ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- For the third time in the past four seasons, the Buffalo Bills are playoff-bound.

This time, however, they're not entering the postseason as an underdog.

The Bills are 6.0-point favorites for Saturday's game against the Indianapolis Colts (1:05 p.m. ET, CBS), mostly because they field the league's hottest offense entering the postseason.

Since Week 12, the Bills rank second in the NFL in yards per game (429.7), fourth in passing yards per game (305.2) and first in scoring (38.17). During its six-game win streak to close the regular season, Buffalo outscored opponents by an average of 19.83 points per game -- an impressive margin considering it entered the 2019 postseason scoring 19.6 points per game.

After spending most of the past three seasons as underdogs, Bills coach Sean McDermott isn't ready to pass that title along to the Colts.

"I know [Colts coach] Frank [Reich] is using that," McDermott said. "They're an 11-win team with a Hall of Fame quarterback [Philip Rivers] -- but [Reich]'s got to do what he's got to do."

Still, there aren't many teams that can match the Bills' offensive firepower in the AFC and even fewer that have defenses good enough to limit them; however the Colts come close with the latter.

For the first 12 weeks of the season, Indianapolis owned one of the league's most stout defenses, allowing 311.8 total yards per game and 209.9 through the air -- the fifth- and sixth-best marks in the NFL, respectively. However, as the Bills' passing game surged over the past six weeks, the Colts' defense faltered.

Indianapolis ranks 31st in passing yards allowed per game since Week 12 (296.2). The Colts have also allowed opponents to convert on 44.9% of their third downs, which is a startling mark considering the Bills converted a league-high 49.7% of their third downs this season.

Bills players aren't too focused on the decline in the Colts' defensive stats. With players such as cornerback Xavier Rhodes, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and linebacker Darius Leonard, they say the Colts' defense deserves respect.

"Just don't believe everything that you see, numbers-wise," Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs said. "That's a great football team. They play super disciplined and their linebackers fly around. Their corners and their safeties are very active, you see the athleticism -- I've seen one of them catch a one-handed [interception].

"They have athletes there. One of them, my old teammate, Xavier Rhodes, definitely is playing some good football. ... That's a good-ass team -- especially a good defense."

Offensively, the Colts have scored the eighth most points in the league since Week 12 on the back of the NFL's third-leading rusher, Jonathan Taylor. Despite a midseason benching, the 2020 second-round pick has exploded over his past six games, rushing for 741 yards (123.5 per game) and seven TDs. He turned in his best game of the season in Week 17 against Jacksonville, rushing for 253 yards and two scores to help the Colts clinch a playoff spot.

The Bills' run defense has allowed 94 yards per game since Week 12, but did allow 130 first-half rushing yards to the Patriots in Week 16. The unit will have to be careful not to let Taylor get into a rhythm on Saturday.

"When you watch Jonathan and some of the things he's doing in the run game, man, he doesn't look like a rookie out there, you know?" Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said. "We've seen some pretty good backs this season. But I think the unique blend of power and speed [sets Taylor apart]. You always think guys will have one or the other."

Rivers threw for the fourth-lowest interception total of his 17-year career in 2020 and was brilliant down the stretch, tossing eight touchdowns against two interceptions in the Colts' final five games of the regular season. But if Buffalo can limit Taylor, it remains to be seen whether Rivers, 39, can carry a team to victory by himself.