Are the Buffalo Bills the second best team in the AFC?

With the defense stepping up and Josh Allen hitting his stride, there’s a reason to believe in the Buffalo Bills. 

All season long, there have been concerns on the Buffalo Bills‘ contention status. There are reasonings behind every doubter as Sunday football came to a close in Orchard Park.

Will Josh Allen revert to his old ways? Is the defense going to allow another multi-touchdown game? Will the run game be prevalent if called upon?

Yet as Levi Wallace snagged a misfire from Ben Roethlisberger in the fourth quarter, it was clear Sean McDermott and the team could breathe a little while. Yes, there’s concerns to correct before January football, but this was their night.

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If you want to be the best, you have to beat them first. Buffalo made the AFC’s top seed look “blah” on both sides while they looked strong in a “prove-it” 26-15 victory.

The Kansas City Chiefs have earned the right to call themselves the top seed in the conference. Buffalo clearly is now cemented in second place.

Josh Allen has this team trending in the right direction

Outside of a few missed throws, Allen was on point in the second half. The Bills knew this offseason they needed a game-changer on offense to help their hopeful franchise quarterback succeed. Stefon Diggs has been that guy.

The former Vikings star finished the night with 10 catches for 130 yards and a score. Predominantly, he was targeted so much in the second half it looked like a no-hitter on the diamond.. And thanks to it, Diggs became the first receiver this season to surpass 100 receptions this season.

As for his interception? Cam Heyward caused it by pressure to the throwing arm and the Steelers sent a six-man blitz from the league-leading sack defense. What more could you ask for?

Defensively, it was another sound performance against one of the league’s better quarterbacks all-time. Taron Johnson set the tone by grabbing a ball behind JuJu Smith-Schuster and taking back 51 yards for the 9-7 lead entering halftime.

The Steelers are trending in the wrong direction as the season closes. It was another dropped-filled game for go-to target Diontae Johnson, seeing two misfires in the first half. Meanwhile, the run game held to 47 yards, despite the return of James Conner.

Over the past three games, Pittsburgh’s been held to 20 points or less. Meanwhile, Buffalo has scored 24 points or more and won six of their last seven games.

At 10-3, the Bills now have over a 99 percent chance to make the playoffs and a 97 percent chance to win the AFC East. Allen is connecting with targets and the defense is causing turnovers. The biggest thing of all is the team is healthy in games where wins matter most.

The Steelers aren’t. In fact, right now they need their quarterback to start believing in himself once again.

The Chiefs will always be the favorites, but there’s now a new contender in the AFC. Any questions or concerns were answered in three hours Sunday night.

It’s time to believe in this Bills’ team.