Top Five: Best Buffalo Bills Performances 2021-2022
With this current Buffalo Bills team looking like the best Bills team we’ve had in decades, it’s still quite amazing how much Buffalo has accomplished in these past few years of the McBeane/Josh Allen era. While many of us had very high expectations for this team last year, they didn’t quite have the regular season that we thought they would. With every bad game, (Jaguars, Colts, Pats wind game) came a great game as well, and that’s what we’re going to focus on today.
5: Bills Win vs Texans 40-0
At number five we have the 40-0 drubbing of David Mills and the Houston Texans. This game started a little shaky for the Buffalo offense, with Josh Allen throwing an interception on his first pass of the game and the following drive was a three and out. The defense certainly rose to the challenge early with a big fourth-down stop when the Texans were in the red zone.
That was the last time the Texans would see the red zone for the rest of the game as well. Buffalo was in control after that, rattling off 40 straight points with two touchdowns by tight end Dawson Knox, one by running back Zach Moss, and even backup quarterback, Mitchel Trubisky got in on the fun with a touchdown scamper of his own in garbage time.
The defense absolutely feasted on David Mills picking him off four times, one each by Edmunds, Hyde, Jaquan Johnson, and even Tyler Matakevich got one of his own. Bass was a perfect four for four on field goals for the game as well. While a drubbing of a bad Texans team was expected, shutting a team out and holding them to 109 total yards is very difficult to do, no matter who the team you’re playing. This was a great overall performance by the Buffalo Bills and definitely helped boost the confidence of the team, as they carried the momentum into the following week.
4: Win @ Patriots 33-21
This game was virtually a must-win game for the Bills this season. Down a game in the standings, after just losing to Belichick and Mac Jones once already a couple of weeks ago in Orchard Park, it was now Buffalo’s turn to go into infamous Gillette Stadium and get a win no matter what. At this point, we’ve already heard the narratives, and the media was running with the story of how the Patriots dynasty will live on, Boston sports reporters cracking jokes about the Bills division reign lasting only a year. Enough of that! We were sick of it, the Bills were sick of it, and Stefon Diggs was definitely sick of it as well.
Buffalo started the game with a bang, going down, scoring on their opening drive on a fourth-down play, when Mcdermott decided to roll the dice early and it paid off. Buffalo was in control nearly all game. Even when the Pats would come down and tie it up, it still felt like Buffalo had this game in their control.
The Patriots managed to get this game down to five points and had all the momentum. However, with just about seven minutes left on the clock, Josh Allen iced the game, leading a huge drive and ending it with a touchdown. On that same drive, he juked out the Patriots’ best defender in Matthew Judon on a fourth down to keep the drive alive, followed by a huge third down conversion by Stefon Diggs and finally capping off the drive with a touchdown pitch to Dawson Knox.
That’s everything you want in your franchise quarterback right there. A huge game-winning touchdown put Buffalo back in the driver’s seat and shut down the media’s narrative of the Patriots getting their throne back. A massive statement win this was for Buffalo, and an all-around tremendous performance by all units on the field. The importance and method of victory are what makes this number four.
3: Second Half Of Bills @ Bucs 27-33
This list is called “Top five Bills Performances” right? Not “Games” or “Wins”? I decided to keep us all on our toes for this list. The team that showed up in the 2nd half of this game is the team we were expecting to see all year long. Yeah, we lost the game on some very questionable calls towards the end, but this game was the turning point of the season for this team.
Going into halftime it was 24-3, most of us were ready to turn the TV off, as this Bills team was letting us down all year and surely Tom Brady was going to destroy the Bills like he always does. Buffalo could’ve rolled over and given up in the second half, but they didn’t. They fought back, they showed heart, they showed spirit and guts, and this Buffalo team that showed up in the 2nd half of this game got us all “Billieving” again.
A play I loved was on the final comeback drive on fourth and four, needing to convert or the game was over, Davis made a catch about two yards short of the marker, put his head down, he fought through a tackle to get that first down and the bench was going crazy. That play really sums up this team. Never quitting. Always fighting.
They outscored the Bucs 24-3 in the second half, with Allen totaling 417 of Buffalo’s total yards. They fought back to tie the game up at 27-27, even though Buffalo had a chance to take the lead at the very end of the game, but due to circumstances out of Buffalo’s control, they had to settle for a field goal for the tie. The Bucs eventually won the game in overtime, while this defeat was very deflating, and they came all the way back only to have the win stripped from them at the end, it wasn’t all bad. After this loss, the Bills rattled off five straight, dominating victories and they were beginning to peak at the right time.
I truly believe this team that showed up in the second half of this game, is the team you’ll be seeing a lot more this coming year.
2: Win @ Chiefs 38-20
At number two, we have the week five victory on Sunday Night Football at Arrowhead stadium, against the Chiefs, our vaunted foe. Buffalo came into this game on a three-game win streak while Kansas City was sliding early in the season. In another game, Buffalo was pretty much in control for the entire game. Buffalo outscored them every quarter, intercepting Mahomes twice, one for a pick-six by Micah Hyde, and the other by Greg Rousseau as the Chiefs were threatening. Allen once again led the offense with 374 total yards and four touchdowns, including one insane hurdle to pick up a first down in the final minutes of the game. Almost like we’ve seen that one before huh?
The Bills would go on to trounce the Chiefs 38-20 in their home, and this was a major stepping stone for them. Beating the Chiefs in Arrowhead, was one of the monsters the Bills were determined to slay this season and they did just that. This was an all-around terrific performance. The offense played great, and the defense held up and made big plays when they needed. Buffalo showed the world that they had what it takes to take down Mahomes and the Chiefs.
1: Wild Card Win Vs Patriots 47-17
You all knew this one was coming. How could this not be the best Bills’ performance of the 2021-2022 season? There was so much hype coming into this game, everyone thought that Belichick in the playoffs was a different beast, you don’t want to play Belichick three times in a season, the Bills winning the division won’t mean anything if the Patriots win this game, and it’s going to be cold blah blah blah.
None of that mattered at all! It’s funny to look back at all the segments that talked about the weather and how that will benefit the Patriots more. All that was just a huge waste of time. Because when the teams took the field, we saw the cold had absolutely zero effect at all. Josh Allen and the Bills’ offense were able to move the ball at will on Belichick’s defense and that Buffalo atmosphere was too much for Mac Jones to handle.
Buffalo would go on to win this game 47-17 setting a record for the first perfect game in NFL history. How about that? The Buffalo Bills set a record for the first perfect game ever at home, against Belichick and the New England Patriots in the playoffs. It was a game that surely no one will ever forget, and a game that will go down in history as well. This was the game that is going to set the standard for the next decade. This was another monster Buffalo had to slay. The torch has officially been passed. The AFC East runs through Buffalo and will continue to run through Buffalo for many more years to come.
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