There was a time this offseason, after the Buffalo Bills traded Stefon Diggs, when the popular narrative was that Buffalo’s window as a Super Bowl contender may have closed.

It wasn’t even closed for a season.

After this season, it’s fair to assume that the Bills will be a contender every season in Josh Allen’s prime. Allen is having an incredible season and it continued on Sunday. He carried the Bills to victory again, beating a Detroit Lions team that was 12-1 before Sunday. The Bills had 559 yards of offense and beat the Lions 48-42 in a game that really wasn’t that close. Buffalo improved to 11-3 with the win. Allen continues to march toward his first NFL MVP award. He had 362 passing yards with two passing touchdowns and on the ground he had 68 yards and two touchdowns. In the last two games, Allen scored five passing touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns. It’s rare for a quarterback to reach the level of play Allen has for most of this season.

What could really take Allen to the next level in terms of his in-game ranking and perception would be a deep playoff run. On Sunday, the Bills looked like a team that could find itself in Super Bowl LIX.

The Bills are off to a great start

The Bills immediately issued a statement. They scored touchdowns on each of their first three drives. Josh Allen had two rushing touchdowns to start and then James Cook scored to give Buffalo a 21-7 lead. It wasn’t just that the Bills scored touchdowns. There was almost no resistance to anything from the Lions defense.

Allen had 254 passing yards in the first half alone. The Lions were able to stay afloat on defense after Aidan Hutchinson’s injury weeks ago, but injuries on defense were piling up and the last few games haven’t been great. The Green Bay Packers made it through Week 14 fairly easily, although the Lions held on to win. The Bills took advantage of every mistake the Lions defense made. Allen hit pass after pass and when it wasn’t open for him, he just ran for a positive gain.

Detroit has a lot of offensive power and they scored some points. Tim Patrick scored on a nice play from Jared Goff. Offensive lineman Dan Skipper scored a 9-yard touchdown on a trick play. But at halftime the Lions were still down 28-14 because the defense had no answers.

Then again, there aren’t many answers for Allen from any defense this season.

Buffalo extends the lead

The Bills continued to gain momentum in the third quarter. Amon Ra St.-Brown fumbled a catch over the middle, and the Bills made up for it with a touchdown from Khalil Shakir. That gave Buffalo a 35-14 lead. There were 3:31 left in the third quarter and the Bills had 35 points and 455 yards.

The Lions’ inability to stop Allen may have been a major factor in an unusual strategic move. With 12 minutes left, Detroit cut Buffalo’s lead to 38-28 and opted for an onside kick. Onside kicks are almost never restored with the new rules, and with 12 minutes left it seemed foolish to attempt one, but the Lions had to try and hope. It’s not like they’re going to stop Allen anyway. The Bills recovered that desperation onside kick and returned it to the Detroit 5-yard line. Ray Davis scored on the next play, extending the Bills’ lead to 45-28.

Allen never won an MVP or reached a Super Bowl. He will likely win the MVP award this season. Even though the Bills are two games behind the Kansas City Chiefs in the race for the AFC’s No. 1 seed, you can’t rule out Buffalo going to Kansas City and winning in the playoffs. The Bills appeared to be the best or second-best team in the NFL on Sunday (don’t forget the Eagles, who have won 10 straight).

There’s a chance the Bills could finish this season in their first Super Bowl in three decades. Allen could make sure of that.