For the past two years, Buffalo Bills fans could see the potential their team had in Western New York. Now the national media is catching on as well.
They’ve been stitching together wins like they used to in the early 90’s when they made a run to four-straight Super Bowl appearances. In fact, Monday’s 34-24 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football pushed the Bills to a 9-3 record for the second straight season, which is the first time the Bills have done so since 1990-92.
A signature win over the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day last season put the Bills on the map. Then, throughout this season they’ve increased their profile even more with wins over five teams that currently have a record of .500 or better.
Their win on Monday has started to garner the Bills a lot of national recognition. On Tuesday morning, Peter Schrager from Good Morning Football, gave the Bills high praise.
“Josh Allen was awesome and this team is made of all the right stuff,” Schrager said during Good Morning Football on Tuesday.
“The Bills would scare me if I were a Chiefs fan because this guy (Allen) has the arm that Mahomes does and last night was his best game as a professional. I thought he was fantastic and anybody watching that game last night can’t say ‘Yea, can he win the big one?’ They wiped the floor with a very good Robert Saleh coached Niners defense. Allen was dialed in.”
Buffalo lost to the Kansas City Chiefs on a Monday earlier in the year after it got moved from a Thursday night due to the coronavirus outbreak that plagued the Tennessee Titans earlier in the year.
But, the Bills played without a few key players and Allen was in the middle of a maturation process. After a strong four-game stretch to start the season that had him in MVP consideration, the Titans and Chiefs, which account for two of Buffalo’s three losses, threw different defenses at the Bills and Allen had to adjust.
Allen showed that maturation on Monday when he threw for 375 yards and four touchdowns while completing 32 of his 40 pass attempts. Schrager has been one of Buffalo’s top supporters in the national media but he made a claim on Tuesday that offered high praise for the Bills.
“I think the Bills team that played last night could beat any team in football,” Schrager said.
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Bills Win on Monday Night Football for the First Time in a Long Time
Monday’s win over the 49ers was the first time the Bills have won on Monday Night Football since 1999. With Doug Flutie under center and Dan Marino on the opposite sideline, the Bills beat the Miami Dolphins, 23-18.
With the win on Monday, the Bills solidified themselves as an AFC favorite heading into the remainder of the season. They’ll have even more chances to prove it too as they play their next three games in primetime.
On Sunday, the Bills take on the Pittsburgh Steelers who lost their first game of the season on Monday to the Washington Football Team.
The Bills played the Steelers on Sunday Night Football last season and came away with a seven-point victory at Heinz Field. But, these two teams are completely different this season.
Ben Roethlisberger is back under center for the Steelers after suffering a season-ending elbow injury early last year and the Steelers have one of the top defenses in the NFL once again.
Sunday night will the toughest challenge yet for the Bills offense and the Steelers will be looking to get back on track after letting their undefeated season slip away against a team with a record of 5-7.
The Bills Have Trusted the Process
Since Sean McDermott took over as the head coach of the Bills, the organization has formed a new culture. One of the main mantras McDermott brought with him was “Trust the Process” and each year the Bills have done just that.
In his first season at the helm, the Bills snapped a 17-year playoff drought with a savvy group of veterans and a little help from Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals.
After drafting Allen in 2018, the Bills had a down year as they shed dead cap space and built up Allen after he took over the starting position during the second game of the year.
Last year, the Bills made their second playoff appearance in three years and now it looks like they are going to bring home their first AFC title since 1995 this season.
“This just shows what the guys upstairs did,” Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins said during a post-game video conference call. “They put a good group of guys together that continue to put themselves in position to win. Nobody is perfect but we just find a way to come together and get the job done. I give all the credit to the people upstairs. (Brandon) Beane, the Pegula’s, McDermott, all those guys. They’ve put a great team in place to win in situations like this”
In the past two seasons “The Process” has continued to build and the Bills are 19-9 since the beginning of last season as they look to punch their ticket to the playoffs for the second season in a row.
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