The Buffalo Bills have committed just seven turnovers through 14 games. The NFL record for a full season is eight by the 2019 New Orleans Saints. The Bills鈥 franchise single-season record is 12 by the Tyrod Taylor-quarterbacked 2016 team.
The relevance of this statistic this week? The Bills are going to be monster favorites in their final three regular-season games, starting Sunday against the 3-11 New England Patriots, who will come to Orchard Park as 14-point underdogs.
The No. 1 way the Bills can stub their toe 鈥 by far 鈥 over the final three weeks is by handing inferior opponents turnovers.
It鈥檚 one of the secondary reasons this Bills team feels a little better positioned than past years looking toward the playoffs. (The primary reason, of course, is that Josh Allen is playing the best football of his life.)
People are also reading…
Bills head coach Sean McDermott, stressing a point during the win over Detroit, said his team needs to stay focused this week.
The Bills so far are beating themselves less often than ever, not just in the Sean McDermott era but in franchise history.
And while many Bills fans already have chalked up the next three games as automatic wins, the Bills鈥 players and coaches know they have to avoid that mindset.
After all, a bad Patriots team beat them in New England last year, 29-25, thanks to Bills turnovers. And a disappointing New York Jets team played the Bills tough in October before losing, 23-20.
The Bills are coming off an emotional 48-42 win in Detroit.
How does McDermott keep his no-letdown message fresh?
鈥淚 think you learn from the past,鈥 McDermott said Wednesday. 鈥淐ertainly that鈥檚 No. 1. And No. 2 is, I think, a winner鈥檚 mindset, really a champion鈥檚 mindset. There鈥檚 a certain degree of discipline that goes along with it, when they know what they鈥檙e after. And so that鈥檚 the type of discipline we have to have moving forward every week. Every week it鈥檚 a new challenge. And we certainly have a ton of respect for this football team. They鈥檝e played really good football, especially since the quarterback (rookie Drake Maye) has taken over. So we have a ton of respect for them, and most importantly, our mindset has to be right.鈥
鈥淭here鈥檚 still a lot to play for,鈥 Allen said. 鈥淲e know as a team that we basically have to win out to have any chance at the one seed. Obviously, we don鈥檛 control our own destiny there. But our approach is the same, 1-0 each week.鈥
The Bills need two losses by Kansas City in the last three weeks for a shot at the top seed. Unlikely but not impossible, given the Chiefs鈥 penchant for nail-biting finishes this season.
Regardless, the Bills can鈥檛 afford to foul up the No. 2 seed.
There have been some lopsided regular-season losses in McDermott鈥檚 tenure. The 35-10 defeat at Baltimore in Week 4 this season was ugly. But McDermott鈥檚 teams have had a good track record of winning the games they鈥檙e supposed to win. You can count the toe stubs 鈥 bad losses to inferior, losing teams 鈥 on one hand.
Last season there were two 鈥 the losses to the Mac Jones Pats and the 24-22 giveaway to Denver at home. In 2021, there was the 9-6 implosion at Jacksonville. In 2019, the Bills lost, 19-16, to a bad Cleveland team.
The spark for most of those defeats was turnovers. The previous four years, starting with 2023, Allen鈥檚 interception totals were 18-14-15-10. He has five this season.
鈥淚 just think he鈥檚 very goal oriented,鈥 McDermott said of his quarterback. 鈥淗e鈥檚 got some goals that he wants to achieve. Some of those are individual goals. Some of those are our team goals. And I think he鈥檚 done a phenomenal job of keeping, steering clear I should say, of all the noise and focusing in week to week on what he鈥檚 trying to accomplish.鈥
Two-time Super Bowl winner Von Miller has a phrase he uses to avoid getting psyched out by facing a superstar opponent or getting complacent against an underrated foe.
鈥淭he other team, they鈥檙e just nameless faces,鈥 Miller said. 鈥淲e go out there and we鈥檙e playing against ourselves. It鈥檚 us vs. us. It doesn鈥檛 matter if the team is undefeated or if the team is struggling. This particular team, though, they have some players over there. I鈥檓 a fan of the head coach. This quarterback, he鈥檚 the future of the Patriots organization.鈥
Miller鈥檚 voice of experience carries weight in the locker room, and he鈥檚 preaching a blinders-on approach so the Bills don鈥檛 get caught up in their 11-3 hype.
Asked if he has heard from former star teammates, like Hall-of-Famer DeMarcus Ware, about the Bills鈥 or Allen鈥檚 exploits, Miller said no.
鈥淚鈥檝e been off social media, and I鈥檝e been trying to stay present. I haven鈥檛 been paying attention to Twitter or Instagram. ... I鈥檓 always optimistic. But I realized about six weeks ago, this is something special, and I just want to be here. I don鈥檛 want to be listening to guys and having outside influences on this and that. ... It鈥檚 something special that鈥檚 going on, and I want to make sure I鈥檓 crossing all the Ts and dotting all the Is to make sure we ride this special train.鈥
Blinders. The Bills need to keep them on the next three weeks.
