Utah John

It would be ironic if Wilson does move. The Seahawks got really good when he was on his rookie contract, but then when it was time to pay him they had to let a lot of really good players go because they couldn't pay him, and them, and still field a team. You would think that having a QB as good as Wilson would be a good problem to have, but it's not all roses. The window for a team with a great young QB to win a SB is fairly short.

The Chiefs O line which is usually quite good was terrible because it was reshuffled when Fisher got hurt against the Bills. The Chiefs with their regular O line would have been a far more formidable opponent. Mahomes isn't superman -- he needs reasonable protection to be effective. All that blitzing that TB did would have left them exposed to Mahomes' passing and Kelce's quick moves to get open, if Mahomes had just had a little more time. The question is, would the Bills, who had their entire team intact including a good O line, have been more effective against TB than the Chiefs, with their terrible O line, were today? I have to figure, yes. Also, the refs decided to penalize the Chiefs' DBs for doing to the Bucs exactly what they did to the Bills' receivers. Holding, hitting them downfield, etc. Diggs struggled to get open and that's just because the Chiefs were, essentially, cheating. I think the Bills passing game, with their good O line, would have been very effective against TB's defense, which wasn't cheating. Could the Bills D have stopped the Bucs offense? Well, no, no one can the way they're playing. But the Bills would have been facing mere mortals instead of Marvel characters like Tyreek Hill. And so the Bills D would have kept us in the game. There is NO WAY TB would blow out the Bills like they did the Chiefs.

If you want your backup QB to be the guy who helps your starter prepare, then guys like Barkley and Peterman have a role in the league. If you think your starter is likely to miss a lot of games, these aren't the backups you want.

I think this trade is a lose-lose for both teams. The Rams gave up so much that they won't be able to maintain the quality of their roster with top-notch rookies to replace veterans who are reaching the end of their rookie contracts. The Lions lose a top-notch QB and replace him with a guy who can pass well under good conditions but who doesn't handle pressure or poor weather conditions. The Lions do get high picks in return but their draft success record is terrible.

Really, now, ask yourself -- would you rather that the Bills lost to the Ravens in the divisional round? Or to the Colts in the wildcard round? Or not made the playoffs at all? Not me. I'll take the wins, and the good times. Fourteen teams made the playoffs, and only one won't finish with a loss.

I don't think Brown was even close to 100% today. He's been a non-factor this year because of Diggs' presence and because of his injuries. If he can get healthy he's worth keeping around. Should we keep four excellent-to-great WRs? That might seem excessive but consider the Bills are built around Allen. Also consider that the Bills got lucky this year, with Davis developing so quickly. We would have felt Brown's absence a lot more without Davis around. We need a real beast on the D line. Ed Oliver is a potential very good piece but he needs someone very large beside him to let Oliver do what he does best.

I've been riding the magical effects of a sweatshirt I've worn during every Bills game since the Hail Murray. It finally failed me today. It's a hoodie from the Wicked show. My wife suggests I change the W in Wicked, for all those wins, to an L. Cruel, very cruel.

Way too early to write off McD at this point. The Chiefs are a better team, and the things the Bills tried to do didn't work. C'est la vie.

Exactly. It's never a player's fault when a team drafts him too high, or gives up too much to get him. The player does what he can do. Watkins showed flashes of brilliance but could never keep himself intact enough to excel.

I wonder if he hurt his hand at the end of the Ravens game, where he was in the air after punting, and was roughed. We were happy that that meant the Bills kept the ball and the game was over, but he landed on his hand and might have hurt it then.

I'm afraid the discussion would be, I'm going to be a HC in a year's time, and you can come with me and be the OC at the new place.

Does anyone know what players are protected on the practice squads of the other three teams?

These are four excellent, well-balanced, complete teams. Each game is going to come down to execution and injuries. I can't see how any of the four HCs is better or worse than the others -- they're all doing great and have their teams playing at a high level. All four QBs are playing great. It's no wonder that the betting spreads are so small.

I hope for the best for young QBs. The best-looking options often start out with bad teams and sometimes they never overcome being on a bad team. Sam Darnold, Haskins, Josh Rosen are just a few. Their careers are over before they get started. The lucky ones get to a team that supports them. Haskins seems like a total jerk but Big en was no saint either when he was young. Maybe they'll bond, and Ben can mentor his replacement. But Ben is on a very steep slope downward. He was terrible this past year. There will be clamoring for a QB switch next year if Ben continues to struggle.

I think he was right. The Browns (the 1964 NFL champs) and the Packers were loaded with talent too, don't forget. Even if the 64 Bills had lost to the one of them, the league would have seen Cookie play at his prime. What a great runner. Imagine Cookie going up against Jim Brown. Brown was better of course -- the greatest player of all time, IMHO -- but Cookie was unknown and deserved a better stage. The biggest difference was that the Bills offense wasn't really that great, aside from Cookie. But the Bills defense could have kept them in the game.

What's holding back our running game is the O line, which is designed intentionally to be great at pass protection (which it is). Very few can do both really well, and that generally involves very high priced players, which is not how this team is put together. And I wouldn't have it any other way. It's a passing league and rushing can't get you through every challenge -- just ask the Browns and Ravens. The Browns have three O line starters as All-Pro but that didn't help them keep up with KC. The Ravens showed it's possible to take even Derrick Henry out of a game. And then the Bills showed it's possible to take the Ravens running game out of a game. If you can't pass protect, you can't pass; and if you can't pass, you can't win.

NFL = Not For Long. You can't blame players who cash in on their real contract after their 4-year rookie internship is over.

I like it. It's unique to the Bills. Other cities have a XXX Nation. (Colts Nation, Chargers Nation are two I checked actually exist, and there are more I'm sure.) Bills Mafia suggests a strong common bond. And we're EVERYWHERE. I've lived in eight states and traveled in almost all of them, and whenever I wear a Bills hat or shirt I get a "Go Bills" from someone. Even here in Alaska. We don't send Big Tony out to break legs, or demand protection money, and no one thinks we do, so I think the possible negative connotation is nothing to worry about.

I agree this one is more like the 88 Cinci game than the others. The biggest different from the glory years is that those teams were expected to be great every year, and the pressure was on them to win. This year there weren't great expectations, and in fact due to the schedule playing the AFC West and NFC West with all that travel, I figured a 9-7 season was realistic. Who knew Allen would get so good so quickly? So this year feels like we're playing with house money, nothing to lose, and if it doesn't happen we have a very bright future for the next five years or so.

For the past few games, the Bills have shown up with a new look and concept each week. Players who got a lot of snaps last week and did great hardly play this week. I think this is partly to keep the opponents guessing, and also because Daboll and Frazier work really hard to come up with effective game plans. I don't see so much variation on other teams, but what the Bills are doing is working. In the first Pats game this year, the Bills ran and ran and ran, and it worked. In the second, the Pats were ready to stop the run, and the Bills blew them out by passing. This is a good thing! I have no idea whether Daboll thinks we need to run a lot against KC. It was smart not to waste downs on running much against the Ravens' D, which had shut down the best RB in the league the week before. Were it not for the windy conditions, Allen would have lit them up, but that doesn't matter at all. They won.

Also, I can't find any information on injuries for the Bills from the Ravens game. Is there any news about that? Beasley seems unable to play the way he needs to, to be effective, and Davis is struggling a bit with some kind of lower body injury. Otherwise as far as I know the Bills are healthy. So, any additional info?

Whether Mahomes plays or not, our two coordinators have shown over and over that they can come up with schemes to put the Bills in position to win. The first Bills-Chiefs game came while Edwards was hurt and the defense sucked. That was then. I think Milano can cover Kelce and the Bills D can contain Hill. The Chiefs ran Edwards-Hillaire a lot in the first game and they really miss him now. If Mahomes plays, I think the Chiefs are a 3 point favorite (the home game advantage). If it's Henne, the Bills should be a 3 point favorite.

About losing respect if Mahomes doesn't play and the Bills beat KC -- you play the guys who line up against you. No team isn't beat up. We have no idea other than Beasley and maybe Davis who's hurt on the Bills, but my guess is there are quite a few guys who aren't 100%. We don't have to beat Mahomes to get to the WB -- we have to beat KC with whatever personnel they suit up.

FWIW -- Chad Henne vs Buffalo Bills. 2008 (rookie season) -- Henne did not attempt a pass in either game between Miami and Buffalo, both Miami wins with Chad Pennington the QB for Miami. (The Dolphins had two QBs named Chad.) 2009 -- Chad Henne was the Miami QB in the first game between MIami and Buffalo, in Miami, playing well with Miami winning. Henne threw three picks in the second game, in Buffalo, and the Bills won. 2010 -- Henne won the first game between Miami and Buffalo, the first game of the 2010 season, played in Buffalo. Trent Edwards was the Bills QB. The Bills won the rematch, near the end of the season, with Henne playing for Miami and Ryan Fitzpatrick playing for Buffalo. 2011 -- Henne started the season as the Miami QB but he got hurt and had surgery. Matt Moore was the Miami QB against the Bills in both games. So Henne was 2-2 against the Bills. He moved on from Miami after 2011 and I don't know if he ever played against the Bills again.

The Bills played really disciplined football. Only TWO penalties -- I can't remember a game with that few. Tough, responsible plays, with everyone doing their jobs. What they've shown is that they can win in many different ways. Shoot outs, tough physical games, it doesn't matter. One things is for sure. I have been wearing the same sweatshirt for the past 8 games and I'm not going to stop. It's a Wicked sweatshirt I bought when we saw the stage play. I washed it this week as a favor to the Missus but it still has its magical power. And I think the Bills are wicked good, as they'd say in Boston.