Pollock: Did the ugly win by the Buffalo Bills set up a pretty AFC division finish?

(Photo: Chuck Pollock explains how the return of nickelback Taron Johnson (7) and middle linebacker Terrel Bernard (43) sparked the victory. Photo by Kostas Lymperopoulos/Buffalo Bills)

A column by CHUCK POLLOCK, Wellsville Sun and Olean Star Senior Sports Columnist

Wouldn’t it be ironic if what likely will be the Bills’ ugliest win of the year turns out to be the key to Buffalo’s greatest success?

It’s hard to conjure a more unsightly performance in victory than the 23-20 triumph over the Jets Monday night at Metlife Stadium.

Granted, New York was a major contributor to that self-inflicted defeat, but when the game ended, the Bills had swiped an unexpectedly beneficial triumph whose impact could last through a season which is barely a third complete.

LET’S START with this.

During preseason a number of New York pro football pundits predicted Buffalo would finish third in the AFC East behind the Jets and Dolphins.

Oh, how things have changed.

The concussion Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered in the Week 2 loss to Buffalo sent him to injured reserve and he can’t return until after this week’s game at Indianapolis. It’s also unlikely he’ll even be back in Week 8 at home against Arizona. If the Dolphins lose both of those games, they’d be 2-5 and an unlikely playoff contender.

New York, at 2-4, improved itself by acquiring elite wide receiver Devante Adams, who spent eight years catching passes from current Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay.

Without question it’s an impressive addition for interim coach Jeff Ulbrich. But Adams joins a team in chase mode.

Buffalo has a two-game lead in the win-loss column plus Monday’s head-to-head victory in the Meadowlands meaning the Bills, in effect, have a 2½-game edge in the division standings.

And there’s more.

Las Vegas bookmakers not only decidedly favor Buffalo to win the division, but also rank Miami second and New York third, apparently feeling that Tagovailoa’s return will have more impact than the addition of Adams to the Jets.

AND, OH YEAH, there’s one more thing.

Buffalo is already tied for the third-best record in the AFC with Baltimore and Pittsburgh, at 4-2 behind only Kansas City, 5-0, and Houston, 5-1.

But equally important, the Bills have improved themselves.

It started Monday night with the return of two key defenders, nickelback Taron Johnson (forearm) and middle linebacker Terrel Bernard (pectoral), who were both contributors to the win.

Johnson, one of the NFL’s best slot corners, tied for the team high in tackles (8) adding four solos but, most important, made the diving interception of a ball it appeared Jets’ receiver Mike Williams had already caught, a turnover that assured Buffalo’s win.

Bernard, in somewhat limited snaps, added six tackles including three solos.

But the other key was the Bills trading for Cleveland wide receiver Amari Cooper, who might automatically become No. 1 in Buffalo’s sometimes-challenged wideout stable.

COACH Sean McDermott was enthused but tempered.

“Any time you’re improving as a football team, I would say ‘Yes.’ On paper is one thing, but at the end of the day, can the person playing help us? That’s what we’re here to see over the next couple of days and hopefully the answer to all of that is ‘Yes’.

“Going up against Amari (I have) a ton of respect for him and his game. But we already have players in the building that we have confidence in and (hope) he’ll fit into that equation, ‘we’ll’ get him integrated and (we’re) excited to see how quickly he can get up to speed.”

McDermott added, “One player doesn’t make a team, one player doesn’t save a team … sometimes you can bring in a player and they can get in the way. I’m not saying that in this case but you get into a rhythm so whenever you trade for a player, especially in midseason, it’s getting him up to speed and into the rhythm the team is already in. I’m looking forward to doing that and getting him onboard here.

“Everyone in that (wide receiver) room before Amari was here had a slightly different skill set, so now it’s truly determining what Amari’s skill set is and how it’s going to fit into our system and how it can use Amari’s strengths to make our system better.”

(Chuck Pollock, an Olean Star and Wellsville Sun senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@wnynet.net.)

Pollock: Did the ugly win by the Buffalo Bills set up a pretty AFC division finish?

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