Buffalo Bills Links, 1/4: Recapping win over Falcons

Atlanta Falcons v Buffalo Bills — Photo by Kevin Hoffman/Getty Images

Devin Singletary, the offensive line, Ed Oliver and Harrison Phillips among those earning high marks

All season long, the Buffalo Bills have been winning football games because of Josh Allen’s rocket arm, but during Sunday’s 29-15 home win over the Atlanta Falcons, the Bills found a new way to prevail: relying on the running game.

Today’s edition of the Bills daily links leads off by recapping how Allen, Devin Singletary and Zack Moss and Buffalo’s offensive line were able to turn to the rushing attack into a valuable weapon during a game when Allen was not at his best throwing the football.

Recently featured on Buffalo Rumblings

Additional Bills news from around the web

Report card, observations, reactions to Week 17 win

Led by a career day from running back Devin Singletary, the Buffalo Bills earned their third straight win and kept alive their hopes of capturing their second consecutive AFC East divisional title. Singletary recorded his first career two-touchdown game and finished with a career-best 110 yards, continuing his recent streak of solid performances, while Buffalo’s o-line did not allow the Falcons to sack Allen, and the defense sacked Matt Ryan five times, including a strip sack from Greg Rousseau. We hand out our report cards, make the case for Harrison Phillips to be a full-time starter, discuss how great Buffalo’s defense has been, and more.

Bills rely on ground game to clinch playoff berth

The Buffalo Bills proved they could win on a day when Josh Allen was not at his best after uncharacteristically tossing three interceptions. Learn more about how Singletary’s career game came just in time for the Bills to get their ground game going leading up to the playoffs, how a “pissed off” Josh Allen used his legs to spark the offense, and why Allen’s stats from the Falcons game are a bit misleading. Plus, we dissect the plays of the game, praise Ed Oliver, Greg Rousseau and Buffalo’s pass rush for getting back on track and celebrate the Bills’ fourth playoff appearance in head coach Sean McDermott’s five seasons with the Bills.

Updated AFC playoff picture

While the Bills cannot earn the AFC’s No. 1 overall seed with a win over the New York Jets on Sunday, Buffalo could wind up anywhere from No. 2 to No. 4 if they knock off the Jets in the regular-season finale. In related news, Buffalo’s Week 18 clash with the Jets was bumped back to a 4:25 p.m. EST kickoff.

Odds and ends

Guard Ryan “Rick” Bates is listed as day-to-day after suffering a knee injury in the win over the Falcons. Heading into their last regular-season game of the year, the Bills are relatively healthy and don’t have any players or coaches on the NFL’s reserve/COVID-19 list. Plus, learn about the humorous gift former Bills tight end Lee Smith sent to his old teammate, offensive lineman Jon Feliciano.