Bills Clinch AFC East With Snowy Win Over 49ers
On a snowy Sunday night in Orchard Park, NY, Josh Allen and the rest of the Buffalo Bills dashed through the snow (and the 49ers) defense, en route to a dominant 35-10 win over the defending NFC Champions.
With the victory, the Bills improved to 10-2 and clinched their fifth straight AFC East Division Crown, being the only team this decade to top this division. They became the first team since the 2009 Indianapolis Colts to clinch a division with five or more games left in the regular season.
Coming into the season the AFC East predicted to be one of most competitive in all of football, with many pundits picking the Jets or Dolphins to win the division. Instead, it is the least competitive, with the Bills running away from the other three teams.
This is thanks to a seven games and counting win streak that was kicked off way back in week 6, when the Bills beat the Jets on Monday Night Football to bounce back from back to back losses. They haven’t looked back since, with MVP favorite Allen leading the charge.
This Sunday, Allen was his usual brilliant self, wowing the fans all game long with his displays of skill and athleticism.
In a career full of statistical accomplishments Allen achieved a first on Sunday night, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for, run for, and catch touchdowns in the same game. After an early 49ers field goal, the Bills started their scoring on two touchdown runs, one from Ray Davis from five yards out and the other on a 65-yard dash by James Cook. Next, Allen threw a seven-yard touchdown to Mack Hollins just before halftime, giving the Bills a 21-3 lead.
In the third quarter the Bills scored again, this time on the undisputed play of the game. On a play from the 49ers seven-yard line, Allen rifled a short pass to Amari Cooper. Cooper was immediately wrapped up by a 49er defender, but Allen darted behind Cooper, Cooper lateraled him the ball, and Allen rushed to the pylon and extended for the score. This sent the Bills crowd into a frenzy, and put the game out of reach for the 49ers with the score at this point 28-3.
While they did cut the lead to 28-10, Allen responded by rushing for a touchdown to complete the trifecta and make the score 35-10, which is what the game ended at.
At this point in the season, the Bills and 49ers feel like two teams going in opposite directions. The 49ers were hyped as a Super Bowl favorite this season after narrowly losing it last year, but are now falling apart, with the injuries and losses adding up, a 5-7 record, and the playoffs looking unlikely. The Bills, on the other hand, were not very hyped up going into the season, but now look like a Super Bowl favorite who is trending in the right direction. They are on a big win streak and are also getting healthy, which will be key come playoff time. As a Bills fan myself, I’m very excited for the rest of the season, as it should awesome to watch how it plays out.