Bills Clinch Playoff Spot in Ugly Win Over Cleveland
BY GREGORY BROWN
Photos by Jerome Davis
For the seventh consecutive year, the Buffalo Bills have now clinched a spot in the playoffs with a 23 – 20 win over the Cleveland Browns. This was not an artistic victory by any means, but it was a victory nonetheless. With the exception of James Cook, who runs like the video game version of Pac Man, the Bills showed glaring inconsistencies on both side of the ball.
The Buffalo win was expected, as the struggling Browns have been doormats all season long. However, you can never underestimate any team in the NFL. Although favored by double digits to lay another beatdown on the Browns, the Bills had to scratch and claw to come out of Huntington Bank Stadium with the win.
The big storyline for Cleveland was whether their All-World defensive end, Myles Garrett, could break the NFL sack record, needing only one and a half sacks to do so. The Bills and especially OT Dion Dawkins, were determined to not allow Garrett to do it on their watch. Whenever they lined up offensively, the Bills were acutely aware of Garrett’s presence and did everything they could to neutralize him, which included constantly rolling quarterback Josh Allen to his right in order to avoid Garrett, who mostly lined up on the left side of the Bills formation. But when they weren’t rolling right, Dawkins took on Garrett one-on-one, with occasional help from LG David Edwards. Still it wasn’t easy, as time and again, Garrett bulldozed his way through the Bills mostly solid pass protection schemes.
The other highlight for Cleveland was the performance of their rookie quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, who played well, especially through the first three quarters of the game. Sanders continues to demonstrate that his spectacular free-fall in the 2025 NFL draft was more a reflection of the animus by NFL owners toward his dad – ‘Neon’ Deon - rather than a reflection of his true talent.
It wasn’t until the fourth quarter, with the Bills desperate to make stops, that DE Greg Rousseau finally was able to put the wraps on Shedeur, with a couple of timely sacks and pressures – which were long overdue. Otherwise, the lowly Browns were nipping at Buffalo’s heels all game long, as they gouged the Bills defense with a strong run game and effective underneath passes to their running backs.
The Bills have a lot of work to do before the playoffs begin in three weeks. Of course, the big worry is the defense, which runs hot and cold – but mostly cold. When firing on all cylinders, the Bills can be a formidable opponent. Indeed, they have an offense that could take them to the Super Bowl. But, as we know, the defense is a totally different story.
At best, the Bills are a “bend but don’t break” type of defense. However, they must become much better at stopping time consuming drives by their opponents; getting off the field on third downs; forcing turnovers; and playing better in the red zone, where they must limit teams to field goals rather than touchdowns. The defense has shown flashes of that ability, but now they must do it on a more consistent basis.
Unfortunately, the Bills are destined to be road warriors, as New England’s victory over Baltimore virtually assures them of the divisional crown. With the defending Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles coming to Highmark Stadium on Sunday, the Bills will have a chance to show just how well they stack up against the other elite teams in the NFL. The Eagles All-Pro running back, Saquon Barkley, will be a big test for the Bills defense and whether they have the muscle to make a realistic playoff run.