After snapping a 17-year playoff drought in 2017, the Buffalo Bills heading back to the playoffs for the third time in four years and they are set to take on the Indianapolis Colts at 1 p.m. on Saturday in front of 6,700 members of the Bills Mafia fan base for the first time this season.
The @NFL Super Wild Card Weekend schedule:
With their 56-26 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, the Bills secured the No. 2 seed in the AFC and the Colts locked up the No. 7 seed after the Tennessee Titans took down the Houston Texans.
In order to punch their ticket to the playoffs, Colts rookie running back Jonathan Taylor ran 30 times for 253 yards and two touchdowns as he put his team on his back and carried them to the Wild Card round of the AFC playoffs.
Veteran signal-caller Phillip Rivers threw for 164 yards and a touchdown as the Colts held off the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Now, the two teams will face off for the first time since Oct. 21, 2018. The Colts protected their home field in that matchup with a 37-5 victory at Lucas Oil Stadium. In one of his few starts during the 2018 season, while a rookie Josh Allen was out with an injury, Derek Anderson threw for 175 yards and three interceptions and the Bills couldn’t do much offensively.
During his final season in the NFL, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck threw for 156 yards and four touchdowns while Marlon Mack ran rampant on the Bills defense for 126 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.
Although they’ve played 70 times in the regular season, the two teams have never met in the postseason.
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The Bills Need To Finish It Off
All season long Bills players have reiterated the same thing, none of their regular season success matters if they don’t play well in the playoffs.
Even after putting up the second-highest point total in team history against the Dolphins on Sunday, and sweeping the AFC East for the first time in franchise history, that sentiment remained the same among Bills players.
“We feel good, and obviously we need to keep things rolling,” Allen said during a post-game video conference call on Sunday. “This doesn’t mean anything if we don’t do anything in the playoffs and we understand that. We have a very veteran-laden team, guys that care about each other, guys that just want to work hard and do their job.”
The Bills don’t just have the right mindset for their playoff run either, after winning six straight games to cap off the regular season, the Bills are playing at their best at just the right time.
The Buffalo Bills are Peaking At The Right Time
In their last two playoff appearances, the Bills limped into the playoffs.
In 2017, the Bills were gifted a playoff berth when Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton hit wide receiver Tyler Boyd with a miraculous pass to beat the Baltimore Ravens and the Bills got their first playoff berth in 17 seasons.
Then, just last season, the Bills went to the playoffs again. But, after clinching their playoff berth with a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 15, Buffalo lost its final two games of the regular season. Then, they lost to the Houston Texans in overtime of their Wild Card matchup.
This season is completely different as the Bills are firing on all cylinders heading into the playoffs.
Since their Week 11 bye week, the Bills are averaging 38.1 points during their last six-game stretch. They are also only allowing 18.3 points per game during that same stretch. If not for a last-second hail mary during their matchup with the Arizona Cardinals, the Bills would be on a 10-game winning streak leading into the NFL playoffs.
Now, the Bills enter the postseason and are on a mission to win their first Super Bowl in franchise history.
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Bills Learn Time and Date of 1st Round Playoff Matchup