complete Bills coverage on Twitter before, during, and after every game.
Instagram: @buffalorumblings
Facebook: Like Buffalo Rumblings on Facebook!
Buffalo Rumblings Podcast Links
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Friday Injury Report
Buffalo Bills
- Questionable: LB Tremaine Edmunds (hamstring).
- Will play: WR Cole Beasley (ribs), RB Taiwan Jones (illness), LB Matt Milano (shoulder).
Indianapolis Colts
- Questionable: LB Darius Leonard (ankle/hand).
- Will play: DT DeForest Bucker (abs/throat/back), CB TJ Carrie (knee), CB Anthony Chesley (illness), TE Jack Doyle (knee), OL Eric Fisher (back), OL Quenton Nelson (ankle), LB Dayo Odeyingbo (ankle), CB Xavier Rhodes (calf), OL Braden Smith (elbow), LB EJ Speed (knee)
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