Bills clinch AFC East, eager to 'play free' while chasing 1-seed - ESPN

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Just as the game between the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers was set to kick off, snow descended on the stadium. The amount of snow — which continued throughout the night — was unexpected after a storm hit the region over the weekend.

The game ended with Bills coach Sean McDermott challenging his quarterback Josh Allen to do snow angels on the field with him — after McDermott promised tight end Zach Davidson at halftime he would if Buffalo won — as the team celebrated the victory and with it a fifth straight AFC East title.

The conditions served as a picturesque white background as the Bills beat the 49ers 35-10 on «Sunday Night Football» to continue a seven-game winning streak, improve to 10-2 and become the second team this week to punch their ticket to the postseason, following the Kansas City Chiefs.

Along the way, the Bills set a variety of records, including becoming the seventh team since 1980 to clinch a division title with five games remaining in a season. They are the fourth team to do so since division realignment in 2002 — the previous three lost in the Super Bowl — but the only one to have three or more division games still to play.

With the division checked off, however, the Bills' sights are already on goals still to be reached, including the No. 1 seed in the AFC. They currently sit a game back of the Chiefs (11-1).

«This one feels a little bit different, this early in the season… so, the cool thing about it, get to go out there, and we get to play free,» Allen said. «There's really no repercussions for what we're doing, but at the same time, we're chasing the 1-seed. We understand that. We know that and we've got to keep getting better each and every week.

»But it's going to be