This January? Buffalo Bills believe they can kick ass, if required

Football is Darwinian. Sean McDermott drove this offense a different direction the last 1 1/2 years. We're about to see if it'll pay off.

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ORCHARD PARK, NY — The shade was bizarre. Last season, one former Buffalo Bills starter on defense looked back at his missing rings and lamented the fact that his team’s offense was built for a dome. He compared the Josh Allen-fueled unit to the St. Louis Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf” at the turn of the century. He never understood why anyone was clamoring for home games when the lake-effect snow and the 35 mph winds and the icy cold were bound to neutralize what the Bills did best.

Logical enough.

But… so what? Head coaches would sell their soul for anything that resembled that Kurt Warner-fueled machine. Fireworks to this extreme, I argued, should be encouraged. Always.

Nonetheless, the last 1 ½ seasons, Sean McDermott hardened this offense into something new. He fired his offensive coordinator, jettisoned his best receiving talent and encouraged his MVP-worthy quarterback to be more judicious with his decision-making. All of it was a gamble. Interfering at all could be viewed as a dereliction of duty. Yet through the regular season, this new formula was dynamite. Buffalo became the first team in NFL history to record 30 rushing touchdowns and 30 passing touchdowns, all while the wide receiver who led the team in snaps this season — Mack Hollins — is a journeyman, on his fifth team, making all of $2.6 million, walking around Orchard Park in his bare feet.

The “everyone eats” slogan became a genuine philosophy.

Joe Brady has been a smashing success.

And when asked what makes this team more equipped to win a Super Bowl than his past editions, McDermott cited “the unselfish nature of this team.” Perhaps a not-so-subtle reference to Stefon Diggs.

All regular season, the Bills decimated defenses by air and by ground.

Now, the playoffs are here.

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These Bills were always going to be judged in January. That’s how it works when Josh Allen is your quarterback. This Sunday, they’ll welcome a Denver Broncos defense to Highmark Stadium that’s damn good: 2nd in EPA per play, 1st in success rate, 1st in TD drive percentage allowed. Cornerback Patrick Surtain Jr. may win defensive player of the year and Denver finished with an NFL-high 63 sacks, nine more than any other team. These aren’t chumps.

When left tackle Dion Dawkins hears that “dome” comment, his eyebrows perk up. He agrees. He also believes Bills offenses past were more suited for a climate-controlled environment.

Now? He sees a group that can dominate any play call.

“We have the mindset of, ‘Whatever you call, we’re going to execute,’” Dawkins says. “And not care, whatever it is. There’s games where we’ve got to pass pro 50 times and run 10 times and then it’s the opposite. And then there’s games where you barely even throw. Whatever is needed. We have the mindset to execute whatever’s called. If you try to overthink it and try to come up with some Houdini trick, you’re just going to fail. There’s no trickery and there’s no secret to it. It’s literally just execute better than the opponent. Execute. Everybody runs power. Everybody runs counter. Everybody runs dropback pass. Everybody has a screen. Everybody has a Mike blitz.”

Tight end Quintin Morris explains the offense in similar terms. He says Brady can scroll through his menu of plays, put his finger on anything and they’ll get it done.

“We can beat you here. We can beat you there,” Morris says. “As long as we got Josh back there, he’s always capable of making the spectacular happen.”

That “spectacular” is why the Bills are a perennial contender, why the Bills should do everything in their power to let him play fast and play free. But it sure helps if you’re able to toggle between play styles this time of year. The question’s always been marrying Superman Allen with an offense that can also dictate the violence at the line of scrimmage when required. No team can flip a switch and obtain the necessary amount of violence for one game in mid-January, either. It takes time. It takes intention.

Players laud Aaron Kromer as the best offensive line coach in the sport and the front five has stayed remarkably healthy from Dawkins on one side to Spencer Brown on the other.

The Bills finished ninth in rushing (2,230 yards) with an NFL-low two fumbles. James Cook tied O.J. Simpson’s team record of 16 rushing scores in a season.

Allen rammed ahead himself 102 times for 531 yards with 12 touchdowns.

There hasn’t been much discussion at all about the Bills’ O-Line nationally. Fine by them.

“We just do our fucking job and there’s nothing to talk about,” says a quite colorful Alec Anderson, the team’s swing tackle. “That’s what’s wrong with today’s society. Everybody wants a fucking pat on the back for doing their job. It’s bullshit. Man up and just do your job.”

10-4.

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While the last thing Dawkins wants to see is Allen handing the ball off all game, he now believes the Bills can kick ass if required. The road to the Super Bowl is long. There’s always a chance the passing game slips into a one- or two-quarter lull. Maybe a full game. These Broncos rely heavily on man-to-man coverage. If Surtain and Riley Moss are able to blanket the Bills’ overachieving receivers, the Bills may need to lean into their rushing attack and/or ask Allen to put the cape on. Separation may be tough for receivers.

Two years ago, that was the case. Receivers couldn’t get their footing in the snow against the Cincinnati Bengals. (A blunt Isaiah McKenzie looked back at that loss on one of our Happy Hours the ensuing offseason.)

Dawkins has no doubt that the Bills can win an ugly game. He correctly cites Allen as a runner himself.

Cohesiveness on an offensive line just may be the difference between winning and losing that’s not discussed nearly enough. Teams forced to patchwork seven, eight, nine different O-Line combinations together typically flounder.

Everyone on the Bills’ starting five has started at least 15 games. They’re operating on the same metronome.

“Playing offensive line,” Anderson says, “you get comfortable with the person next to you and you get familiar with how they move and what they are favored to do during the play. And so I think that’s helped, and a lot of it is Kromer’s technique. The ability for us to play long and keep guys off of us gives you more time to see stuff and react to other things. And so that helps the starting guys to just be able to go out there, go through the protection scheme and just be technically sound.”

Kromer doesn’t tell linemen to simply pummel opponents. They’ve been refining their technique all season.

Morris sees this effect, too. He cites a “snatch-trap” block that’s been effective.

OK, the Bills do not possess an obvious, alpha WR1 and every team should strive to obtain such talents. Much like Brett Favre after Sterling Sharpe’s career ended, however, this forced Allen to scan the entire field with more diligence. Thirteen different players caught a touchdown. He’s grown as a quarterback this season.

Says Morris: “You don’t know where to pinpoint, where to stop our offense. Once you think you do, then… Josh Allen.”

In other words, the dream scenario.

When the Bills traded Diggs to the Houston Texans, both Brandon Beane and McDermott entered unknown territory. Their bet was that Allen would elevate everyone around him. They were right. All season, players on offense have been celebrating their universal unselfishness. Nobody’s fuming for targets or attention and — Morris believes — that powers everything we see on Sundays.

“You have a bunch of guys that want to see other guys have success in any shape or form,” Morris says. “In my four years, it’s the best team environment that I’ve ever had. As far as everyone being unselfish, humble, everybody looking out for each other, everybody wanting to see others do good.”

Morris disputes the narrative that Diggs was a “diva.” He viewed the vet as a leader.

Diggs undoubtedly was needed upon arrival in 2020.

Yet, Morris also admits there were situations Diggs “could’ve handled differently.”

Read between the lines of what Beane and McDermott said in our conversations and it’s clear the Bills viewed Diggs’ exit as an opportunity for Allen to take a larger leadership role. A vacuum was created. He’s never been the Brady-, Manning-, Rodgers-like quarterback screaming into the earhole of teammates. But remove an ultra-, ultra-intense energy source like Diggs and Allen was bound to speak up more.

Morris says his quarterback has been very vocal in the huddle and does whatever he can to “simplify” the offense for others.

Allen meets with the offense after practice to see what they like, what they don’t like.

“And I think once we do that, it helps build a comfort,” Morris says. “And if you’re a quarterback and you know what your O-Line’s doing in protection, that definitely helps build a lot of confidence going into the game. Certain plays. This is what my running back likes. This is what my receivers like. Taking that accountability. Even in practice, making sure things are timed up. Even little things like the handshakes. It’s a little thing, but it is part of what’s made this team so special. Even with all the negativity we’ve been dealing with this year. It’s always a good feeling hushing the outsiders.”

All in all, Morris hates seeing people paint the Bills as Josh Allen and a Bunch of Nobodies on social media. There’s a palpable confidence in this locker room that whoever’s required to make the critical play in crunch-time will deliver. Unlike Diggs when Allen bombed one deep in the divisional round last postseason against KC. We’ll see.

Attitude in these elimination games won’t hurt.

On Buffalo’s first drive against the New York Jets two weeks ago, Anderson buried defensive end Will McDonald IV over a pile. McDonald retaliated. On cue, McGovern had his friend’s back and a hockey fight broke out. Thinking back, Anderson snarls and mocks McDonald as someone who thought he was a “big, bad dude.” It was a small thing in a blowout win that spoke to a newfound nastiness on this team. Football can be a simple game: You vs. Me. There’s a good chance the Bills will have to do the bullying.

Anderson, a Germany native, grew up boxing. His grandfather was a Golden Gloves boxer. His father was in the Army.

He believes it’s all about the individual mindset.

“It’s not taught,” he adds. “You have to grow up with it and you’re one of a kind if you’re like that. So Spencer has that mindset of being ready to beat the shit out of somebody. All the way to Dion. So it covers the end to end and inside it’s perfect.”

After last season’s crushing defeat to the Chiefs, it was fair to wonder if the Bills even knew who to orbit around — Allen or McDermott. It seemed ludicrous to do anything but give Allen a green light at all times.

The Bills hope the answer is all the above.

First up: Denver.

If things work out, the offensive line won’t need a pat on the back.

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