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The NFL playoffs are just a few days away, and perhaps the best team to play this weekend is the Buffalo Bills.
The Bills put the league on notice on the opening kickoff when they blew the defending Super Bowl Los Angeles Rams 38-10.
They then smacked the Tennessee Titans 41-7 the following week, looking like an unstoppable team. The very next week, however, their division rival, the Miami Dolphins, made them look human.
Miami upset the Bills 21-19 in a close divisional game before Buffalo would go on to win four in a row. Their next loss would come again to a divisional team, the New York Jets. Then, they could not prevail over the Minnesota Vikings at home 33-30 in one of the best games of the season.
The Bills wouldn't lose another game for the rest of the season. Riding a six-game win streak, they were one of the hottest teams in the league at the right time of the year.
Then Week 17 happened. In what was supposed to be one of the games of the year between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Bills, one of the scariest things in sports history occurred.
Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin tackled Bengals receiver Tee Higgins, and upon getting up from the tackle, he collapsed, suffering cardiac arrest. He needed CPR to perform on him for about nine minutes and was transported to the UC Medical Center.
Due to a devastating injury, the game did not resume and was canceled.
More importantly, Hamlin was fighting for his life after the result of the injury. He was sent to the hospital in critical condition and remained there for a few days. As the days went on, more and more good news were reported on Hamlin's health.
After showing signs of improvement, he was discharged from the Cincinnati Hospital to the Buffalo General Medical Center, where he would continue his rehab near his teammates.
Yesterday, January 11th, he was released from the hospital and sent home to continue his treatment.
While the Bills are already one of the best teams heading into the playoffs, they will have boosted motivation to play harder in the playoffs. The team will be playing not only for themselves but for Damar as he recovers from his injury.
Why the Buffalo Bills are a good bet
The Buffalo Bills are one of the safest bets by any team in the playoffs to make a run/ win this weekend. They finished the regular season with a 13-3 record, which was good enough to place second in the AFC.
They will host their divisional foe this Sunday during the wildcard weekend. The season series was split 1-1 between the two teams.
If the Dolphins had any chance in this game, they would have needed their leader, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, on the field. However, the Dolphins announced on Wednesday, that he had not cleared protocols and would be out for the game.
Rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson is expected to start his second-straight game, which will be the third of his career.
If Buffalo is able to defeat Miami and win in the divisional round, they will play the number one seed, the Kansas City Chiefs at the Mercedez-Benz Dome in Atlanta, as a neutral site due to their season being short of a game due to Damar Hamlin's injury and cancelation.
The winner of Sunday's contest between the two teams will settle the even score that they split this season, and the winner will advance one step closer to the Super Bowl.
