ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — Whether it's his best game of the season or his worst game of the season, Bills quarterback Josh Allen is always quick to credit his teammates. After Sunday's win against the Falcons in particular, that was especially so. Because it was Allen's worst game of the season through the air.
"Not every game you win is going to be pretty. And that was the case today. You know, I'm fortunate enough to have teammates that step up in big situations like this," Allen said. "Our [offensive[ line did a great job blocking, you know, our defense stepped up. I put them in some tough situations early on, but they had our backs."
Buffalo's signal caller also referred to his teammate that was at the podium with him: Devin Singletary. The third-year running back's career day was the driving force behind Buffalo's victory. In addition to the Bills' best performance as a team in the running game since 2019, the defense also rose to the occasion.
"We went out there after that pick, and were able to force no points. So that was huge. We got a lot of momentum," safety Micah Hyde said. "Especially late in the game too, I think we were up by 14, they thought they scored to make it seven. But yeah he was down, and the penalty put him back. And to get off the field there with no points was a huge part of the game."
The Falcons mustered only 59 yards for the entire second half. Five different Bills got to the quarterback. One of those defenders, Harrison Phillips, also recovered a fumble in the first quarter to set up one of Allen's two rushing touchdowns.
"We have to stand up there. Get field goals and takeaways in that situation," Phillips said. "If we can stop them on 1st and 10, in a drop back game we liked our one-on-ones. We worked some good gains as well. Good communication with our rush and coverage... definitely a great time to hit our stride here."
"Great situational football overall. When you look at third down and red zone on both sides of the ball, maybe that was the difference in the score," head coach Sean McDermott said.
Two of McDermott's greatest focuses all year long are situational football and the turnover battle. The Bills lost the latter in a bad way. A Marquez Stevenson fumble turned into a safety. Josh Allen threw three interceptions. The first two led to Falcons scores. All 15 points came off turnovers for Atlanta. But it didn't stop Buffalo.
"It wasn't going our way at times, through the turnovers in particular. We found another way to win, and you're going to have days. He's going to have days like that. But I have full, full confidence in Josh Allen," McDermott said. "If this was his first year, I would've had to say something just to follow up on it. But he already knows. We talk about it a lot, how important the ball is."
But it isn't Allen's first year. In fact, his first year was the only year in which the Bills missed the playoffs. Even in his worst performance in terms of passer rating, by a wide margin at that, Allen found ways to contribute to the win. He added two scores of his own on the ground before the Bills were bitten by the turnover bug.
"It's another component of our run game. Obivously you want to be selective and mindful where we can with that," McDermott said. "But it's a good complement to what we do."
"That's what you get when you run the quarterback in the red zone. You get an extra blocker. And it puts a lot of pressure on the defense when they do that," Allen said. "We've got guys in this locker room that just want to help this team win, no matter what way they can. And you see it pay off on the field, and we gotta keep things going."
If they can keep it going next week, they'll be back in Orchard Park at least one more time for the playoffs. The Bills host the New York Jets next Sunday at 1:00 p.m. to close their regular season.
