Bills rushing attack fuels 35-13 Christmas Eve win over Bears to clinch AFC East title

There was nothing artistic about what went down at the igloo named Soldier Field Saturday afternoon, but the Buffalo Bills did the only thing they needed to do: Win the game.

And because they defeated the Chicago Bears 35-13, they are AFC East champions for the third year in a row, and they maintain their tenuous grip on the No. 1 seed in the AFC bracket for yet another week.

“We found a way to get it done,” quarterback Josh Allen said. “They’re not all pretty, and we can say that we didn’t play great, but at the end of the day we had over 400 yards of offense and the defense played pretty well.”

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He’s right, and no one can argue that point.

The Bills started sluggishly in a poorly played first half, kicked things into gear just long enough in the third quarter to grab the lead, and then slogged it out the rest of the way for their sixth consecutive victory, though coach Sean McDermott will have plenty to discuss with his team given all the mistakes that were made.

Let’s be honest: Had the Bills been playing many other teams as opposed to the now 3-12 Bears, the result could have been different and an already disappointing Christmas that is being ruined in Buffalo by the blizzard of the century, would be even worse.

Bills report card:Bills report card: Buffalo pounds Bears with old-school ground game and defense

What McDermott will be most proud of, though, is that things didn’t go sideways because his team once again showed its resiliency. Remember, the Bills had to fly into Chicago a day earlier than normal, and now they’re staying a day later and hoping that their rescheduled flight bound for Rochester Sunday morning goes off without a hitch.

“It’s a word that’s been used a lot with these guys and they’ve overcome a lot including today with the conditions out here,” McDermott said of the resiliency. “That can be a very neutralizing weather situation, right, and it was for the better part of maybe 2 1/2 quarters. So it really wasn’t setting up well for us, but the guys found a way and the coaches did the same to create communication and execution.”

In going with the resilience theme, what stood out Saturday is that the Bills won going away with Allen playing one of those games that just make you scratch your head and say, “I thought he was beyond days like this?”

Allen has had a great season, there’s no denying that. It’s scary to think where the Bills would be without him. But he has been unnecessarily careless with the ball at times and this was certainly one of those games.

He threw two more interceptions, now has 13 which is tied for the league lead, and he could have had at least two other picks.

“Obviously that first interception (into double coverage) wasn’t a great decision,” Allen said. “And the second one, the wind was right in my face and I didn’t get the nose of the ball down and it just kind of sailed on our back there. I can live with the second one, the first one was just a bad decision. I gotta find a way to get it to a check down there and move on and live to fight another day.

“Given the conditions that we played in - it’s no excuse - but typically when you get wind and the gusts, that’s probably the hardest part to play in. I think we threw it (26) times, only completed 15 balls so obviously want to complete more.”

With Allen struggling most of the way, the Bills turned to their running game and hammered the Bears for a season-high 254 yards as James Cook (99 yards) and Devin Singletary (106) ran through gaping holes even though the Bills did not have center Mitch Morse, and then lost his replacement, Ryan Bates, for a short time.

“That was good to see, really,” McDermott said. “To be able to have a two-dimensional approach, especially in December and with the weather the way it was, that was much needed and the offensive line came out and I thought really did a great job playing with pad level and executed.”

And while the offense was trying to find its way for most of the first half and a portion of the second, it was the defense that kept the Bills in control. After a terrible first drive of the game, it played outstanding the rest of the way and made Bears quarterback Justin Fields irrelevant.

“We know they’ve got our back and vice versa,” said defensive tackle Ed Oliver. “When adversity hit, that’s what makes a good team good.”

On the first series of the game, the Bears marched down the field as if the Buffalo defense was still in the warm locker room. Eight plays, 64 yards, ending with Fields hitting Dante Pettis with a six-yard touchdown pass as the Bills blew a coverage.

From that point on, the Bears did virtually nothing and tacked on just two field goals.

“I thought just as important and impressive was how the defense adjusted through the game right after that first series,” McDermott said.

The Bills answered right back with their only productive possession of the first half, a six-play, 71-yard drive which was as easy for them as it was for the Bears offense. Allen started it with a 24-yard strike to Dawson Knox, Cook ripped off a 24-yard run, and then Gabe Davis got wide open in the left corner of the end zone and hauled in Allen’s 19-yard pass. Here, a woeful day for the Buffalo special teams began in earnest as Tyler Bass missed the extra point.

Cairo Santos made a 37-yard field goal to produce a 10-6 Bears halftime lead, but it was a different Bills team that emerged from the locker room for the final 30 minutes.

Singletary capped an 86-yard drive with a 33-yard touchdown run and Allen found Khalil Shakir wide open in the back of the end zone for a two-point conversion that put the Bills ahead for good.

Moments later, Dane Jackson forced a David Montgomery fumble which was recovered by Tim Settle at the Bears 33 and three plays later, Cook broke a 27-yard TD run straight up the middle and Bass’ extra point - after a penalty wiped out a successful two-point conversion pass to Davis - had the Bills up 21-10.

The Bills then had several opportunity to, no pun intended, put this game on ice, repeated mistakes kept the Bears in it and when the defense came up big again early in the fourth to force a field goal that cut the Bears deficit to 21-13, Allen and the offense finally dropped the hammer.

Allen capped a 56-yard drive with a four-yard TD run, and after a turnover on downs at the Chicago 20, Allen found Knox for a 13-yard TD on a fourth-and-3.

“We still left some things out there that we got to continue to work on and clean up, but it’s good to win, really happy for the organization,” McDermott said. “Three AFC East championships in a row, that’s hard to do. It’s hard to get one, let alone three in a row. So I’m just very grateful for the effort. And our fans also that showed up today. So I want to wish everyone out there a Merry Christmas, and we’ll get home as soon as we can here.”

By the numbers

▶ 9 - That was the temperature at kickoff, making this the coldest Bills road game in team history.

▶ 174 - That’s how many career TDs Allen has produced passing and running, surpassing Dan Marino (171) for the most total touchdowns all-time in a player’s first five seasons.

▶ 254 - Buffalo’s rushing total was its best since exactly six years ago, Dec. 24, 2016 when it had 254 against the Dolphins, Rex Ryan’s last game as head coach.

▶ 3 - Consecutive division titles, the longest streak since the Bills won four in a row from 1988-91.

Game balls

▶ RB Devin Singletary: He was the best player on the field for the Bills as he rushed for 106 yards and a TD and caught two passes for 19 yards.

▶ RB James Cook: The rookie was a close second as he ran for a career-high 99 yards and averaged nine yards per attempt.

▶ DT Ed Oliver: He played a big role in stifling the Bears run game, but also batted down two passes and made a sack.

What’s next for the Bills

The Bills head to Cincinnati to play the game that will almost certainly decide the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. Buffalo goes into the Monday nighter with a record of 12-3 while the Bengals survived a near miracle rally by the Patriots to get to 11-4, and if Cincinnati wins, the Bills will no longer control their own destiny.

Even if they win their finale against the Patriots, if the Bengals also win their finale at home against the Ravens, the Bengals will earn homefield advantage. So yes, it’s the game of the year for the Bills who will be riding a six-game winning streak against a team that has won seven in a row.

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.To subscribe to Sal's new twice-a-week newsletter, Bills Blast, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast