It’s no secret that Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is a superbly talented, generational player. With Allen, the Bills are always well-positioned to win every game at any moment. Yet, winning in the NFL is difficult. It’s true that the mark of a great team isn’t necessarily how dominant it performs in a blowout win, but how well they play in a close victory.
For Buffalo a third of the way through the 2026 NFL season, the title of “Finishers” suits them well. All but one game (a win vs. Detroit Lions Week 2 — 41-31) has come down to a single score’s difference. Wins against the Houston Texans in Week 1 (36-31), Los Angeles Chargers Week 3 (24-16), Los Angeles Rams Week 5 (37-34), and Las Vegas Raiders Week 6 (33-30) took all the mental fortitude, discipline, and dialed-in play they could muster in all three phases.
Their only loss this season, also decided by a single score — 29-26 to the New England Patriots in Week 3 — further reveals that these Bills may play a heck of a lot more games in similar fashion. It’s possible that Buffalo’s remaining schedule finds them in high-scoring shootouts where even 30 points doesn’t feel as comfortable as one might expect.
Allen is obviously a huge reason why the Bills win the games they do, especially when he’s good for at least one impossibly brilliant play at the goal line for six. However, he’s not the only one on that side of the ball who makes Buffalo a feared team.
Running back James Cook III is a special player. He again played a key role in victory, finishing with 22 carries for 95 yards and a score, plus three catches for 58 yards. Better yet? Cook didn’t fumble, as I predicted he’d rebound with a strong performance.
Then there’s wide receiver Keon Coleman, who’s really turned it on in year three. The Bills needed Coleman to step up when top wide receiver DJ Moore picked up a shoulder injury, and Coleman has impressed. He’s beginning to look like a receiver ready for a consistent spotlight, with hands fit for carrying diamonds across tight ropes and verticality for days.
To address the pink elephant in the room: Yes, the defense is yet a work in progress, and will be so well into training camp next summer with defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard at the helm. That said, the defensive line and edge rushers are bigger disruptors now, and so many holdover players are more efficient in almost every scenario.
As for the defensive backfield? The masterful play by top cornerback Christian Benford against tight end Brock Bowers can’t be over-discussed in the coming days. Bowers, of course, had a decent day — but only when going against anyone not named Benford, and most folks will sign up for four catches and 70 yards without a score going up against Bowers.
CBS game analyst J.J. Watt pointed out Benford’s play several times, saying that he should be the only one covering Bowers. In key moments where Bowers was likely to have the biggest impact, Benford was his shadow playing expertly blanketed coverage. The hope is that Buffalo’s other defensive backs use Benford’s tape in Week 6 to raise their individual levels to the greater good.
To be fair, the defense played much better in Las Vegas. There will always be those ready to bash even the slightest mistake out of Jim Leonhard’s group. That’s just life. There’s also lot of good to focus on out of the ashes of yet another close victory that might not have been so without more than a few key defensive stops.
Were there moments where it appeared Buffalo couldn’t do a thing to stop Las Vegas’ passing attack? Certainly. Expecting a finished product at this point is foolish. The defense has made strides in pass coverage, and the difference in run defense is night and day compared to former head coach Sean McDermott’s system.
Buffalo needed its defense to step up today, and it did just enough at the right moments to give Allen, Cook, and company a path to victory. For that alone, a toast should be raised toward a Bills stop unit so often under the microscope.
Winning close games will better prepare this young team for a postseason run. They just have to keep winning to put that theory to a proper test.