ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Bills are 11-3, AFC East champions for the first time since 1995 and playoff-bound for the third time in the past four seasons. They're playing some of the best football in the NFL, thanks in large part to their ability to bury opponents late in the game.
In games against the Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Rams and Las Vegas Raiders in Weeks 2, 3 and 4, respectively, Buffalo failed to build upon its halftime leads. That led to a trio of close-call wins -- including come-from-behind efforts against the Dolphins and Rams.
In their past three games, however, the Bills have outscored the San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos 61-31 in the second half, including 41-10 in the third quarter. After struggling in the third quarter in their first 11 games, when they had a -47 point differential, the Bills have dialed up their aggression out of halftime.
"My coach in college, [Wyoming] coach [Craig] Bohl said the game's won in the third quarter, it's won in that first drive," Bills quarterback Josh Allen said. "We've been stepping up to the challenge and [offensive coordinator Brian] Daboll has been challenging us and calling really good plays, and we're going out and executing. That's really all there is to it."
There's perhaps no better example of Buffalo's third-quarter aggression than Allen's 55-yard pass to wide receiver Stefon Diggs during Saturday's 48-19 rout of the Broncos.
The Bills scored on their opening drive of the half, and quickly scored another TD when Jerry Hughes recovered a fumble by Denver quarterback Drew Lock on the Broncos' first play of the following drive. Buffalo then forced a three-and-out and got the ball back with 9 minutes remaining in the quarter and a 35-13 lead.
A three-score lead seemed safe considering the state of Denver's offense to that point, but the Bills showed no interest in playing ball-control football. Instead, on their first play following the Broncos' punt, Allen uncorked a pass to Diggs to flip the field and put the Bills in scoring position once again.
.@JoshAllenQB ➡️ @StefonDiggs
— NFL (@NFL) December 19, 2020
55 yards. Wow.
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Daboll had called an aggressive game to that point -- but this call was all Allen's.
"I went to [Bills quarterbacks coach Coach Ken] Dorsey, and I said, 'This is the play I want to get called,'" Allen said. "And Daboll gave me the opportunity to do it. He trusts me in those situations if it's not there to find my outlets down underneath. But it's one of those plays we kind of got them with a quick count and our guys outran theirs, and I gave him the chance to go catch the ball.
"It means the world to me to know that [Daboll] trusts me enough to listen to my input. ... When it's a play I suggest to him and he calls it and it hits, it feels a little extra special."
The pass set up a Tyler Bass field goal as the Bills went on to score 27 second-half points.
While Buffalo's offense has nailed down games over the past three weeks, its defense has been picking up the pace as well. It has held two consecutive opponents under 300 yards, and over the past three games -- all on national television -- it has forced five turnovers and scored two defensive touchdowns.
Which means the world has been a witness to the Bills' return to complementary football.
"We want to be able to complement one another. I love any win, in particular when it's a team win," Bills coach Sean McDermott said. "The defense came out and really the entire unit came out in the second half and played determined football, complemented one another. The defense scored again, which was great to see.
"These guys came out on fire in the second half [and] it was fun to watch."