All we want for Christmas is a playoff spot

By Sean Quinn

IPod’s are hot this Christmas. So is Beyonce. But you’d be hard pressed to find anything hotter right now than the Buffalo Bills. Well, maybe a “Tickle Me Elmo,” but the fact still remains, all anyone in Western New York really wants for the holidays is a playoff spot. And with AFC teams being cleared out of the Bills path like snow off of a Buffalo interstate, every Bills fan has a reason to be tickled about something.
The Bills were left for dead at 3-6, following a loss at New England over a month ago. Their whole team was struggling. Rod Stewart put up more offense on a first date than the Bills had early on in the season. It took them seven weeks to finally amass 21 points in a ball game. Over the first half of the season, their defense was communicating about as well as Shaq and Kobe.

But the Bills, like Michael Jackson’s face, have been completely transformed.

They are now 8-6, on a five game winning streak, and they have more credentials on their playoff resume than a candidate on “The Apprentice.” Their offense has blown up like Snoop Dogg’s cell phone. Over their five game winning streak, they have scored over 33 points, becoming the first team in franchise history to score 30 or more points in five straight games. Since making the transition to Willis McGahee, the Bills are 8-1 with him starting in the backfield, and are 6-0 in games where he has rushed for over 100 yards. Perhaps the biggest reason for the turnaround, has been the poise and consistency of rookie receiver Lee Evans. Evans has caught a touchdown in each of the last four games, becoming the first Bill to do that since Eric Moulds in 1999 (the last time the Bills made the playoffs).

The defense has helped them out considerably, though. What’s the one thing everyone wants from grandma on Christmas? It’s the same thing the Bills have been missing in recent years. Turnovers. The Bills have 22 takeaways in the last five games. They only had 18 all of last season. This had helped them become the number three defense in the NFL.

The turnovers happen because Buffalo has finally been able to put pressure on the quarterback. Aaron Schobel is up to his old tricks with eight sacks on the year, but second year defensive end Chris Kelsay has 4.5 sacks, and like Evans on offense, Kelsay has stepped up and showed veteran prowess for the defense. The secondary has combined for 9.5 sacks, as Jerry Gray’s biltz packages are so impressive they should be wrapped up in ribbons and bows.

And you want a complete team? Terrence McGee leads the league with three kickoff returns for touchdowns, and Nate Clements and Jonathan Smith have one punt return touchdown a piece. Combine this with the fourth best punter in the AFC and your special teams are something special. Somewhere Steve Tasker is smiling.

Well, so what? The Bills are good, maybe even great right now. But it doesn’t mean anything if they can’t get into the playoffs. The New York Jets, Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens, and Jacksonville Jaguars stand in their way.

The New York Jets will most likely lock up the fifth playoff spot in the AFC. That leaves the sixth playoff spot to the team that finishes 10-6. The Jags and the Ravens have the tiebreaker over Buffalo if all three end up at 10-6. One would think someone is going to end up 10-6 out of these three teams. That eliminates Denver from the playoff race because at 8-6 they still have the play Indianapolis. The way Peyton Manning and company are playing right now, the Colts should easily roll over the Broncos, who are playing more like infant ponies after getting throttled by the Chiefs 45-17 last week.

The Ravens, 8-6, can also be eliminated because they play the only team in the league that may be hotter than the Bills, the Steelers. Pittsburgh can wrap up home field advantage by winning this game at home, so they will come to play hard. The Ravens defense may be able to contain Ben Roethlisberger, but their offense will be shut down by the Steelers defense.

That leaves the 8-6 Jacksonville Jaguars. This is Buffalo’s biggest obstacle. The Jags beat Buffalo in the last second the first game of the season. People in Florida don’t have to deal with snow, so they shouldn’t be allowed another reason to be happy during the holidays. The Jags play at home against the 6-8 Houston Texans, then travel to Oakland to play the 5-9 Raiders. Houston is the best bet for the Bills. The Texans beat Jacksonville in Houston 20-6 in week seven. Houston held the Jags to 39 rushing yards and forced two interceptions from Byron Leftwich. They will need a similar performance in order to come out on top again, but it doesn’t look too promising after the Jags lit up Green Bay last week for 28 points. The Bills playoff hopes basically hinge on the arm of David Carr, the legs of Domanick Davis, and the arms of the three-headed monster at receiver, Andre Johnson, Corey Bradford, and Jabar Gaffney.

If all works out, the Bills would play Pittsburgh in the last week of the season to determine their own destiny. The loss by the Patriots on Monday night means the Steelers will most likely clinch home field advantage by beating Baltimore, so they will be resting most of their starters when they come to Ralph Wilson Stadium. This is very good news for the Bills, but all hinges on the game between Jacksonville and Houston.

After five straight wins, the Bills need two more. A local pop warner team could handle the49ers, so all that remains for Buffalo are the Steelers. The Ravens and Broncos won’t make the playoffs. It will be either the Bills or the Jags. The odds are with the Jags, but you’d have to think that with everything that has happened, the football gods are with the Bills. The Bills, however, will have to depend on offense, defense, special teams and possibly a little bit of luck because we all know after four straight Super Bowls and a Music City Miracle, that the last place you will find the football gods during the winter is in Buffalo.