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Monday Morning Breakdown

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Eric Wood | 5 observations on the Bills following Week 12's victory

Buffalo Bills center Spencer Long (61), offensive guard Jon Feliciano (76) and offensive guard Quinton Spain (67) Buffalo Bills vs Denver Broncos, November 24, 2019 at New Era Field. Photo by Bill Wippert
Buffalo Bills center Spencer Long (61), offensive guard Jon Feliciano (76) and offensive guard Quinton Spain (67) Buffalo Bills vs Denver Broncos, November 24, 2019 at New Era Field. Photo by Bill Wippert

1. Bills win in the trenches

The offensive line play in the last two weeks has been incredible. Due to the wind yesterday, it was going to be a tough game to throw the ball. The offensive line provided great protection that led to a successful day on the ground. Center Mitch Morse came out of the game early, which moved Jon Feliciano over to center and Spencer Long to right guard. The offensive line didn't miss a beat when new players were involved. I saw some great running lanes that turned into 244 rushing yards. The Bills haven't rushed for that many yards since 2016. We also have to remember that Ty Nsekhe was out for this game as well, which left rookie Cody Ford to go up against a talented defensive end in Von Miller. Dion Dawkins and Ford made Miller have a quiet game and kept Josh Allen clean for most of the day.

The Bills defensive line dominated again. Four sacks yesterday, that's 11 total sacks in the last two games. They limited Denver to just 134 total yards and had complete control over the Broncos. This tough performance all started with how the defensive line was able to put pressure up front. This week we saw less seven man pressures than last week against the Dolphins. Linebacker Matt Milano blitzed at times and Lorenzo Alexander was brought off the edge a couple times. When teams put you in base defense, I think the linebackers are a big asset for them. Even with single linebacker blitzes instead of all out pressures, the Bills were still able to cause havoc.

2. Tre'Davious White proving he belongs amongst elite company

Tre'Davious White is having a season to remember. Broncos receiver Courtland Sutton came into this game third in the AFC with 805 receiving yards. Sutton has become quarterback Brandon Allen's favorite target this season, especially on play-action. Earlier in the game Denver did run play-action and got just one completion over to Sutton for 27 yards. White followed him around the majority of the day in man coverage, a really tough matchup that White won. Sutton was targeted eight times and made just one catch.

Tre White is just the total package. He's strong, he's fast, plays with great balance, he's great with his hands, he's very smart, has great anticipation — all of this is why he leads the team with four interceptions right now. We are also seeing him gain more and more confidence before our eyes. This is an elite corner that we have in Buffalo. He is a big part of why this defense has been ranked third in the NFL since Week 5.

3. Bills provide dominating performance fans and critics were looking for

All season long the Bills have had a great record, they started off hot going 5-1. When they played the Bengals, Dolphins and Redskins close, everybody was really hungry for Buffalo to have a dominating win. In the last two weeks, we have seen that domination beating two teams by 17 points each. Denver came in with the fourth-ranked defense and have been quite competitive with Brandon Allen at quarterback. Early in the season with Joe Flacco they were averaging 15 points a game and then with Allen that average moved up to 23.5 points per game. This game was only a four-point spread, too. The Bills put together another complete performance and really won in all three phases of the game.

4. Looking ahead: Bills at Cowboys to kick-off Week 13

With Buffalo's record, the team's gotten some national attention but not like you would expect for an 8-3 team. This week all eyes will be on them with a Thanksgiving game in Dallas on a big stage. The Bills are playing against "America's team" and this will be a chance for the Bills and a lot of the young players to really make a name for themselves. Tremaine Edmunds is not a household name yet and is still so young, but he will be a superstar in this league one day. Tre'Davious White, also probably not a household name yet, and then guys like Josh Allen can really show how they have progressed.

All that being said, the individual performances won't mean nearly as much as it would to go in and get a win at Dallas against a good football team. Dallas is 6-5 and leads the NFC East. The Cowboys lost a close game to the Patriots last night 13-9. That's a common opponent between these two teams. Both played New England very tough, but couldn't come up with a win. Offensively the Cowboys have been able to do some great things this year, that's their strength. It will be a great matchup with Buffalo's third ranked defense. This is a game I am really looking forward to and I can't wait to see how some of these younger Bills players perform in the spotlight.

Scroll through to view the top photos of the Buffalo Bills celebrating following a 20 - 3 win against the Denver Broncos at home in Week 12.

5. AFC Wild Card chase

The Raiders loss to the Jets definitely favors the Bills and their playoff chances. The Jets' 34-3 win just proves this is a week-to-week league and you have to bring your A-game every week. The Bills are truly worried about their next opponent and don't look too far ahead, which is the right thing to do. But at this point in the season as a fan or member of the media, it is fun to look around the league and down the road watching the chase to the playoffs happen.

I found myself last night rooting for Dallas against New England thinking, if the Cowboys win then the Patriots have two losses. Then, the Bills can go into Foxboro and beat New England then maybe Buffalo has the division. Another AFC win yesterday really helps the Bills. With eight wins, looking at all other AFC teams fighting for a Wild Card spot, Buffalo has a two-game lead on everyone. The Bills have taken care of business so far this season and it will be fun to watch what they can do in the next five as they have really started to play complete games as of late.

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