The Buffalo Bills put forth a truly historic performance in Saturday's wild-card beatdown of their division rival New England Patriots. While many expected a tightly-contested showdown between two fierce rivals, Josh Allen and the Bills showed little interest in playing out a four-quarter thriller. The Bills instead ventured into truly unchartered waters by scoring an astounding seven touchdowns on their first seven possessions en route to a 47-17 drubbing over Belichick's hapless and stunned Patriots. Buffalo's methodical offense essentially played the first perfect game in football history—they never punted the ball, never attempted a field goal, and never turned the ball over. It ultimately represented a perfect showing that had never been executed prior to Saturday.
The talking points in the game’s aftermath have mostly centered around Josh Allen, and understandably so. The former Wyoming signal-caller completed 21-of-25 passing attempts for 308 yards and five touchdowns. Allen threw more touchdowns than incompletions(!), a fact that nicely sums up his dreamy evening. Belichick simply had no answer for Buffalo’s offense.
While Allen was undeniably in rare form, an unlikely hero may be emerging at the opportune moment. Running back Devin Singletary was excellent in the victory, having carried the ball 16 times for 81 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Singletary routinely sliced through New England's defense while averaging an astounding 5.1 yards per carry. Singletary's newfound form could be the secret weapon that catapults a surging Bills squad to Super Bowl LVI.
Saturday's performance by Singletary was the continuation of a strong finish to his regular season. In Weeks 17 and 18, Singletary touched the ball on a combined 44 occasions while producing an exhilarating 222 total yards of offense and four touchdowns as a rusher and receiver. You'd be foolish to write off what Singletary did to the Patriots as a one-off, as the Deerfield Beach, Florida native has been trending toward this upward trajectory for several weeks now. We’re just witnessing the culmination of his improvement.
Singletary’s effectiveness has us reminiscing on a similar storyline from a year ago. When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went on their own historic run throughout the 2020 postseason, it was surprise performer Leonard Fournette that helped elevate the Buccaneers' offense to unstoppable status. Fournette transformed into an entirely different player in the playoffs and ultimately played a crucial role in Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl LV victory over the Kansas City Chiefs with an electric 135-yard performance. The parallels are straightforward.
The Bills, like the Buccaneers did, possess a plethora of pass-catching weapons—Stefon Diggs and Dawson Knox were excellent against the Patriots as well—but it was Singletary that made Buffalo's offense more versatile and difficult to defend on Saturday. That sort of transformation makes Buffalo’s pass-happy attack less predictable and more difficult to defend.
Singletary, like Fournette before him, has emerged from the shadows. A former third-round selection out of FAU, Singletary has experienced his fair share of ups and downs since turning pro. He's struggled to maintain a stranglehold on Buffalo's job in the backfield while typically competing for snaps in an offense that happily neglects the run at times alongside fellow mid-round draftee Zack Moss, who the Bills drafted in the same round just one year after selecting Singletary in 2019. Those days appear to be a thing of the past as Singletary and the Bills prepare for an exciting and crucial divisional round showdown against Patrick Mahomes and the high-flying Chiefs.
The Bills look like strong candidates to reach (and win) the Super Bowl. Singletary's newfound involvement and production greatly improve their chances of reigning supreme at SoFi Stadium on Feb. 13.
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