In a tight AFC playoff race that finds 12 of the 16 teams with .500 records or better, the Buffalo Bills kept themselves in the hunt in that race with a 26-10 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Their chances of actually qualifying are razor thin, but they kept themselves alive with the win. The victory was a lot like most of the Bills’ triumphs this season – the defense played a great game, and the offense did just enough to secure the win. The Browns held a slim 3-0 lead at halftime, as both teams’ first half offensive performances were pretty listless. Buffalo’s defense played another solid game, with 2 sacks, 2 interceptions and a strip, fumble recovery and return for a touchdown by Jerry Hughes. The offense finally came alive in the second half, as QB Kyle Orton led the team on an 8 play, 84 yard scoring drive that included a key fourth down conversion that saw Orton scramble to buy time, then complete a long pass to Robert Woods to set up the touchdown, which came on a short toss to Chris Hogan. Like their earlier home win over Miami, the Bills then settled for field goals on their fourth quarter drives, with Dan Carpenter hitting four of them. At that point, the Bills were controlling the action and seemed comfortable taking the conservative route and adding to their lead. Orton threw for modest yardage, the running game added a decent 106 yards, including the yardage needed to control the clock in the final quarter, and the defensive effort helped minimize the damage of two Orton interceptions. Buffalo has four games remaining in the regular season, three of them against arguably the three best teams in the NFL – Denver, Green Bay and New England. Depending on how the rest of the AFC contenders do, the Bills will probably need to beat 2 of them and win the game they’re expected to – against the Oakland Raiders. To have any chance for success, the defense will have to play even more “lights out”, since they’ll be facing Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. The offense will have to raise its’ game, as most likely it will take more than field goals to topple the offensive juggernauts of the Broncos, Packers and Patriots.
NFL – Bills’ Game Review
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