The Bills are primed to set a new offensive record over their final 2 games
By Luke Norris
With the Kansas City Chiefs taking an easy 29-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day, the Buffalo Bills now have no shot at the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC.
Nevertheless, Buffalo is in the midst of one of the greatest seasons in franchise history, one that could very well lead to its first Super Bowl appearance since famously losing the last of four straight to close out the 1993 campaign.
Unable to fall lower than the No. 3 seed, the Bills could clinch the second seed this Sunday with a win over the New York Jets, which would guarantee them at least two home games in the postseason if they advance past the Wild Card Round.
And if they can then get a Week 18 win over the New England Patriots, they'd finish at 14-3, which would give them the second-highest winning percentage (.824) in franchise history, trailing only the 1964 team that went 12-2 (.857) en route to the first of two straight AFL titles.
Then, of course, there's the magical season being strung together by Josh Allen, who seems set to become only the third Buffalo player to win NFL MVP, the only others being running backs O.J. Simpson (1973) and Thurman Thomas (1991).
Allen, of course, has set multiple NFL records in recent weeks.
Against the San Francisco 49ers, he became the first player ever to record a passing, rushing, and receiving touchdown in the same game. A week later, against the Los Angeles Rams, he became the first with three passing touchdowns and three rushing scores in the same game. He then accounted for four total TDs, two through the air and two on the ground, in a win over the Detroit Lions to become the first with at least two of each in back-to-back games.
So, even if the Bills don't win their first Super Bowl, it's already been a magical season, one that could lead to yet another record.
The Bills need 33 points over the final two weeks of the season to set a new franchise scoring record
Led by Allen's 26 touchdown passes and 11 rushing scores and aided by James Cook's 16 total touchdowns, which are tied for the most in the league, the Bills have scored 469 points through their first 15 games, already good for the third-most in team history.
The franchise record currently belongs to the 2020 team, which scored 501 in what turned out to be the last 16-game season in league history. That was also Allen's best statistical season, as he threw for a career-high 4,544 yards and a career-best 37 touchdowns, adding eight rushing scores and his first-ever receiving touchdown en route to a second-place finish in the MVP voting.
Simple math tells us that if the Bills can score 33 total points over the next two weeks that they'll set a new mark. Of course, some would put an asterisk on it, given how the 2020 team's total came in 16 games.
That said, though, if these Bills can score 64 combined points against the Jets and Patriots, they'd surpass the franchise-best 31.3125 average of that 2020 team, as their final average would be 31.353.
Of course, that could prove difficult, as one would think Allen and several other starters would rest in Week 18 agaisnt New England if Buffalo has the No. 2 seed locked up. But even if that is the case, it seems likely that this unit will at least get the 33 points it needs over the final two games to set the new record.