LATEST NEWS: Bills QB Sends Strong Message to Team About Season’s Importance
The Buffalo Bills have three games left in the regular season, but Josh Allen believes the team should treat each game as if it were a playoff game.
The Bills improved to 8-6 with significant wins against the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys, placing them within three games of a postseason place. Allen stated that the Bills must regard the Chargers game in Los Angeles on December 23 as a must-win.
“We’ve got to control what we can control,” Allen said, via The Associated Press. “It’s essentially win or go home. So again, we got to be prepared for every punch that the Chargers can throw at us and be able to respond and adjust accordingly in game.”
The Bills will face a wounded Chargers team.
The Bills have a great opportunity to jump ahead in the playoff race, as they face a Chargers team that has been struck hard by injuries and some significant changes at the top. Quarterback Justin Herbert went down with a season-ending injury, while wide receiver Keenan Allen was declared out of the December 23 game.
Following last week’s 63-21 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, the Chargers dismissed head coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco. Quarter4 forecasts give the Bills a win chance of more over 90% versus the Chargers.
The Bills have relied heavily on running back James Cook in recent weeks, and he is coming off a career-high 25 carries for 179 yards and two scores against the Cowboys, according to The Associated Press, and he could have another favorable matchup ahead.
“Cook will be facing a Chargers run defense that has allowed an average of 146.2 yards over the past six games,” according to the report. “Buffalo has also used Latavius Murray near the goal line, while also working in Ty Johnson as a change-of-pace runner.”
Josh Allen has taken a back seat.
Though the Bills have relied heavily on Allen at times during the season, he took a backseat in last week’s win over the Chargers. Allen attempted a seasson-low 15 passes, completing seven for a total of 94 yards.
While he did set an NFL record with his 10th game with both a passing and rushing touchdown, Allen said he felt fortunate to watch Cook take over the agme.
“I felt like the kid that didn’t do anything in the class project and got an A,” Allen told reporters after the game, via Fox Sports.
Bills center Mitch Morse added that the team was ready to do whatever it took to get a win, but acknowledged that there was a lot of work still to be done.
“It was kind of all systems go today,” Morse said, via The Associated Press. “We still have an uphill battle, but this is a great first step.”
The Bills will also need some help from the teams in front of them on the playoff bracket, but head coach Sean McDermott said they can only focus on the game ahead of them.
“We’re just focused on the Chargers right now,” the head coach said, via the Batavia Daily News. “We can’t control anything that’s outside of our control, and we just have to focus on the Chargers right now because if we don’t handle that, then all that other stuff is not going to matter.”
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