By CHUCK POLLOCK, Wellsville Sun Senior Sports Columnist
Don’t tell anybody, but the Bills have found a way to win every game.
All they have to do is surrender at least 31 points and the triumph is theirs.
Proof?
Ponder these scores:
Buffalo 41, Baltimore 40
Buffalo 44, Tampa Bay 32
Buffalo 39, Cincinnati 34
Buffalo 35, New England 31
In such games, the Bills are 4-0 as ridiculous as the concept might be. And you’d be hard-pressed to believe Cleveland would score at least 31 in Sunday’s afternoon’s game at Huntington Bank Field (1 o’clock, CBS-TV, Bills Radio Network).
Indeed, the Browns’ record, 3-11, includes reaching the 30-point mark only once in a 31-6 victory over Miami.
THE BILLS (10-4), meanwhile, are still playing for a sixth straight AFC East title but the easiest way for that to happen is to win out (at Cleveland, home with Philadelphia; and at the Jets).
New England (11-3) would have to lose two of its last three games (at Baltimore and the Jets; home versus Miami).
But get this, there are still four ways Buffalo can make the playoffs:
1. beating Cleveland with a loss by Indianapolis (8-6).or a tie Monday night at San Francisco (10-4);
2. beating Cleveland and the Colts lose at San Francisco;
3. Bills tie in Cleveland and Colts lose to the 49ers;
4. Bills tie in Cleveland and Houston (9-5) loses to Raiders.
BUFFALO’S odds of making the playoffs are virtually 99% and even winning the division are a reasonable 11-25%. Going into Sunday it’s favored by 10 1/2 points.
But, as always, injuries factor into the Bills’ late-season games.
Start with the fact coach Sean McDermott will be starting his third kicker. Tyler Bass was lost early in the year with a hip/groin injury that put him on season-ending injured reserve. Then veteran Matt Prater was lost in the New England game to a quad strain so McDermott signed Michael Badgley who was cut by Indianapolis after he missed three of 21 extra-point attempts (Prater had missed a barely acceptable two).
McDERMOTT reflecting on the Bills rally from a 21-point deficit against New England admitted, “We’re working to find the right combination of guys to put out there. We’ve hit some bumps in the road with some guys being in and out of the lineup through the course of the season. I think the coaching staff had done a phenomenal Job of managing that.
“Then players have stepped up to the challenge. Overall, when you look at the game last week, it’s ‘What do you do when the moments are the brightest …when they need to stop five series (late in the second quarter) and the second half? We get back-to-back stops to win the game. That speaks to the mental toughness of our defense.
“It’s tough to win when you’re giving up explosive chunks so we spin the dial to see what the best combination of players and schemes (will work).”
Of the Browns, McDermott cited, in particular, edge rusher Myles Garrett who needs one sack to tie Michael Strahan’s career league record.
“He’s a special player … a Hall of Famer,” he said. “He’s on the verge of breaking the record. You turn on the tape, watching crossover games and Cleveland’s defense shows up … they play hard, they’re talented up front and on the back end … in part with the cornerbacks.
INJURIES
Besides Prater, offensive tackle Chris Lundt (knee, injured reserve) and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips (ankle) being out five other Bills are questionable to play come Sunday.
Wide receiver Mercole Hardman Jr. (calf) has missed multiple practices. Nickel back Taron Johnson (quad), defensive tackle DaQuan Jones (calf), defensive back Cam Lewis (hamstring), and punter Mitch Wisnowsky (knee) have been limited in practice.
POLLOCK’S PICK: Bills 27, Browns 20
(Chuck Pollock, a Wellsville Sun senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@wnynet.net.)
