Bills 17, Ravens 3

It was hardly a classic game that we’ll see on NFL Films two or three decades from now. A windblown defensive struggle with one offensive touchdown and less than 600 combined yards gained but, for Bills fans, the biggest game in 27 years will be well-remembered anyway. An efficient drive to start the second half broke the 3-3 halftime tie as Stefon Diggs found the endzone - part of another productive outing for the former Viking who continues to make Brandon Beane look like a genius for trading Buffalo’s first round pick last year to get him. Then Taron Johnson caught lightening in a bottle and that was more than enough.

As long as the Bills keep winning, I guess I’ll have to keep writing this blog. I’m not looking for sympathy but this weekly task has been taking me longer than usual the last three weeks as I’ve been a one-handed keyboard operator. I fell awkwardly off my bike in late December, badly broke the pinky finger on my dominant hand and had it surgically repaired a few days later by a top hand surgeon at Sunnybrook. K-wires come out on January 26^th. Although my direct experiences with our healthcare system thankfully remain rare, they continue to be positive – even in 2021. Despite COVID and the resulting well-documented strains on the already over-loaded system, I received timely and expert treatment, for which I am grateful. Yes, they are busy and stressed but each and every person I interacted with at Sunnybrook – even the nurse who administered my assembly line style COVID test – was equal parts pleasant, efficient and professional. It was all very impressive which is the only reason I mention it at all.    

Back to Taron Johnson. His 101-yard pick-6 is already an instant classic in Bills playoff lore. In real time, I could tell that the ball had been caught by someone and for a very brief and fleeting moment, I accepted and processed the reality that the game was tied. But, it was the Bills nickel cornerback in whose hands it landed. While some defensive backs would surely have gone to the ground in the endzone, happy to give their team the ball on the 20, Johnson saw a wide open field ahead of him, brought it out and quite easily went ALL THE WAY. Nothing like a 14 point swing on one play to permanently change the course of a game. Bills fans can relate: How many times did we see Drew Bledsoe or JP Losman, late in the game, trailing by a touchdown and driving for the tie, get sacked, fumble the ball which the defence then returned for a touchdown? I know for sure that they each did it at least once. Taron Johnson has two key pick-6’s this season. Most defensive players go years in the league and never get one.

Next Sunday will mark the Bills sixth AFC Championship Game since the 1970 NFL – AFL merger. They enjoy a 4-1 record (3-0 at home) in these games, winning four straight between the 1990 and 1993 seasons. Their only loss came in January, 1989 in Cincinnati – a game which I watched with a group of drunken obnoxious Bengal fans in a straw-roofed “sports bar” in Peurto Escondido, Mexico. Their only road win was in Miami in January, 1993. A win at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday will send the Bills to their 5th Superbowl in Tampa on February 7^th.

The NFL Concussion Protocol came into existence in 2009. A team of league-employed spotters, some on the sidelines and some in a booth high above the field, along with team-employed neurologists on each sideline, are charged with watching players for signs of loss of balance, disorientation, head-clutching, etc. These officials have the authority to call time-out on the field and remove a player from the game who exhibits any of these symptoms. We saw this happen twice over the weekend – each time involving one of the NFL’s marquee players: Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Neither returned to their respective games. Enter rookie Tyler Huntley for the Ravens who was actually quite impressive in playing out the rest of the game in Orchard Park and veteran back-up Chad Henne for the Chiefs who made a couple of key plays in finishing their game and helping his team get past the pesky Cleveland Browns for a chance to meet the juggernaut Buffalo Bills. Let’s hope that Mahomes progresses quickly through the four stages of the protocol this week and can play on Sunday.