CURTIS HENRY
Sports Editor
It had the feel of a game that the Bills would lose.
In fact, it was actually a carbon copy of a game that the Bills did lose. Sunday’s game between the Bills and Buccaneers followed the exact same script as a game between the Bills and Dolphins in Week 7 of the 2016 season.
Similarly to the 2016 matchup against the Dolphins that happened nearly a year earlier to the day, the Bills found themselves leading 17-6 in the second half. Last year’s game resulted in the Bills squandering their second half lead and losing by a score of 28-25 to a Dolphins team that was led by Jay Ajayi’s 200-yard rushing performance.
Sunday’s game appeared to have the same fate. Two touchdown throws by Jameis Winston in a seven minute span during the fourth quarter gave Tampa Bay a 27-20 lead. The common narrative with 3:14 on the clock and the Bills down seven was simple: this is the same old Bills team.
That narrative stood for all of 46 seconds on the game clock. Three plays, 75 yards. That’s all it took for Buffalo to answer and to tie the game at 27. A fumble by Adam Humphries on Tampa Bay’s first play of the ensuing drive gave Buffalo the ball deep in Tampa Bay territory, and the rest was history: run down the clock and let Stephen Hauschka kick the ball.
For Bills fans, this was a monkey off the back. The team finally won a game like this. A game that every single Bills team throughout the 17 year playoff drought has lost, seemingly multiple times. They finally got one. And while this game may seem like the product of an opportunistic defense and the resurgence of last year’s number one rushing offense in the NFL, the Bills victory on Sunday was entirely a result of a “next man up” mentality.
Logan Thomas caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Taylor. Thomas, who played quarterback in college, wouldn’t have been on the field if not for an injury to Charles Clay. Nick O’Leary had two big catches for 58 yards, and like Thomas, most likely would not have been on the field in Clay’s presence.
Matt Milano had a crucial interception in the second half; Milano was starting Sunday in place of injured linebacker Ramon Humber. Taiwan Jones — the Bills third string running back who hadn’t accrued a single touch through 23 quarters on the season — iced the game with an eleven yard catch-and-run late in the fourth, which gave Buffalo a first down and positioned the team for the Hauschka kick.
Perhaps most noteworthy was the impact of Deonte Thompson. Thompson was signed off the Bears’ practice squad earlier in the week and had logged a whopping three practices in Orchard Park before taking the field on Sunday.
The result?
Thompson hauled in four passes and tallied 107 yards in his first appearance for the team. He more than made up for lackluster performances by second-round pick Zay Jones and a still-recovering Jordan Matthews, and until Sunday, the guy wasn’t on any NFL fan’s radar.
Sunday’s win was a direct example of the personality that head coach Sean McDermott wants this team to have. No excuses were made. No one gave up. People made plays when plays needed to be made.
This was the type of grind-it-out victory that has been lacking so often throughout the Bills drought, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Both Miami and New England won on Sunday, which crowds the standings atop the AFC East with three two-loss teams.
The win adds to Buffalo’s list of “quality” wins on the season, as Tampa Bay is a roster stocked with talent and has a quarterback revered in most NFL circles as a guy who is trending towards elite status.
This likely would have been a game to be lost by Buffalo in years past, but this year’s team doesn’t seem to fit the mold of Bills teams of seasons past. It is still early, but with an unexpected 4-2 record and a surprisingly soft upcoming six weeks, the Bills may be playing meaningful football in January.