Ranking the top 5 Bills performances from last year

With this current 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. And while all of us had very high expectations for this team last year, they didn’t quite have the regular season that many of us thought they would. However with every bad game (Jaguars, Colts, Pats wind game) came a great game, and that’s what we’re going to focus on in this list of their top five performances of 2021.

No. 5: Week 4 – Bills 40, Texans 0

Coming in at number five we have the 40-0 drubbing of Davis Mills and the Houston Texans at home in Week 4. While this game started out a little shaky for the Bills’ offense, as Josh Allen threw an interception on his first pass of the game and the following drive resulted in a three-and-out. The defense certainly held to the challenge early with a big 4th down stop when the Texans were in the red zone. Buffalo was in control after that, rattling off forty straight points with 2 TDs by Dawson Knox, 1 by Zack Moss, and even Mitch Trubisky got in on the fun with a TD scamper of his own in garbage time.

The defense feasted on Mills, picking him off four times (Tremaine Edmunds, Micah Hyde, Jaquan Johnson, and Tyler Matakevich). Tyler Bass was a perfect 4/4 on field goals for the game.

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 is you’re playing. This was a great overall performance by the Buffalo Bills as a whole and definitely helped boost the confidence of the team and carry momentum into the following week.

Notable stats

Josh Allen: 20-30, 248 passing yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, 41 yard rushing yards. Stefon Diggs: 7 receptions, 114 yards. Devin Singletary: 14 carries for 79 yards.

No. 4: Week 16 – Bills 33, Patriots 21

This was virtually a must-win game for the Bills. Down a game in the standings to the Patriots, and after just losing to them a couple weeks ago in Orchard Park, it was now Buffalo’s turn to go into 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 sport reporters cracking jokes about the Bills division reign lasting only a year.

The Bills were sick of it, and Stefon Diggs was definitely sick of it. Buffalo started the game with a bang and went down and scored on their opening drive on a 4th down play where 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 5 points in the fourth quarter. However, with just about 7 minutes left on the clock, Josh Allen iced the game, leading a huge drive and ending it with a TD. On that drive, Allen juked out Matthew Judon on 4th down to keep the drive alive, Diggs had a huge 3rd down conversion, and the drive was capped off with a TD pitch to Dawson Knox. That’s everything you want in your franchise QB right there. A huge game-clinching TD that put Buffalo back in the driver’s seat and shut down the media’s narrative of the Patriots getting their throne back.

The importance of the game and the tremendous all-around performance is what makes this number four on the list.

Notable stats

Josh Allen: 30-47, 314 passing yards, 3 TD, 12 rushes for 64 yards. Isaiah McKenzie: 11 receptions, 125 receiving yards and 1 TD. Stefon Diggs: 7 catches for 85 yards and 1 TD. Damien Harris: 18 carries for 103 yards and 3 TD.

No. 3: Week 14 – Bucs 33, Bills 27 (OT)

This list is called “Top 5 Bills Performances” right? Not “Games” or “Wins”? That’s why this game makes the list. The team that showed up in the second half of this game is the team we were expecting to see all year long. Yeah, the Bills lost the game on some 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 Tampa. Buffalo could’ve rolled over and given up in the 2nd half but they didn’t. They fought back, they showed heart and guts, and they had Bills Mafia “billeiving” again.

A play I loved was on the final comeback drive. On 4th and 4, the Bills needed to convert or the game was over. Gabriel Davis made a catch about 2 yards short of the marker and fought through the tackle, bringing a defender with him, to get the first down – and the bench was going crazy. That play sums up the fight in the team that day in Tampa Bay.

They outscored the Bucs 24-3 in the 2nd half, with Allen totaling 417 of Buffalo’s total yards. They fought all the way 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, due to circumstances out of Buffalo’s control, they had to settle for a FG for the tie. The Bucs eventually won the game in OT and 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 5 straight dominating victories and started to peak at the right time. I truly believe this team that showed up in the 2nd half of this game is the team you’ll be seeing a lot of come September.

Notable Stats

Josh Allen: 36-54, 308 passing yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, 12 carries, 109 rushing yards. 1 rushing TD. Stefon Diggs: 7 catches for 74 yards. Cole Beasley: 9 catches for 64 yards. Tom Brady: 31-46, 2 TD. Leonard Fournette:19 carries for 133 yards and 1 TD. Chris Godwin: 10 catches for 105 yards.

No. 2: Week 5 – Bills 38, Chiefs 20

At number two we have the Week 5 victory on Sunday night Football at Arrowhead against the Chiefs. Buffalo came in on a 3-game win streak while KC was sliding early in the season. Another game that 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. Allen once again led the offense with 374 total yards and 4 TD’s including one insane hurdle to pick up a 1st 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 – that 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 terrific, the defense held up and made big plays when they needed to, and Buffalo showed the world that they have what it takes to take down Mahomes and the Chiefs.

Notable stats

Josh Allen: 15-26, 315 passing yards, 3 TD, 11 carries for 59 rushing yards and 1 TD. Dawson Knox: 3 catches for 117 yards and 1 TD. Emmanuel Sanders: 3 catches for 54 yards and 2 TD. Mecole Hardman: 9 catches for 76 yards.

No. 1: Wild Card Round – Bills 47, Patriots 17

You all knew this one was coming. How could this not be the best Bills performance of the 2021 season? There was so much hype coming into this game. Everyone thought that Belichick in the playoffs is 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 Pats win this game, and it’s going to be cold – blah, blah, blah.

None of that mattered at all. And it’s funny to look back and see 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 that 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.

The Bills had a perfect game, scoring a touchdown all drives except the final drive of the game which ended in a kneel down. How about that? The Buffalo Bills setting 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.

Notable stats

Josh Allen: 21-25, 308 passing yards, 5 TD. Devin Singletary: 16 carries for 81 yards and 2 TD. Dawson Knox: 5 catches for 89 yards and 2 TD. Kendrick Bourne: 7 catches for 77 yards and 2 TD.