Offense rages, but soaring Bills riding Gray's ball-hawks

You watch the Buffalo Bills hammer San Francisco, and you wonder what happened to make these guys a playoff threat. Then the light goes on: They have something they didn't have a year ago, and I'm not talking about a healthy Willis McGahee.

I'm talking about a defense that forces big mistakes.

The Bills defense makes things tough on Curtis Martin and many others. (Getty Images)

Over the Bills' last six games -- all of them victories -- Buffalo has forced opponents into 26 turnovers, including seven against Miami. That's not only 10 more than it had its previous nine starts; it's eight more than it had all of last season.

When you ask why the Buffalo Bills are a playoff possibility after losing their first four games, you can start there.

"Turnovers are a big part of our success," said defensive coordinator Jerry Gray. "We held Jacksonville to 13 points and Oakland to 13 points (in the season's first two games), but we didn't win, and it's partly because there were few turnovers. When you start getting turnovers you get offenses off the field, which, in turn, gives our offense the ball."

You see what happens then. Over the past six starts the Bills produced 228 points, an average of 38 a game, and there's never been an outburst like that in team history. People want to talk about McGahee, quarterback Drew Bledsoe and wide receivers Eric Moulds and Lee Evans, and they should. They're doing things we haven't seen since the days of Jim Kelly and the K-Gun. But let's be honest here: They don't make the plays without the ball, and their defense keeps delivering.

Rewind the videotape to their last six games and this is what you find:

• Against San Francisco, the Bills' defense forced four turnovers, including three interceptions, and held the 49ers to fewer yards passing (91) than rushing (98).

• Against Cincinnati, there were another four turnovers, including a second-quarter interception that linebacker Takeo Spikes returned 62 yards for a touchdown. The Bengals also had fewer yards passing than rushing.

• Overmatched Cleveland lost the ball five times, but that's not the worst of it. Buffalo held the Browns to 26 yards in offense, including minus-3 in passing, and sacked quarterbacks Luke McCown and Jeff Garcia seven times. The 26 yards in total offense and minus-three passing are Bills records.

• There were seven turnovers by Miami, including a Pat Williams interception return for a touchdown with 1:55 left to clinch a 42-32 victory.

• Seattle committed two turnovers, both second-half mistakes that led to Buffalo touchdowns in a 38-9 rout.