The Buffalo Bills locked up their first AFC East title in a quarter-century on Saturday, as they defeated the Denver Broncos, 48-19. The Bills have now won four straight games, and a big reason for their recent success is quarterback Josh Allen. On Saturday night, he completed 28 of 40 passes for 359 yards, two touchdowns and also rushed for two more scores. Stefon Diggs recorded his fifth game with double-digit catches, as he caught 11 passes for 147 yards and had his way with Denver's secondary all night. The Bills defense also came up big, as they held the Broncos to just 255 total yards and Jerry Hughes even recorded a 21-yard scoop-and-score in the third quarter!
Drew Lock wasn't able to build on his four-touchdown performance from last week, as he completed just 20 of 32 passes for 132 yards and one touchdown. Tight end Noah Fant did a solid job trying to pick up the slack on offense, as he caught 8-of-11 targets for 68 yards and a touchdown, but obviously, that was not enough.
The Bills continued to build on the narrative that they are a legitimate contender in the AFC, while the Broncos are forced to revisit some issues they hoped they had left behind.
Why the Bills won
The simple answer is Josh Allen. The third-year quarterback has been great as of late and should be mentioned in the MVP discussion. It appears he's processing the field better every single week and also reminded everyone on Saturday night that he is a true dual-threat quarterback. Allen also has developed strong chemistry with his top two wideouts, as Diggs caught 11 passes for 147 yards and Cole Beasley caught eight passes for 112 yards. Whether it's acting as a game manager or taking shots downfield and picking up yards in big chunks, Allen does whatever is needed from him and he does it well.
Why the Broncos lost
For the Broncos, both sides of the ball struggled on Saturday night. The secondary couldn't stop the deep ball, allowed receivers to thrive in the scramble drill and didn't do enough to pressure Allen. He was sacked just one time and rushed for 33 yards and two scores. The Broncos' offensive struggles were something that was very worrisome, however. Lock didn't throw an interception, but probably should have thrown two, and he had absolutely zero chemistry with his wide receivers. Just five of Lock's 20 completions went to wide receivers, and Jerry Jeudy led the wide receiving corps with 19 yards on one catch. Something I was hoping the Broncos would do in Week 15 was target rookie wideout K.J. Hamler a lot more often. Last week against the Carolina Panthers, he led the team in receiving yards with 86, despite the fact that he caught just two passes. By the way, he scored on both of those touches. Hamler did register a bad drop on Saturday night, but he caught just one pass for four yards. In all, Lock completed just 5 of 13 passes to his wide receivers.
Turning point
Not long after the second half began, the Bills scored two touchdowns in 17 seconds. Allen led Buffalo on a seven-play, 43-yard drive to open the third quarter, and he capped it with his second rushing touchdown of the game.
It certainly felt like the Bills were in control of the game at this point, but just one play later, they really put the final nail in the coffin.
Play of the game
Lock was strip-sacked by Tre'Davious White, and Hughes picked up the loose football and ran 21 yards to the end zone. It truly was an incredible play, as Hughes displayed impressive vision on the scoop-and-score.
Maybe we shouldn't be surprised Hughes looked so comfortable running the ball. According to James Palmer of the NFL Network, Hughes was a unanimous first-team All-District selection at running back in high school! He rushed for 1,412 yards and 19 touchdowns and was also first-team all-district as a kick returner.
What's next
The Bills travel to New England to take on the Patriots next Monday night, and then they will close out the season against the Miami Dolphins on Jan. 3. As for the Broncos, they will take on the Los Angeles Chargers in brand new SoFi Stadium next Sunday, and then will host the Las Vegas Raiders on Jan. 3 to close out the regular season.
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