2003Contenders

I will say that it does seem like the Bills have actually performed better when it came playoff time in the seasons when they had some real competition in the division. In particular, I am talking about 2021 when they never seemed to win any of the close games and the division title wasn't decided until the final game of the season. That team (13 seconds aside) was the best and most-playoff ready team we've seen in this era. Actually, it seems like an every-other-year situation in these regards -- with the Bills dominating during the regular season in the even-numbered years (2020, 2022 and 2024) but fighting to the very end in 2021 and 2023. Now we're back in and odd-numbered season and indeed 2025 is looking like 2021 and 2023 with the Patriots putting the team in the position where the margin for error is razor thin. As it is, the Bills need to win out and hope that the Pats lose another game to ensure another division title. In essence, the Bills are already in a playoff format if they expect to make it to the tournament, let alone win the division. Things sure would have been a lot easier if they hadn't crapped the bed against Miami last week. Let's hope that debacle taught everyone in the organization a valuable lesson.

I expect (hope) Palmer and Davis are both healthy and play on the outside. That said, this could be a big game for Keon playing the "big slot" with Kincaid likely out and Shakir limited or out as well. I see something like 6 targets, 4 receptions and 58 receiving yards with most of the receptions being short with little-to-no YAC, but I think he breaks a slant for a long gain and a potential TD. I'd say 50/50 that he scores this week.

I wonder if we will ever find out what the real story was behind the Waddle negotiations. I know many of us have been operating under the assumption that the sticking point in the Waddle trade was that Miami wanted a 2026 first rounder and Beane was unwilling to make that trade. I have gone back and forth on this myself. Part of me maintains that Waddle is a proven player and almost certainly better than any player we could have acquired late in the first round this coming April. Also, he would be a shot in the arm to our struggling passing game and would help us NOW. But, it is worth asking -- are we really just a single WR away from the Super Bowl? What we saw on the field against Miami on Sunday would certainly suggest otherwise. And, again, do we really now that Waddle was available to the Bills for a 2026 1st round pick? From what we gave heard from reliable sources, Beane proposed a 2027 #1 and a 2026 #3, which was the best offer on the table. So perhaps Beane felt like any better offer would have been a case of him out-bidding himself. What we don't know is how serious were the negotiations. Did the Dolphins offer a counter? Were they ever seriously interested in working with the Bills -- or trading Waddle at all? Or, as some have speculated here, was there a deal in the works for the reported parameters -- but Miami pulled out at the final hour? We also heard rumors that Beane inquired about Olave and was told flatly that the Saints were not interested in trading him at all. Likewise, on trade-deadline-day, he was reportedly steadfast about trading for G. Wilson but the Jets were unwilling to make a trade in division. There was also talk of discussions between Beane and the Commanders about trading D. Samuel, which thankfully were never consummated. As many have said, all GMs make bad personnel decisions. It is forgivable to miss, for example, on the Keon pick. The bigger issue is coming across smug like you know so much more than the interviewers/fans and treating them in a disrespectful manner. I remember the same thing happening with T. Donahoe after he fired Gregg Williams -- he had a press conference in which he was irate and spoke condescendingly to the reporters and fans. He never overcame that misstep, and a GM that Bills fans had previously applauded was soon viewed as a villain. He was gone not long after. If I were a PR man for Beane, I would suggest that he go back on the radio on WGR and not necessarily apologize, but in a witty way acknowledge that they were right and that he has tried (and will continue to try) to fortify the WR position.

No denying the Pats are good. Even when they struggled the last few years, their defense was still pretty good, and we typically were 1-1 against them. Now they have found their QB and have a very solid coach, who will typically have them prepared game-in and game-out. Still, if the Bills had not played like trash against them, that would have been a Bills victory, which would have put the remainder of this season in a completely different light. Funny, all the talk heading into that game about how the Bills had not lost the turnover battle in like 2 years -- and then went on to do it in 3 of the next 5 games, all of which were losses. I guess a regression to the mean? Sadly, we've seen a lot of "regression to the mean" this year.

Well, in Pegula's defense, the Rex hire was at the urging of Russ Brandon, who was more interested in marketing than building a quality team.

The irony of all of this is that the theme behind McD's defensive scheme has always been to bend-but-don't break. That is, concede the underneath stuff -- and if a team is going to beat you, force them to be patient and methodically march the length of the field. The concept -- and in many ways it is a correct concept -- is that if an offense requires more plays to hit paydirt, then it is more prone to make a mistake somewhere along the line. So what kind of offense has McD instituted? The exact offense he wants his defense to force opponents to run! What's even worse is that he doesn't have a noodle-arm QB that he is trying to protect with such an offensive scheme, he has a generational talent at QB, blessed with one of the strongest arms ever. I get that the run game is important -- and the 12 (and even 13) personnel formations they have been running can be quite successful. But any offense needs to be truly multi-dimensional (which it CAN be in these heavy formations when utilized properly) in order to succeed. If nothing else, the offense has to be able to compete in a shootout, which it has shown on multiple occasions already this year it cannot do -- with the exception of the Week 1 game against Baltimore, which honestly may have been more of an indictment against Baltimore than anything else.

The 3rd down conversion play to Samuel was classic Josh with the Superman cape. He bought an extra 10 seconds literally running all over the field before Samuel finally broke open. You could tell after that play he was gassed -- but still doing his best to persevere. It is pretty clear that the receiving corps he has to work with sucks- and he knows it. But he just wants to win so bad. Contrast that with the "I don't care" body language that Coleman exhibits.

Not so sure about Beane. His roster management -- player acquisition and cap management -- have been really bad. Also, the meltdown on radio after the draft was embarrassing -- especially since he was clearly so WRONG. One thing no owner (including Terry) likes is being embarrassed.

It's funny... at halftime I was angry at Beane for having not been willing to cough up the 2026 1st rounder up for Waddle. Now -- especially with mounting inhuries on both sides of the ball -- it is pretty clear that this team is more than 1 WR away from making it to the Super Bowl.

The full Josh Allen experience. 😞

For as horrifically as the Bills have played, the are very fortunate to only be down by 16. Need to make proper halftime adjustments!

Bills defense looks like they are running in quicksand

Gutless effort

Someone forgot to tell Miami that their season was over. Our receivers still suck. Stop throwing the ball to Coleman! Where are Shakir and Kincaid?

No pressure whatoever on Tua

Holding!?!

The problem is that it would take a deal like the one you described as not being within reason to acquire Olave IF the Saints could be persuaded to trade him, which it sounds like they aren't.

Up: Josh: he got his mojo back! Defensive Line Rotation: Here is where everybody ate (Bosa, Epenesa, Hoecht, Groot, Walker). Such a shame about Hoecht's Achilles. Spencer Brown: Remember before the bye, he was either out or compromised in each of the 2 losses. The bye week came at a good time for him, and I think the presence of a healthy Spencer Brown makes a HUGE difference. Down: Bernard: His instincts seemed woefully off yesterday, and it seemed like every time something bad happened, he was seen on the screen! Taron Johnson: He has struggled quite a bit at times this season, and I think his absence yesterday revealed that the team just might be better off with Lewis out there. Trade prospects: It's about 24 hours now until the trading deadline. The "everyone eats" mantra was in full force yesterday with 10 different players recording a reception. Palmer should be returning soon, and Gabe Davis may be making an appearance soon too. Personally, I still love the idea of trying to make a trade for a bona fide deep threat, but is Beane going to feel the same way? Likewise, will the spectacular play of youngsters in the secondary yesterday (Hairston and Bishop, in particular) preclude them from adding reinforcements there as well?

I was wondering the same thing a few weeks back -- when he and Murray did not appear to be getting along. MHJ was complaining about not getting enough looks and Murray said something to the effect, "I throw to the open guy".

Wonder why Ingram was in there so much?

Defenses have adjusted to what the offense did last year. Now, with no deep threat, let alone a single receiver that can beat one-on-one coverage, opponents are content to crowd the line of scrimmage to focus on stopping the run (including Josh's scrambles) and get immediate stops on those bubbles and near-the-line of scrimmage pass plays. It reminds me of what happened during Flutie's tenure. Once defenses realized that he wasn't going deep with the ball, they played everything up in the box, which limited his ability to make big plays with his legs. The difference was that Flutie had marginal arm strength -- whereas, Josh may have the strongest arm of any QB in the league. I do think the game plan against the Falcons was to have Palmer heavily involved -- and he was certainly a big factor early on. When he went down on that second series, the team really did not have a Plan B. The team really needs someone who can stretch the field in the worst possible way.

Many of us had concerns going into the season that the WR room simply wasn't good enough. So the struggles from that perspective have gone as expected. Still, as many have pointed out, Josh has looked very uncomfortable at times during these last 3 games -- and, really, I thought this started showing up a bit against the Saints -- even though the Bills managed to win that one. I do feel like he may have pressed too much against the Pats -- and Diggs' presence on the opposing team may have played a role there. The same thing happened last season when the Bills played the Texans (when a healthy Diggs was there). Against Atlanta he faced a rested team with a DC that has had success in the past making Josh uncomfortable. Here's the thing. The younger version of Josh was often criticized for playing "hero" ball and trying to do too much, when the play was simply not there. This more mature version of Josh is content to take what the defense gives him and NOT try the low percentage plays when he doesn't have to. That said, there is a fine line between being smart with the ball and not taking unnecessary risks versus being completely risk adverse (i.e. showing no sense of urgency) and allowing an inferior opponent to hang around in the game. I feel like Josh was closer to being "smart" with the ball against Carolina than he was to being "out-of-sorts" in the prior 2 games. The Bills never trailed in this game -- and, indeed, even though they had to settle for FGs on the first 2 drives, it was pretty clear that they were going to be able to run the ball all game against the Panthers. So, when execution broke down on those pass plays, it was better for him to take a sack or check down than to unnecessarily put the ball at risk as he may have done even as recently as 2 years ago (most notably against beatable teams like the Jets and Jags). I also got a sense by halftime against the Panthers that he may have gotten his mojo back. He definitely looked more comfortable and played much better in the 2nd half. One other thing I noticed is that the receivers definitely looked better on scramble drills Sunday than they had looked in the previous 2 games. For example, both Moore and Shakir stayed with him as he raced toward the sideline. Now, both of them failed to get their feet down in bounds on passes intended for them, but at least both provided him with an option when he was flushed from the pocket. Obviously, the passing game needs to step it up as the team faces tougher opponents (starting with the Chiefs next week).

That is certainly a fair point. After all, he is 2nd (ironically behind BTJ, who many on this board are clamoring giving up a 1st round pick to acquire) in the NFL with 8 drops on the season. I guess we would have to look at why the productivity has been so bad. I am wondering if it could be a situation where a change of scenery and the chance to play for a genuine contender could help in those regards.

I also liked the level of energy and excitement he provided after each 3rd down stop.

I'm wondering if J. Jeudy may not be the most logical and realistic option at this point? He is in a terrible situation in Cleveland (only saw 2 passes thrown his direction yesterday), has had some success in the past, still has some tread on his tires, and Beane has had a working relationship with the Browns front office in the past. Also, a trade like this wouldn't cost an arm and a leg, I am guessing a mid-round pick?