During their 13-4 regular season, the Buffalo Bills scored 32 rushing and 30 passing touchdowns, converted 16 fourth-down opportunities, created 32 takeaways and had 39 sacks.
Suffice it to say, there were a lot of items to pick from. But entering Sunday's wild-card game against the Denver Broncos, here are the Bills' top 12 defining moments.
1. Allen's first injury
When: Week 1 vs. Arizona (Sept. 8).
Situation: Leading the Cardinals 24-20 in the fourth quarter, the Bills faced and a second-and-goal from the 6-yard line.
What happened: Against a four-man pressure, quarterback Josh Allen scrambled right, and as he scored the touchdown, landed on his left hand. The Bills beat Arizona 34-28.
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Impact on the season: Months later, Allen confirmed he suffered a broken bone in the non-throwing hand on the touchdown. For most of the season, he wore a glove with a protective pad on the hand.
Quote: "It's fine." - Allen postgame on the injury, which didn't force him to miss any games.
2. Fourth-down tone-setter
When: Week 2 at Miami (Sept. 12).
Situation: In a scoreless game, the Bills faced a fourth-and-3 at the Dolphins' 17-yard line.
What happened: Running back James Cook ran a wheel-type route to the left side, and linebacker David Long fell down after colliding with another Bills receiver. Cook made the touchdown catch to give the Bills a 7-0 lead in a 31-10 win.
Impact on the season: The Bills set their go-for-it-on-fourth-down tone in this game. They converted their first nine fourth-down opportunities of the season, and Allen finished 15 of 18 in his 16 games.
Quote: "Great call by (offensive coordinator) Joe (Brady) and well executed." - Bills coach Sean McDermott.
3. Henry goes the distance
When: Week 4 at Baltimore (Sept. 29).
Situation: The Ravens' first offensive play of the game, from their 13-yard line.
What happened: Running back Derrick Henry scored on an 87-yard touchdown run in which he didn't even need to force a missed tackle. The Bills never threatened in a 35-10 loss.
Impact on the season: The Bills finished 12th in rushing defense (115.5 yards per game), but they were gashed by Baltimore for 271 yards in that game. Note that for a potential Ravens-Bills rematch in the playoffs.
Quote: "Derrick's one of those backs, if you give him a lane, he's going to take it to the crib. First play of the game, they got into a rhythm, and they kept on rolling after that." - Bills defensive tackle DaQuan Jones.
4. Taron Johnson seals win
When: Week 6 at New York Jets (Oct. 14).
Situation: The Bills led 23-20 with less than three minutes remaining, and the Jets had a third-and-16 from their 40-yard line.
What happened: Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers had time to throw and heaved the football downfield toward receiver Mike Williams, but Bills nickelback Taron Johnson - playing for the first time since Week 1 (forearm injury) - intercepted at his 18-yard line to seal the win, moving the Bills to 4-2 after two consecutive defeats.
Impact on the season: This got the Bills' season kick-started after a 3-0 record turned into 3-2 with losses at Baltimore and Houston. Beating the Jets was the first of seven consecutive wins, allowing the Bills to run away with the AFC East.
Quote: "I was just reading (Rodgers) and saw the ball floating in the air a little bit, so I was able to make a play." - Johnson.
5. Cooper's debut
When: Week 7 vs. Tennessee (Oct. 20).
Situation: Five days after the Bills acquired him from the Cleveland Browns, wide receiver Amari Cooper lined up in the left slot on a second-and-10 play from the Titans' 12.
What happened: Cooper ran a post route and caught Allen's pass for the touchdown.
Impact on the season: After Cooper's productive debut (four catches for 66 yards and one touchdown), he suffered a right wrist injury the following week at Seattle and missed two games. But don't discount Cooper's presence on the field -despite his production - (20 catches) in opening up the middle of the field for his teammates.
Quote: "It's a moment where I was like, 'Oh my God, he's a teammate now.' " - Bills receiver Khalil Shakir.
6. Bass from downtown
When: Week 9 vs. Miami (Nov. 3).
Situation: The Bills had a fourth-and-10 from the Dolphins' 43-yard line and 10 seconds remaining in a 27-27 game.
What happened: Kicker Tyler Bass hit a franchise-record 61-yard field goal to give the Bills a 30-27 win.
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Impact on the season: The Bills all but wrapped up the AFC East with this win - they improved to 7-2, well clear of the Jets (3-6) and Dolphins (2-6). The Bills would clinch the division on Dec. 1.
Quote: "It means everything. Very emotional. You're going to go through ups and downs, but (you) just continue to put your best foot forward. We did that today." - Bass.
7. Allen's top play
When: Week 11 vs. Kansas City (Nov. 14).
Situation: Leading 23-21, the Bills faced a fourth-and-2 from the Chiefs' 26-yard line.
What happened: Allen magic. He scrambled right and pump-faked at the 32. He turned upfield at the 30. He broke a tackle by safety Nazeeh Johnson at the 18. He broke a tackle by linebacker Nick Bolton at the 8. And he collided with safety Bryan Cook at the 2 before tumbling into the end zone for the game-clinching touchdown in a 30-21 win.
Impact on the season: In handing the Chiefs their first loss, the Bills closed to within one game of Kansas City for the AFC's top spot. But the big impact is that if Allen is fortunate to win NFL MVP next month, this play will be at the top of the highlight video.
Quote: "It's incredible how consistently he makes those incredible plays - several times a game, you're like, 'Holy cow, what just happened?' I was on the other side of the field, and the next thing I know, he's making dudes miss." - Bills tight end Dawson Knox.
8. Allen to Cooper to Allen
When: Week 13 vs. San Francisco (Dec. 1).
Situation: The Bills led the 49ers 21-3 and faced a first-and-goal from the 7-yard line.
What happened: Allen to Cooper ... back to Allen. Cooper was lined up to the left side, and Allen's pass was off-target. Cooper made the catch, but was quickly surrounded by San Francisco defenders. He flipped it back to Allen, who dove to score a touchdown in a 35-10 rout.
Impact on the season: No real impact on the Bills' season, because they won in a blowout, but it was another entry into Allen's MVP dossier. He received credit for passing and receiving touchdowns on the same play.
Quote: "I just closed my eyes when I saw (Cooper's lateral). I was like, 'Oh, geez, here we go.' I don't really have words for it, other than to say it's two veteran players with great symmetry." - McDermott.
9. Questionable play-call
When: Week 14 at the Los Angeles Rams (Dec. 8).
Situation: Trailing 44-35 with 1:06 remaining, the Bills faced a first-and-goal from the 1-yard line.
What happened: Allen, usually an automatic on quarterback sneak plays, was stopped for no gain. The Bills were forced to use the first of their three timeouts with 1:02 remaining, ending their comeback hopes in an eventual 44-42 loss.
Impact on the season: Allen became the first quarterback since Otto Graham in 1954 to have at least three touchdowns passing and rushing in the same game, but he never had a chance to complete the rally because of the mishandled first-down play. The Bills also saw their AFC home-field chances disappear.
Quote: "There aren't great options at that point in the game. We'll go back and look at it, I promise you that." - McDermott.
10. Cook pulls away
When: Week 15 at Detroit (Dec. 15).
Situation: Leading 21-14 early in the third quarter, the Bills had a second-and-4 from the Lions' 41.
What happened: Lined up to Allen's right, Cook took the handoff and bounced left, getting blocks by left tackle Dion Dawkins, right tackle Spencer Brown and left guard David Edwards. Cook a broke a tackle (the Lions' defender pulled on his hair) at the 30 and stiff-armed a defender at the 20.
Impact on the season: The Bills outlasted the Lions 48-42 to avoid a two-game losing streak. Cook later finished the season with 16 rushing touchdowns, tying the franchise record set by O.J. Simpson in 1975.
Quote: "Jimbo ran the ball hard and, really, all of our backs contributed in a huge way." - Allen.
11. Fumble recovery touchdown
When: Week 16 vs. New England (Dec. 22).
Situation: The Bills led the Patriots 17-14 early in the fourth quarter. New England had a second-and-18 from its 12-yard line.
What happened: Chaos for the Patriots. Quarterback Drake Maye's throw was actually a live ball, a backward pass toward running back Rhamondre Stevenson. The lateral was high and Stevenson couldn't catch it before being hit by defensive end Greg Rousseau. Taron Johnson recovered in the end zone for a Bills' touchdown. The Bills won 24-21.
Impact on the season: Not beating the awful Patriots would have been a disappointment and might have cost them the No. 2 seed.
Quote: "Greg made an incredible play - all the credit goes to him. He made an amazing play, and I was just there to finish it." - Johnson
12. Second seed clinched
When: Week 17 vs. the New York Jets (Dec. 29).
Situation: The Bills led the Jets 12-0 in the third quarter and had a second-and-14 from the Jets' 30.
What happened: Cooper was lined up on the right side. Allen looked left, middle and then deep right, throwing to Cooper in the end zone. In tight coverage against cornerback Brandin Echols, Cooper made the leaping catch for a 19-0 lead in an eventual 40-14 win.
Impact on the season: It was Cooper's first touchdown since his debut game in Week 7, and it clinched the No. 2 seed for the Bills.
Quote: "Josh knows just the type of ball to throw in those situations. He threw it up and I came down with it." - Cooper.
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