Seventeen weeks and 256 games are in the books. It is time for playoff football. To start the new and improved Wild Card weekend, the Indianapolis Colts will head to Buffalo to take on the AFC East champion Bills. For the Colts, they have returned to the playoffs for the first time in the post-Andrew Luck era. After bringing Philip Rivers to town and acquiring DeForest Buckner from the 49ers, the Colts saw improvements on both sides of the ball. On the other hand, for the third time in four years, Sean McDermott had led his team to the playoffs. The Bills have succeeded off the strength of the huge improvements made by Josh Allen and bringing in top weapon Stefon Diggs.
Both of these teams have one goal going into Saturday afternoon’s matchup: survive and advance. It may not look great, but a win is a win. Luckily for the Colts, this is how they have been performing for the past few weeks. They have managed to just get by their opponents and snuck into the playoffs thanks to their opponent beating the Dolphins last week. Beginning in Week 13 against the 49ers, they have beaten all of their opponents by double-digits. That has put them in the conversation for the Chiefs’ biggest threat to repeating as AFC champions. Getting there won’t be an easy task, and the Colts would love to play spoiler for the Bills’ dreams. Let’s dive into the game that will kick-off an exciting weekend of football.
Quarterbacks with Question Marks
While Josh Allen and Philip Rivers are both capable of leading their teams to victory, the question marks regarding both are the hot topics before kickoff. Will this be Rivers’ last game? Can Allen keep playing at this high of a level? Will the Colts’ offense get exposed in colder weather with Rivers’ arm strength? Are we going to see another crazy lateral play from Allen? All of these are fair questions, but an advantage for both is that they have been here before. Rivers owns a 5-6 career postseason record and Allen lost his first career playoff game with a halftime lead. They are the guys that their respective teams want under center on the biggest stage.
Different Gameplans
While the two quarterbacks taking snaps for the Colts and Bills are amongst the league’s best, where they are at in their careers and the offenses they run couldn’t be more opposite. With Rivers’ approaching the end of the road, the Colts’ offense has been thriving off of a run-heavy approach, with rookie Jonathan Taylor leading the way. Since scuffling in the early goings, Taylor has improved every week this season. Coming off of a 253-yard performance in Week 17, it is clear that Colts’ Head Coach Frank Reich‘s game plan is to avoid making Rivers make tough throws. Reich will rely on his young star in the backfield to carry a heavy workload.
On the contrary, only two teams in the NFL had more passing yards this year than the Buffalo Bills. We have always known the strong arm that Josh Allen has, but his accuracy was always in question. After bringing Stefon Diggs into town and reworking his mechanics, Allen showed that you can improve accuracy and become one of the league’s elite quarterbacks this season. With weapons like Diggs, John Brown, Gabriel Davis, and Cole Beasley (if healthy), Allen has plenty of playmakers in the passing game, not to mention the ground he can cover running the ball.
Defenses Heading in Different Directions
If you look at most defensive stats, these two defenses don’t appear to be that far off. However, the directions both units have gone in the second half of the season tell a different story. Aside from playing against the Jaguars in Week 17, the Colts have faced better offenses since Week 12. This includes games against the Packers, Titans, and Texans. While they were able to win some of these games, it wasn’t easy on the defensive side of things.
This defense benefitted from playing weaker offenses like the Jets and Bears early on. However, when going against playoff teams, they have struggled. Relying on their zone defense while only rushing Josh Allen with four guys may not be ideal against the Bills. The Colts know they can stop the run with the best of them. The only problem is that the Bills’ running backs aren’t the focal point. This defense has shown the ability to make big plays, but if they can’t force Allen to get rid of the ball quickly, they might be in for a long game.
On the other hand, the Bills defense has only gotten better since returning from their bye week. One of the NFL’s best units in years past, they struggled with injuries and scheme issues early on. However, once Matt Milano and Tre’Davious White got healthy, this defense returned to their stout selves down the stretch. They have allowed no more than 24 points from Weeks 12-16. With White shadowing T.Y. Hilton for this matchup, this defense will be focused on stopping Taylor and this rushing attack. By doing so, they will put Rivers in a position to win the game with his arm. That is where Buffalo wants this game to be.
Predictions
While the Colts will do whatever it takes to stop Josh Allen and this high-powered offense, I believe that the Bills will handle their business. If this is the last game for Philip Rivers, we will be saying good-bye to one of the most entertaining quarterbacks of this past era. However, if the game script favors the Bills early, I just don’t think he has enough gas in the tank to keep up with Allen and the Bills offense.
One thing that we do know is that this is going to be a highly competitive, well-coached game to kick off Wild Card Weekend. Frank Reich is beloved by Bills Mafia and would love to get a win in his old stomping grounds. Sean McDermott will do his best to cement his status as one of the best head coaches in the league. When it is all said and done, the Bills’ goals go beyond this. Taking care of business here will get them one step closer to taking the crown in the AFC.
