INDIANAPOLIS (11-5) at BUFFALO (13-3)
Saturday, 1:05 p.m. ET, CBS
OPENING LINE – Bills by 6 1/2
RECORD VS. SPREAD – Colts 8-8; Bills 11-5
SERIES RECORD – Bills lead 37-32-1
LAST MEETING – Colts beat Bills 37-5 on Oct. 21, 2018 at Indianapolis
LAST WEEK – Colts beat Jaguars 28-14; Bills beat Dolphins 56-26
AP PRO32 RANKING – Colts No. 10, Bills No. 3.
COLTS OFFENSE – OVERALL (10), RUSH (11), PASS (11).
COLTS DEFENSE – OVERALL (8), RUSH (2), PASS (20).
BILLS OFFENSE – OVERALL (2t), RUSH (20), PASS (3).
BILLS DEFENSE – OVERALL (14), RUSH (17), PASS (13).
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — It’s the first playoff meeting between former AFC East rivals, with the Colts holding a 4-3 edge since the NFL realigned its divisions in 2002. … Colts coach Frank Reich spent nine years playing for the Bills, the final eight backing up Hall of Fame QB Jim Kelly. … Reich most memorably led Buffalo to a 41-38 overtime win against Houston in 1993 wild-card playoff, in which the Bills overcame a 35-3 third-quarter deficit. It still stands as the largest comeback in NFL history. … The Colts are making their second playoff appearance in three seasons under Reich. Indy won four of its last five regular-season games and needed Buffalo to beat Miami just to earn the AFC’s first No. 7 seed. … The Colts have won their first playoff game in each of their last three postseason trips. … Indy is one of four teams to finish ranked in the top 10 in offense and defense this season. … The Colts have combined to score 66 points on their opening possession, which ranks second behind Green Bay’s 73. … Colts QB Philip Rivers has started 251 consecutive games including the playoffs, but is 5-6 in the postseason. The 17-year veteran has never reached the Super Bowl. … Indy allowed only 21 sacks, tied for second fewest in the NFL. … RB Jonathan Taylor set a franchise record with 253 yards rushing in last week’s victory over Jacksonville. He’s the first Indianapolis rookie to hit the 1,000-yard mark since Joseph Addai in 2006 when Indy won the Super Bowl. … Taylor led NFL rookies with 1,169 yards rushing and 1,468 yards from scrimmage. … Nyheim Hines has 63 receptions this season, third among NFL running backs. … The Colts’ defense has allowed only four rushing plays of 20 or more yards and has 25 takeaways. … DE Justin Houston led the NFL with two safeties this season and is tied for the NFL’s career record with four. … Though DeForest Buckner didn’t make the Pro Bowl, he finished with a franchise record 9 1/2 sacks for a defensive tackle. … Pro Bowl LB Darius Leonard was eighth in the NFL with 132 tackles despite missing two games with injuries. … K Rodrigo Blankenship broke the Colts’ rookie records for field goals (32) and extra points (43). … Buffalo is hosting its first playoff game since a 30-27 loss to Jacksonville on Dec. 28, 1996, which marked Kelly’s final game. … The Bills have lost six straight playoff games since a 37-22 win over Miami on Dec. 30, 1995. The 25-year drought is the NFL’s fourth longest behind Cleveland (26 years), Detroit (29) and Cincinnati (30). The Browns’ drought spans 23 seasons because the franchise was dormant from 1996-98. … The Bills won their first AFC East title since 1995 and matched a franchise record for victories set in 1990 and ’91. … Buffalo closed the season winning six straight to match its longest streak since 2004. … The Bills became the NFL’s first team to close a season winning three straight by 25 points or more since the 1996 Green Bay Packers, who went on to win the Super Bowl. … QB Josh Allen set single-season team records with 396 completions, 4,544 yards passing and 37 TDs passing and 46 combined TDs, including one receiving. … Allen finished fourth in the NFL with a 69.2 completion percentage, which represented a 10.4 point improvement from last year when he finished 32nd. … WR Stefon Diggs, acquired in a trade with Minnesota in March, became Buffalo’s first player to lead the NFL in catches (127) and yards receiving (1,535), both team records. … WR John Brown had four catches for 72 yards and a touchdown against Miami in returning after missing five games with a knee injury and a stint on the reserve-COVID-19 list. … Jordan Poyer finished tied for the NFL league among safeties with a career-best 118 tackles. … WR Isaiah McKenzie scored on an 84-yard punt return and CB Josh Norman returned an interception 16 yards for a TD against Miami, marking the first time the Bills had two return TDs in one game since scoring three in a 40-14 win against Denver on Dec. 24, 2011. … In its past 10 games, Buffalo’s defense has 19 takeaways (13 interceptions), forced 46 punts and limited opponents to convert just 38 of 120 third-down opportunities. That represents a big turnaround from Buffalo’s first six games in which the defense had seven takeaways (two interceptions), forced 17 punts and allowed opponents to convert 38 of 66 third-down opportunities. … Fantasy tip: With Bills WR Cole Beasley’s status uncertain because of a knee injury, Brown is more than capable of stepping in with the Colts expected to focus their coverage on Diggs.
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