Now, that wasn't so difficult, was it?
Six weeks ago, playing a meaningful game in January seemed like an impossibly cruel fantasy for the Buffalo Bills and their followers, a delusional hope that would require a complete reversal of form by the blue, white and red. Not to mention utter collapses by any number of teams perched above them in the standings.
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Done and done.
After yet another National Football League weekend in which just about everything broke Buffalo's way, playoff scenarios of Pythagorean complexity have been replaced by simple arithmetic.
If the Bills beat Pittsburgh on Sunday, while either the New York Jets or Denver Broncos lose, they're in.
That's it.
Simple, but not necessarily easy. The Steelers, as you might have noticed, haven't lost a game since Week 2. They pummeled one of the aforementioned collapsers on Sunday, all but eliminating the oh-so-tough Baltimore Ravens 20-7 with the pigskin equivalent of a series of punches to the face. As impressive as the Steelers looked, though, their dominance rendered their looming trip to Orchard Park utterly meaningless. At least to them.
The BillStuff coverage team focused much of its attention on the Steelers-Baltimore game, as well as the other 1 p.m. contests, for a number of reasons. Not the least of which was the complete lack of suspense surrounding Buffalo's visit to San Francisco.
There was absolutely no reason to think the 49ers, with but two wins in 14 tries, would do anything more than show up for their home finale. And they didn't. But we'll get to that later.
We found ourselves, rather unexpectedly, back at Slick Willie's on Niagara Falls Boulevard for the early games on the day after Christmas so that brother-in-law Adam could witness his beloved Steelers clinching home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs in person.
At the same time, on screens immediately to either side of the big one showing the Steelers and Ravens, the Jacksonville Jaguars were taking on the Houston Texans in a bid to retain the upper hand on Buffalo in the postseason race.
A week after grabbing control of the wild-card derby with a gutty win in Green Bay, the Jaguars abjectly surrendered it with a feeble loss at home to Houston.
As the Texans smacked around Jacksonville and Pittsburgh battered the Ravens, the crowd at Slick Willy's reacted to each big play, or remotely favorable development, by Houston and the Steelers as if the Bills were already playing. When Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger flipped a 2-yard touchdown pass to Jerame Tuman to make it 17-7 midway through the third quarter, the place positively erupted.
Not that either game was terribly suspenseful, with the Steelers running out much of the fourth-quarter clock to preserve a 20-7 win and the Jaguars managing but 149 total yards in falling 21-0. But the two outcomes lent what had been the ultimate exercise in wishful thinking a generous helping of warm, delicious reality.
"We can do this," said one man wearing a Takeo Spikes jersey (as mentioned last week, this place appears to be some manner of fan-club headquarters for No. 51). "We can really do this."
With those games in hand, the gathering shifted much of its attention to the San Diego-Indianapolis game. The Chargers defense, under the guidance of Wade Phillips, stifled Peyton Manning in his quest to surpass Dan Marino's 20-year-old mark of 48 touchdown passes in a season while building a 24-9 lead.
But record-tying and breaking scoring throws by Manning, with an 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by James Mungro in between, offered a disturbing glimpse of what likely awaits the Bills should they complete their spectacular run by earning a playoff spot next week.
The BS coverage team zipped home after the early games to enjoy the Bills-49ers mismatch amidst the festive trappings of the previous day's Christmas celebration while trying to figure out our more technologically challenging gifts.
You needed some sort of diversion during this one. To their credit, the Niners did make a game of it. For about a quarter.
After Willis McGahee opened the scoring with a 3-yard run early in the second quarter, the Bills scored on their next three series. By the time Rian Lindell's second field goal made it 20-0 three minutes into the second half, fans started filing out of Monster Park, leaving San Francisco's players to watch wistfully, wishing they could do the same.
The Bills have played some pretty bad teams this year, including the Cleveland Browns two weeks earlier, but none gave up as quickly or willingly as the 49ers. You hate to disparage the efforts of men who play such a dangerous sport, but, geez.
Buffalo dominated every statistical category. The Bills outgained the 49ers 441-189. In a bit of sadism, they ran a no-huddle early and often, but otherwise kept things pretty simple.
McGahee, whose availability the entire franchise did a great job of masking all week after he twisted a knee a week earlier in Cincinnati, ran with his usual sledgehammer authority.
Rookie wideout Lee Evans caught eight passes for 92 yards and a pair of scores, while Eric Moulds snagged another eight as Drew Bledsoe turned in an efficient performance.
All three Bills quarterbacks directed touchdown drives (though, to be fair, J.P. Losman didn't have to throw a pass in the process), while San Francisco's duo of Ken Dorsey and Cody Pickett combined to throw three second-half interceptions.
Even backup running back Shaud Williams, denied his first NFL start by McGahee's quick recovery, had a career day with 93 yards on 17 carries, capped by a 27-yard run for Buffalo's last touchdown.
The defense turned in what's become a routine performance -- three sacks, four turnovers and absolutely nothing surrendered easily.
The special teams didn't need to contribute what's become their weekly huge play, but the return and coverage units did well enough to give the Bills an all-day advantage in field position.
Such all-around excellence has become routine during this six-game run, the longest loss-free span in 14 years and one of the most impressive stretches in the Bills' 45 seasons.
Of course, the scorching streak could end in empty victory on Sunday, should the Bills beat the Steelers, but the Jets do the same in St. Louis and the Broncos in Indianapolis.
But the fact that Jan. 2 will indeed matter, one way or the other, might be this Buffalo team's most remarkable accomplishment of all.
BILLS MVP: Along with McGahee, no one has made Bills President/General Manager Tom Donahoe look smarter than Lee Evans.
Showing every sign that he's developing into a more complete receiver than Peerless Price has ever hinted he could be, Evans will keep defenses from swarming Eric Moulds for as long as both remain in Buffalo.
Evans' emergence is just one of many reasons that Ol' Whitey deserves the contract extension he'll get once Buffalo's season ends. Whenever that might be.
THE OTHER GUYS' MVP: Not applicable. Not even close.
MOST EMBARRASSING DISPLAY: The above honor might have gone to Kevan Barlow by default, since he did manage 72 yards rushing, had he not made a complete ass of himself with his fourth-quarter celebrations while his team trailed 41-0.
Whether out of frustration or stupidity, his gyrations couldn't have done much to endear him to a fan base that already considers him the personification of San Francisco's disastrous season.
To his credit, he managed to stop himself from spiking the ball after scoring the 49ers' only touchdown.
CHEER OF THE DAY: Early in the fourth quarter of the Chargers-Colts game, Dave -- the BS gaming analyst -- needed a scoring outburst in order to surpass the over total of 57 (BS doesn't really understand how that works, but has been told it has something to do with gambling).
First, the Chargers' LaDainian Tomlinson went in from 16 yards out to make it 31-15.
Then, Mungro broke free with an 88-yard answer to push the total to 54 with nearly a full quarter remaining.
"Go, you scumbag, go!" bellowed Dave as Mungro fled up the sideline.
Who says betting perverts one's enjoyment of the sport?
WING REPORT: We didn't stick around at Slick Willie's for the buffet at halftime of the Buffalo game this week. The garlic-and-cheese loaf, which we discovered last week, again proved an ideal early afternoon stomach liner ("It's like pizza, without the sauce!" Adam declared), and the steak hoagies were more than tasty.
After returning home, we ordered wings from Just Pizza. Which, obviously, serves quite a bit more than the name suggests. Seeking variety, we went with the Jamaican jerk and lemon-pepper wings, along with a double order of plain old milds.
A cold that rapidly worsened through the late afternoon hampered our taste buds and badly limited our capacity for food of any type, so we enlisted the aid of Adam and the women of the house in settling upon a grade.
Each variety was well-done and crispy. While the jerk and lemon-pepper morsels were more seasoned than sauced, both offered ample flavor (and the lemon wasn't overwhelmed by the pepper, Mrs. BS noted). And though the celery was a bit on the mealy side, there was plenty of tasty blue cheese. Grade: A-minus.
BS FAN OF THE WEEK: Since his Steelers have clinched and he was raised in Western New York before migrating to Maui, Adam announced at the close of the Steelers game that he's making a noble concession next week.
While accompanying a bevy of Bills fans and once again joining the BS coverage team live at Ralph Wilson Stadium next week, he'll shun his black-and-gold gear in favor of Bills team colors and root for his hometown team against his favorite.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Dec. 28 2004 |