NEWSLETTER
It’s December, the playoff races are coming into focus and tightening, and things are starting to move fast around the NFL. This is my favorite time of the season, especially when I can root for players I like and chaos because the Bears aren’t relevant in the discussion.
Bills Statement Win in New England
While the Bills entered Thursday night’s game in Foxborough tied for the top spot in the AFC East, their convincing 24-10 win over the Patriots was a statement of how good they are. After back-to-back wins in Detroit (including one over the Browns due to the snowstorm) and last night’s victory, the Bills have won three road games in 12 days.
The preseason favorites to win the Super Bowl have taken some criticism this season for not playing up to expectations. But the last 12 days have been impressive enough to quiet some of the chatter. Josh Allen was stellar, completing 22-of-33 for 223 yards, a pair of touchdowns, and no interceptions. This touchdown throw was a show-stealer:
“We could have used every excuse in the book,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said of the 12-day saga (via The Athletic), “but our guys work extremely hard. We care about each other. We care about each other’s families, and I think when you have that type of love in the locker room, you’re going to find ways to win football games.”
Allen’s solid game made up for a pair of games in which some Bills fans were upset by his lack of production. While Sean McDermott and his staff dialed up 27 run plays for James Cook and Devin Singletary, Allen had a clean performance and got back in sync with Stefon Diggs who caught seven passes for 92 yards and a touchdown.
Allen and the Bills are now in sole possession of the top spot in the AFC East for the time being. And now, they have back-to-back weeks at home to look forward to as we enter the final leg of the regular season. Buffalo hosts the Jets in Week 14 after a post-Thursday mini-bye and then host the Dolphins in Week 15. That December 18 showdown will surely be the biggest regular-season game of the season for the Bills.
Antonio Brown’s Latest Legal Troubles
Word began to surface on Thursday afternoon that Antonio Brown was involved in a “standoff” with police at his Tampa Bay home after local authorities attempted to take Brown into custody on an active warrant for domestic battery.
Amy Dash, a legal insider for Audacy Sports (the free broadcast and internet radio platform once known as Entercom and is the parent company of local station 670 The Score), reported the information at 4:38 pm on Thursday. According to more Tweets by Dash in the thread above, the alleged incident included Brown throwing a shoe at the mother of four of his children. Dash also reported that Brown threw the alleged victim out of the home, discarded her belongings outside the house, and threatened to shoot her.
Here’s the latest from Dash on the ongoing situation:
It sounds like there was a lot of conflicting information being released. But from what I can put together from what’s been reported is that there is an active warrant for Brown, the police attempted to have Brown surrender at his residence, which he refused, and now their working with Brown to have himself surrender at some point (peacefully).
The initial reports on Thursday made it sound far more dire than it’s shaking out to be. Still, Brown is again in hot water with law enforcement officials, this time for some serious allegations.
