A column by CHUCK POLLOCK, Senior Sports Columnist
Come Sunday, the NFL reaches the figurative halfway mark of this season and the Bills have positioned themselves well in the division heading into Week 8.
Buffalo (5-2) leads Miami (2-5) by 2½ games and the Jets (2-5) by three and have beaten both teams on the road which adds another half-game to the cushion for head-to-head purposes.
But it’s worth noting that there is a bit of an asterisk to the Bills’ fast start. Collectively Buffalo, Miami, the Jets and New England have won 10 games, the fewest of any division in the league, in short, the AFC East is pro football’s weakest.
That’s not Buffalo’s fault. Indeed during preseason, pundits, especially those in New York, predicted the East would be the conference’s strongest with Jets winning, the Dolphins second and Buffalo third.
Instead, New York is finding out casting Aaron Rodgers as the franchise-saving quarterback was five years too late. Seven weeks from his 41st birthday he’s thrown 10 touchdowns with seven picks and has looked decidedly pedestrian as two of the Jets losses he’d likely have won in his prime.
And Miami’s hopes took a blow when quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion in a loss to the Bills in Game 2. It’s possible he’ll return this week against Arizona, but how sharp will he be, if he does? Right now the Dolphins have all those offensive weapons and no one to pull the trigger.
What the Bills have done is take advantage of the circumstances in the division. Yeah, they haven’t beaten a winning team (besides the Jets and Dolphins, the Titans are 1-5, Jaguars 2-5 and Cardinals 3-4) for a collective 10-23. Their losses are to a pair of elite 5-2 teams, Baltimore and Houston.
IN THE latest computer projections after Week 7, the Bills have a 98% chance of making the playoffs, 92% of winning the AFC East, 65% of making the divisional playoff round, 21% of earning the conference championship game and 13% of ending up in the Super Bowl.
AT HIS weekly press conference, Bills coach Sean McDermott was asked how he assessed his team’s performance to this point.
“I think more than anything, we’ve showed it,” he said of Buffalo’s successful start. “We’ve shown a ton of poise as a team.
“I think Josh (Allen quarterback, no interceptions this season) is really playing the game, and especially in the five wins, the position of command of the offense and the game and understanding the situations that the offense is in, or that he’s in.”
McDermott added, “throughout a game as it unfolds, you know what we’ve been able to do … coming back, coming from behind, I think, has been good, (though) not ideal.
“I like the way that we’re getting contributions from the young players and players that have been forced into action, stepping up that were primary backups, due to injury. I think that’s important, because that experience will hopefully, for those players, pay off down the road for us as well.”
THEN HE turned to Sunday’s game at Seattle (4-3).
“I think the staff overall and the coaches have done a good job of collaborating and and communicating during the week, and building game plans,” he said. “Still, much, much work to be done, and we’re getting right back at it with getting our focus on Seattle.
“We’ve got a ton of respect for the Seahawks and their organization, their coaching staff and players … it’s a tough place to play.”
Seattle, as with Buffalo, started the season 3-0, then dropped three straight before beating Atlanta last Sunday.
As McDermott concluded, “We’re going out to the northwest, and we better be ready and have a great week of practice because they’re a really good football team and well-coached.”
(Chuck Pollock, a Wellsville Sun and Olean Star senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@wnynet.net)
