The Bills appear to be true contenders for the Super Bowl. The Colts, on the other hand, just look like Wild Card cannon fodder. Bills fans of a certain age, however, know (and the Patriots confirmed in the Super Bowl LII) that it is a bad idea to underestimate Colts coach Frank Reich in a playoff game. NFL Recap does not foresee any magic of the Reich’s return in this preview of the playoff between the Colts and the Bills. We are willing to at least consider the possibility.
That’s because Buffalo Bills couldn’t look any stronger now. They have won six consecutive games and are coming off a 56-26 collage from a Miami Dolphins team that was fighting for their life in the playoffs. The Indianapolis Colts, on the other hand, look a little wobbly in the postseason. First, they allowed the Pittsburgh Steelers to recover from a 24-7 deficit to beat them 28-24 in Week 16. Next, they allowed the Jacksonville Jaguars to wait until the end of the 28-14 victory in Week 17 who won a spot for Wild Card.
So, how will this game end? Our preview is below and you can watch this Wild Card showdown on Saturday, January 9 at 1:05 pm (Eastern Time) on CBS.
Colts / Bills Playoff Preview: Buffalo enters the postseason as one of the hottest teams
The Buffalo Bills season in a nutshell
Josh Allen’s sudden and unexpected rise at the start of the Walking Hot Take Factory season to Actual Franchise Quarterback led Bills to a 4-0 start. Mid-season defeats to the Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs have suggested, however, that the Bills may not be ready for the spotlight after decades but also won by AFC East.
Related | When do the 2021 NFL playoffs begin? Updated schedule and start times
Coach Sean McDermott’s defense improved considerably in the second half of the season after an unstable start. In addition, Allen came out of a slight drop in the middle of the season to emerge as a MVP candidate. The Bills beat AFC East for the first time since 1995. This may be the best Bills team since the days of Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed and Bruce Smith.
The Indianapolis Colts season in a nutshell
The Colts wandered through the 2020 season. They lost to the weak Jacksonville Jaguars earlier in the year, but later disrupted the mighty Green Bay Packers. Overall, however, they partied on a smooth schedule and lost a lot of the quality opposition they faced.
Philip Rivers didn’t look as boiled as Ben Roethlisberger or Drew Brees, but it was still obvious at times (especially in the second half on Sunday) that his thermometer blew up in 2018. DeForest Buckner played at an All-Pro level, and others had revealing seasons ( newcomer running back Jonathan Taylor; recovery cornerback Xavier Rhodes). Although Colts 2020 are good at many things, they are not really good at anything in particular. This is not an ideal formula for success in the playoffs.
Playoff preview: Buffalo Bills’ biggest strength
Bills has the best first-round game in the NFL, according to Football Outsiders’ DVOA metric. Entering Week 17, Allen completed 72.1% of his first descent passes and averaged 9.0 yards per attempt. Stefon Diggs picked up 57 of the 70 passes thrown at him on the first descent of 812 yards (11.6 yards per target) and five touchdowns.
Playoff prediction: Indianapolis Colts biggest strength
The Colts’ greatest strength is that they don’t have the greatest weakness.
Buffalo Bills’ biggest weakness
Bills’ defense entered Week 17 with 123 tackles lost by Professional Football Referral, the NFL’s fourth largest total. Attacking is a particular problem when running backs go out into the open. Buffalo allowed 11 plays from more than 20 yards entering Week 17, tied with the Tennessee Titans for the highest total among the playoff teams.
The biggest weakness of Indianapolis Colts
The Colts’ biggest weakness is that they have no greater strength.
Result
As mentioned in the introduction, Reich led the Bills to the greatest return to the playoff of all time. He made four touchdowns when Kelly was injured to lead the Bills from a 35-3 deficit in the third quarter to defeat the Houston Oilers 41-38 in the first round of the 1992 playoffs.
This game will be mentioned in each sample written about the game and about 4,000 times during the broadcast. And if you think it’s relevant in any way to what’s going on in 2021, you’ve missed subtle clues like “Houston Oilers” and “1992” in the opening sentence.
Bills are a better team than end-to-end Colts. They also played better in the final stretch. Unless Reich spreads some of his magical playoff dust on Rivers or Allen wins the playoff yips, this game has the potential to end sooner.
Initial choice: Buffalo Bills
(All statistics via Sports Information Solutions, unless otherwise stated)