They call him Tarzan – because he likes to eat with his hands, and especially because he goes barefoot as often as possible. This isn’t a big problem if you live in Miami or Las Vegas. But since last summer, Mack Hollins has been playing in Buffalo, where it was wet and cold on Sunday night when the Bills football team hosted the Baltimore Ravens in a nationally anticipated showdown. It was snowing, it was raining, it was sleeting.
And the offensive player Hollins? Not only had he arrived at the stadium barefoot, but also with his shirt open, swimming trunks, straw hat, towel and sunscreen on his nose. “Even on cloudy days, people, always wear sunscreen,” he said on the way to the cabin. After the game, he put on his casual clothes again and had his photo taken. “Successful day at the beach,” the Bills wrote under the photo on social media. They had just defeated the Ravens 27:25 in a thriller and reached the next round of the National Football League playoffs.
Hollins’ summery disposition made three things clear: On this evening, it wasn’t the top performers, but the slightly different types that were decisive for the outcome of the game. In addition, the Bills had coped with the external conditions more successfully. And above all, Hollins showed that staying relaxed is important, even or especially when there is a lot at stake for the Bills at the moment.
In the early 1990s, the Bills lost three Finals games in a row
Because the NFL team from northern New York State is currently trying to finally shed its reputation as the best losers in football history. The Bills have never won the Super Bowl, although they reached the grand final three times in a row in the early 1990s. With the narrow victory over the Ravens, they have at least reached the finals of the AFC Conference again.
Strictly speaking, the Ravens lost the game more than the Bills won it. Probably the most dazzling duel of the playoff weekend was exciting until the end, then Mark Andrews, the Ravens’ tight end, slipped just centimeters from the end zone with a minute and a half left – the ball slipped from his grasp, otherwise Baltimore would have managed to equalize and at least forced the extension. After the last and decisive mistake, Andrews sat on the bench and, probably because he didn’t have a brown paper bag, put his helmet on again, even though the game was already over for him.
“Something like this happens, he’s human. I still look up to him,” said teammate Isaiah Likely. Andrews, a 29-year-old NFL veteran, had previously lost the ball to an opponent, something that hadn’t happened to him in almost six years. So did the winter-tested Bills win because of the climatic home advantage? Probably not, it also snowed in Baltimore at the same time.
Before the game, there was talk of the secret finale of the candidates for the title of most valuable player, even if officially only the “Most Valuable Player” of the season, excluding the playoffs, is chosen. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Bills playmaker Josh Allen had made good arguments for themselves for months. Allen was the better one this time on paper; He ran for two touchdowns himself. But overall, both playmakers threw the ball quite rarely, and not just because of the winter conditions – they had increasingly relied on their team’s running game in the weeks before. This time, Jackson threw the egg once into the opponent’s arms and had it knocked out of his hand once. However, the Bills offense failed to score a touchdown in the exciting second half. It was the Ravens’ mistakes and the presence of mind of the Bills defense that determined the outcome.
In focus: Linebacker Terrel Bernard, who punched the ball out of Andrews’ hand shortly before the end and buried it under himself. Bernard, as many fans now remembered, was one of the defensive players who was missing on the fourth day of the game when the Bills were clearly defeated by the Ravens (10:35). “He heard that too,” Bills head coach Sean McDermott said afterwards about the defense captain: “You’re not big enough, strong enough, fast enough.”
In the press conference after the victory it became clear once again how annoyed the Bills, who are basically so successful, are with their image. City of losers? “This is a city of winners,” McDermott says with a wagging finger. At least they have now managed to remain undefeated in their own stadium. At the weekend, however, the Bills travel to Kansas City, the current champions. Against the Chiefs two months ago, Bernard also had his hand in the game shortly before the end of the game when the favorite from Kansas lost for the first time this season (21:30).
The Detroit Lions surprisingly lose to the Washington Commanders
The Chiefs had few problems with the Houston Texans (23:14), especially thanks to a good defensive performance in the now completed playoff round. And the infamous throw-catch duo Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce seem to be getting back together after a comparatively mediocre season.
The Detroit Lions, the best team in the NFC, were missing many defensive players due to injuries, and that promptly led to the biggest surprise of the weekend: The Washington Commanders defeated the Lions 45:31 in their arena. The favorite’s offense around German-American pass receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown played solidly, St. Brown managed a good 137 yards, but didn’t score any points of his own. That wasn’t enough against stalwart quarterback Jayden Daniels, who is in his first year in the NFL. Next Sunday the Commanders face the Philadelphia Eagles.
So one team will definitely come from the East Coast when the Super Bowl is played in the Deep South, in New Orleans, in just under three weeks. Then guaranteed snow-free.
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