Buffalo Rumblings
Nearly unstoppable offenses
The Buffalo Bills’ 2024 season has been written. So let’s add some “illustrations!” If you’re new to Plays That Defined, this isn’t a highlight recap, but rather a cathartic retelling of the past season, chapter by chapter.
Don’t vote for your favorite play necessarily, vote for the one that best represents that game’s narrative. I’ll recap the game to refresh your memory, but don’t feel locked in by my narrative.
After losing a shootout to the Los Angeles Rams, the Bills found themselves on the right side of an incredibly high-scoring game. Looking at the box score, you might think that both offenses were unstoppable. While true much of the day, early successes on defense set Buffalo up to take an early lead and set the tone.
As a matter of fact, the game only had a single lead change; when the 0-0 tie to start the contest tipped to the Bills’ favor with their first touchdown. While Detroit got the game within one-score a couple times, most of their day was firmly in Buffalo’s rearview. The final score doesn’t reveal that the proximity of the scores came with 12 seconds to go. Not impossible to find another touchdown, but also not very likely.
On paper, the Bills’ defense had a terrible day, allowing 42 points. In totality that’s hard to argue but the defense completely shut down the Lions’ first two drives, allowing the offense to pull ahead and never look back. This strip sack by defensive tackle Ed Oliver stopped drive number two for the Lions.
I could have crashed your browser just making touchdown GIFs but elected to try and stick to one touchdown per team as the “scoring surrogate.” For the Bills, if you go back and look at the scoring plays there’s this odd sense of ease as they float into the end zone. Even with the hair pull on this one, James Cook still displayed the seeming inevitability of a Bills scoring play.
This was the only turnover of the game and came when things were certainly not in hand for Buffalo. The pass to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown looked quite promising until cornerback Christian Benford dislodged the ball, and linebacker Matt Milano picked it up. I suggested above that the game was a little less close than the one-score outcome suggests and this stop was a major reason why. On a day where both teams scored plenty, each stop was amplified.
It wasn’t any easier selecting a Lions touchdown as a surrogate, but I ultimately went with their best. The 66-yard pass to St. Brown was the longest of the day for either team. Contrasting the Bills’ scores, there was a sense of effort on the part of the Lions, with each point...
