For the first time since 1999, the Buffalo Bills swept the New England Patriots in a season. For the first time since 1995, the Bills are AFC East champions. The next drought that the Bills hope to end dates back to 1993, when the Bills last won an AFC Championship. That marked the end of a four-year run of AFC titles — although all four seasons ended with losses in the Super Bowl. The last time the Bills won a league championship was in 1965, when they won their second consecutive AFL title.
How far will the Bills go? That’s just one question we take up in this week’s NFL rundown.
NFL News: Weekly Rundown after Week 16
Could the Bills really knock off the Kansas City Chiefs?
In their last two games, the Bills have scored 86 points in routing Denver and New England. Obviously, neither of those teams is a contender, but they put up 26 against Pittsburgh and 44 against Seattle, the AFC North and NFC West champions, respectively. The way Josh Allen is clicking with Stefon Diggs and Cole Beasley right now, the Bills can move the ball up and down the field easily, looking a lot like the Chiefs offense. The question would be which team can get more stops, and the Bills’ defense is arguably better than Kansas City’s right now. Obviously, the Chiefs would get home field advantage and would have had the bye week to rest, but the way the Bills just excised those Gillette Stadium ghosts on Monday Night Football indicates that the Bills don’t have much left in the way of mental blocks. The Chiefs did beat Buffalo earlier this season, but only by nine points. The Chiefs have won 22 of 23 games right now, but the Bills are looking just as good.
Washington releases Dwayne Haskins
You don’t often see a team leading its division cut a quarterback — and if Washington can beat Philadelphia in Week 17, they would clinch the NFC East. You also don’t often see a team pick a quarterback in the first round of the draft and then cut him outright before the end of his second season in the NFL. It’s been 20 years since that happened. Cleveland didn’t cut Johnny Manziel and Brandon Weeden until after the end of their second season, and Denver and Miami did the same with Paxton Lynch and Josh Rosen.
Washington actually considered cutting Haskins sooner, but they wanted to see if he would give them the best shot to win the NFC East with Alex Smith on the bench. However, in Week 16 he was benched in favor of Taylor Heinicke. The off-the-field incidents, such as Haskins going to a private party with strippers (but not with masks) apparently angered the team because of the league’s COVID-19 policies, and so he is out the door.
Will anyone claim Haskins on waivers? He is due $1.81 million guaranteed in 2021 and $2.46 million guaranteed in 2022, and any team that picked him up would be on the hook for that money. So he is likely to clear waivers, and if he wants another shot at an NFL roster, he will likely have to join a practice squad first.
The numbers game
Over the last four games, Mitch Trubisky and Patrick Mahomes have put up these lines:
89 of 123, 1,001 yards, 7 TD, 2 INT, 108.5 rating
99 of 165, 1,243 yards, 8 TD, 4 INT, 89.5 rating
Which is which? Well, if you remember that Mahomes threw three interceptions just against Miami, then you know that Trubisky had the higher-rated performance over the last four games. It makes sense, given that the Bears are finally letting him roam outside the pocket, where he is terrific at extending plays. Also, the offensive line has improved considerably, making the running game a weapon and giving Trubisky time in the pocket. It also makes the play-action play a legitimate threat, which was a problem.
NFL Betting Odds
Love betting NFL football? | Xbet Sportsbook offers up to date NFL lines
