The Buffalo Bills have won their last six games and are the hottest team in the playoffs. There’s a lot to be said for the New Yorkers on the road to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas – but not everything.

Not so long ago, Buffalo Bills fans had already said goodbye to the dream of a successful season.

After the heartbreaking 34:37 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Bills had a 6-6 record and head coach Sean McDermott was questioned by more than just the fans. “When the Bills win, everyone praises McDermott’s coaching,” Pat McAfee pointed out after the Eagles loss. “But when they lose, nobody talks about him. That should change.”

The 49-year-old was not only caught in the crossfire in sporting terms. During one of his speeches, he drew a 9/11 comparison, which is highly questionable, especially for a team from the state of New York. “I don’t know what went through my head. I made a big mistake,” he later apologized.

A loss to the Kansas City Chiefs – the Bills’ archrival since 2020, of all teams – would have effectively knocked the Bills out of the playoff race. And that’s basically how they felt before every game day. A defeat would have meant the end. Buffalo has been in playoff mode longer than any other team. They’ve now won six in a row

As shaky and sometimes really bad as their performances were in the first few weeks of the season, the men from the Canadian border have been just as convincing since the aforementioned Eagles game.

The fact that the Bills won against four teams during this winning streak that also ended up making the postseason underscores the difficulty of this task.

The other two opponents, Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Chargers, who had just changed coaches, were also no pushovers at the time of the clash. The mindset that you can’t lose any more games has sharpened the team and the coaches

New direction: Bills play playoff football

Until week twelve, the Buffalo Bills’ offensive coordinator was Ken Dorsey. He spent a year and a half as offensive coordinator in western New York state. He was sacked in the wake of the results crisis – he was the only coach to have to resign and was replaced by Joe Brady.

Since then, not only has the name formally changed on the Bills’ website under the “Offensive Staff” tab, but also the entire style of play of the offense.

For a long time, Buffalo had no running game. Although that’s not entirely true, the run game was shouldered by quarterback Josh Allen, and almost single-handedly at that. Games in which the quarterback is the team’s best ball carrier in terms of yards were the rule rather than the exception.

And now? It feels like Allen has been banned by Brady (sounds funny, but is correct) from carrying the ball around like a loose piece of bread on the way home from the bakery. Allen is still running, but much more cautiously.

The change in gameplan is more visible in James Cook, the Bills’ best running back. Under Dorsey, his highest run total per game was 14; under Brady, he surpassed that 14 runs in six of eight games! Few teams have called more running plays since he took over.

And that’s obviously good for the Bills. Not only is this reflected in the winning streak, this style of play is more promising than relying on deep passes, especially in the cold months and thus in the playoffs. Not for nothing did the Chiefs – a physical team with a good running game – beat the Miami Dolphins – a team with more big-play ability through the air – in temperatures below -20 degrees Celsius.

Buffalo Bills: Finally silent on the outside

In addition to the hard factors like stats, the soft factors have also improved in Orchard Park. Namely, Stefon Diggs.

In fact, the star receiver’s statistical production has decreased. Since the new regime on offense has been in place, Diggs has only scored a single touchdown – and that was in the only loss. Diggs is still waiting for a 100-yard game under Joe Brady.

You would think that he – or alternatively his brother Trevon from the Dallas Cowboys – would have sent out at least one cryptic tweet stating his dissatisfaction. However, the last public quote from him was several weeks ago. The AFC East champions seem to have muzzled their superstar. That may hurt his game, but it’s good for his team

The sticking point: injuries in defense

The one thing that could be the Bills’ undoing is the slew of injuries on defense. Safety Taylor Rapp, linebackers Terrel Bernard, Baylon Spector, Tyrel Dodson and cornerbacks Rsul Douglas Taron Johnson and Christian Benford are all banged up. Not to mention the long-term injuries to Tre White and Matt Milano.

The situation was so dire that Buffalo called up former linebacker A.J. Klein to get him out of vacation.

“I immediately put the plans on hold and prepared for the game,” Klein said after the playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The preparation was successful, no one made more tackles that afternoon than the 32-year-old.

The clash with the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round is therefore a rematch of Week 13 – the start of Buffalo’s very own playoffs.

And if they have their way, they don’t want that to be the end. The end of the line for the Bills is in Las Vegas – and it’s more attainable for them than it’s been in a long time.