mjt328

I keep saying this... but there isn't a magic bullet that will suddenly break the Bills through the playoff wall. In the NFL, there just isn't a huge gap between the top and bottom teams. Each year, there are a handful of top contenders who are on roughly the same level. Once we reach the Divisional/Championship Rounds, those teams start playing each other and knocking each other out. Sometimes it comes down to which team is healthiest. Sometimes one team is hot and the other team is in a slump. Sometimes the game is close and comes down to a couple lucky bounces. Back in 2020, the Bills were really an inexperienced fringe Super Bowl contender and the Chiefs were the class of the NFL. They would have needed everything to work their way to pull-off the upset in the Championship Game, but it just didn't happen. Since that point (three years in a row now), we've lost key defensive players that have hurt us badly against elite QBs in the playoffs. 2021 was Tre White on Thanksgiving. 2022 was Micah Hyde early and Von Miller on Thanksgiving. This year was Matt Milano early, and then Terrell Bernard, Christian Benford and a huge chunk of the secondary at the end. The Bills have been the NFL's second-best regular season team over the last four years (only topped by the Chiefs). In that same time period, we have seen the Buccaneers and Rams win a Super Bowl. We have seen the Bengals, Eagles and 49ers make the Super Bowl. Those are the only six teams in the league who can argue at having more success than us. I'm as frustrated as anybody. Hopefully the Bills can continue to put themselves in position, and (at least) one of these years the mathematical odds will work in our favor.

But he's really not the "best player in the league by miles." That's the issue. Statistically speaking, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen are almost identical over the last 4 seasons. Yards, Touchdowns, Etc. Even their head-to-head record is 4-3, with most of those games coming down to the final minutes and finishing less than one-score apart. The only obvious separation between Mahomes/Allen is in postseason success. The Bills win in the regular season. The Chiefs win in the playoffs and end up in the Super Bowl. Of course the media is going to turn all of that upon the Quarterback (or possibly Head Coach depending on which narrative they are pushing at the time). But that's a lazy take. In the 13 seconds game, Allen put the winning score on the board and then watched from the bench while the rest of the team choked it away. A few weeks ago, he fired the go-ahead TD into the Endzone...only to have his Left Tackle get knocked into him during the release. Two plays later, his kicker missed the chance to at least tie. Mahomes is great. And he deserves plenty of praise. But it's the same argument we saw in the past with Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning. One gets propped up higher simply because of team success.

This is just a silly take. He traded for Stefon Diggs, who in 4 seasons has put together the 4 best receiving seasons in Bills history. In free agency, he landed a premium slot receiver in Cole Beasley. He also got very good value for John Brown, who put up 1,000 yards in his first season here. So far, he hasn't drafted a WR before the 4th Round. Yet we got starting-level production from Gabe Davis and Khalil Shakir had a nice breakout season this year. If you want to argue that Brandon Beane hasn't used enough resources on the WR room, I guess that's fair. But we also need to remember that we have 53 roster spots and 22 starting roles, with only so many draft picks and limited cap space. You can't address everything every single year. Beane has admitted he wanted a WR in last year's draft, but he didn't want to trade up and they were all gone. So he took the best receiving threat remaining, which was Dalton Kincaid. Looking at the upcoming draft, he probably made the correct decision. Kincaid is developing into an elite Tight End, and this year's draft is absolutely loaded with talent. We will get at least one, if not multiple WR prospects.

Yes. The Bills window will remain open as long as Josh Allen is playing at this level. The only question is... how long can he continue playing at this level? We aren't talking about a pocket passer who drops to the ground whenever a hit is coming. That's a major reason Tom Brady was able to continue playing strong well into his 40s. No, we are talking about a QB that plays like a fullback half the time, and has no problem stiff-arming Defensive Linemen and running over Linebackers. That physical style is bound to catch-up at some point. Early this year, we saw what happens when Allen stops running, and it's not good. The Bills aren't a hugely explosive offense. But the reason they are consistently Top 5 in the NFL is because of their high 3rd-Down conversion rate and effectiveness in the Red Zone. They get that edge from Allen's legs. Take it away, and they become inconsistent. My belief is that Allen is more Brett Favre/Ben Roethlisberger than he is Cam Newton. So when his mobility eventually breaks down later in his career, he will still be a very good passer in the NFL. But will he still be great? That's the concern. Big Ben had big stats and kept making the Pro Bowl throughout his career. But he won his last Super Bowl at 26 years old.

I will never understand how people can live in this world, and not be the slightest bit skeptical about things around them. All the greed, theft, cheating, stealing that goes on. But if you aren't convinced that everything coming from a multi-billion dollar industry is 100% legit, then you are a crazy tinfoil hat conspiracy lunatic... The NFL itself makes jokes about "the script" in their marketing. But very few people are claiming the NFL is scripted (like WWE Wrestling for example). Maybe a few on social media trying to gain clicks and attention. That is a misdirection and misrepresentation of the argument. The fear that MOST people have is that games/situations could sometimes be manipulated into favorable situations for the league. And that unfortunately is very plausible. Many players themselves believe the NFL helps push for certain outcomes using the refs. The most recent example is DeSean Jackson, who just stated a few days ago that the NFL was trying to get the Chiefs into the Super Bowl because of Taylor Swift. Thanks to Swift, the NFL has free marketing to a MASSIVE demographic that it had virtually zero representation in before late 2023. Anyone who thinks that doesn't have value to a company is kidding themselves. Even if 95% of young girls drop the NFL when Kelce retires or that relationship ends, the league still picked up a HUGE number of new viewers. Some years back, it was revealed that Buffalo was trying to sign Michael Vick (after his stint in prison), and Roger Goodell got involved to help push him towards a more stable team (which ended up being Philadelphia). Now what purpose could the league possibly have in doing such a thing? Seems kind-of unfair to the Bills. The NFL was already making billions. But they realized that Vick was a PR nightmare waiting to happen, and they didn't want him being handled by a team with a messy front office. And even if the NFL itself isn't involved in manipulating games, you still have to worry about refs being paid off (see the NBA), coaches/players doing the same (how many have been caught betting on the side already), and the billions upon billions that come from gambling/fantasy football.

If Marv Levy could lead a team to 4 straight Super Bowl appearances (with one loss coming down to a missed field goal), then it's ridiculous to say he was incapable of leading the Bills to a Super Bowl win. His presence as this team's Head Coach had nothing to do with Scott Norwood kicking wide right. If that one ball goes through the uprights, he's forever logged in NFL history as a Super Bowl winner. Instead, the narrative is that he possessed some kind of internal flaw that made him unable to get it done. In reality, he was a very good HC that suffered bad luck. The unfortunate truth of this sport is that coaches/players can have hugely successful careers that span 10-20 years... but their story and their final legacy will often come down to a single game, and sometimes a single decision or single play. If Drew Bledsoe never gets injured, Tom Brady never gets a shot in the first place. If the Tuck Rule play is called a fumble, the Pats lose that game on a Brady turnover and it's also likely that Bledsoe regains his starting job the next season. Jim Kelly and John Elway were in the same draft together. Kelly played until he was 36 and retired, forever known as a QB who couldn't get a ring. At 36 years old, Elway was 0-3 in the big game and still had zero rings. Two years later, he was a back-to-back champion and his entire legacy had changed.

13 Seconds was a heartbreaking loss which will go down with the worst in Buffalo Bills history. But I spent that offseason convincing myself we were on the verge of a championship, and there was no way a talent like Josh Allen could be denied from eventually getting a ring. Over the last two years, I've come back down to Earth. Losses hurt less, because I really don't expect anything from this franchise anymore. Seasons come. Seasons go. And every February is the same, with someone else hoisting the Lombardi trophy. My full expectation is that Allen will someday become the next Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, Warren Moon. Clearly an all-time great at the QB position, but unable to land a championship. Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes will push to surpass Tom Brady in Super Bowls won.

Following the 2021 AFC Divisional loss, the general consensus amongst most Bills fans was that: - The big thing missing was "a closer" at the pass rush position - Gabe Davis was going to be a superstar #2 WR Until the ACL injury on Thanksgiving, Miller was playing great for us. And at that time, most felt that Brandon Beane had done a great job in landing him. Sure there were some who always hated the contract. But it wasn't until the injury that Bills fans started raising questions. And it wasn't until Miller returned Week 5 and was totally ineffective... then suddenly everyone started acting like signing him was an obvious mistake. In regards to Davis, it wasn't until about 4-5 games into the 2022 season when fans started questioning him as the #2. If the Bills had traded for A.J. Brown or Davante Adams after a 4 touchdown postseason game, fans would have thrown an absolute fit. And I highly doubt that a better WR opposite Stefon Diggs would have made any difference in the Bengals playoff game.

There isn't a magic bullet that suddenly puts the Bills into the Super Bowl. Yes, the roster can always be upgraded. There are always going to be coaching mistakes we can look back on. But even if replace Sean McDermott with your favorite coaching prospect and add multiple Pro-Bowl talents in the draft, this team will still be faced with beating a trio of the Chiefs, Ravens, Bengals, 49ers, Eagles, Lions or whoever the league's best are that season. What people don't realize is that every single season there are around 4-5 legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Once you hit the Divisional/Championship rounds, those teams start knocking each other off. To be the team on top, you need to be healthy. You need to be playing your best ball at the end of the season. And yes, you need a little bit of luck on your side. For every Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes and Joe Montana who make it look easy, there are TONS of elite QBs and great teams who STRUGGLE to break through in the postseason. Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, Warren Moon never won rings. John Elway took until the final two seasons of his career. Steve Young, Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees only scraped out one victory. Peyton Manning took years before finally busting through. The Bills have put themselves in that contender conversation now 4 years in a row. For different reasons, they just haven't been able to get over the hump. - In 2020, they were on the back-end of the conversation and needed the Chiefs to have an off-game to upset them. They didn't. - In 2021, they lost Tre White in the final stretch. Everything else seemed to be on track, but it literally came down to a coin flip and they lost. - In 2022, they had a ton of injuries and the Damar Hamlin thing. They weren't playing their best at the end of the season. - In 2023, injuries once again hit in the final few games of the season.

But he didn't catch it. And that was a theme over the final 2 months of the season. Not getting open, frequent drops and inability to make contested plays. It's not like Diggs hasn't been facing extra attention his ENTIRE career in Buffalo. That's not an excuse. The Bills haven't had an elite #2 to draw coverage away since Cole Beasley was first cut. Not an excuse either. And every single WR in the league will have missed throws/plays on film that could have changed their stat line. Also not an excuse. Bottom line is, the production for Diggs fell off a cliff in the back-half of the season. Most quarterbacks aren't Tom Brady. And most wide receivers aren't Jerry Rice. Age is a real thing for professional athletes, and it has nothing to do with talent or competitive drive. Playing to 35-40 years old at a high level is extremely rare. Look at the shelf life for most top WRs in the NFL, and you will see quite a large number start declining shortly after their 30th birthday. The most recent that comes to mind is Julio Jones. And once "Father Time" comes calling, it's over. Hopefully Diggs was dealing with an undisclosed injury that really slowed him down. Because otherwise, the harsh reality is that he has probably hit the age wall.

Yesterday's game is the perfect example why head coaching changes are overrated. Yes, the decisions that coaches make are HUGELY important to the outcome of games. And in retrospect, if Dan Campbell decides to kick those field goals instead of going for it on 4th Down, the Lions almost certainly win the game and go to the Super Bowl. Running the ball at the goal line also cost them a timeout, which would have allowed the defense one more crack at getting the ball. But at the same time, you absolutely cannot blame Campbell for the outcome of those plays. On both 4th Downs, receivers were open and dropped the ball. That's execution by the players. Not the coach's fault. The running play was definitely more risky than a pass, but he was trying to catch the defense off-guard and it simply didn't work. Switch Campbell out for Bill Belichick/Don Shula/Vince Lombardi, and maybe the outcome of this game is different. But maybe some other games along the way don't workout for the Lions, because those coaches were less aggressive. Bottom line... what most coaches get criticized/praised for during their careers falls back 95% on the players. Whether to punt, go for it, kick the field goal. When to run trick plays. With the benefit of hindsight (and knowing whether it worked or not), decisions can look brilliant or stupid. In my opinion, offensive/defensive coordinators are more important... because they are matching scheme to talent.

Not sure they have the flexibility to make any Practice Squad moves at CB either way. Only two players can get called up in a single week. With Gabe Davis already out and Stefon Diggs injured, they will almost certainly use one of those spots on a wide receiver. Probably Andy Isabella. Otherwise we go into the game pretty short-handed at WR. The other call-up will either be a Linebacker (AJ Klein) or a punter (Matt Hauck). If for some reason they don't call up Klein, that would be a huge indicator that Terrell Bernard plays. If they need both spots, then don't be surprised if they put Sam Martin on IR. Unfortunately, if Taron Johnson doesn't play...we are probably looking at them shuffling around the entire back-end. Some combination of Cam Lewis, Siran Neal and Damar Hamlin rotating around the safety/slot CB roles. And then Jordan Poyer moving up to coverage linebacker at times.

Fair or not, the way history views this iteration of the Buffalo Bills may ultimately depend on this game (and if we can win the Super Bowl). Was the Brandon Beane/Sean McDermott legacy successful or a disappointment? Was Josh Allen among the greatest QBs ever? I agree with those who say it's just one game. But it's games like this that write the story. Despite being a Hall of Fame QB, Jim Kelly's legacy will always have 4 Super Bowl losses hanging over his head. John Elway was viewed in the same light until two years before retiring, when he finally broke through and won the big one. It took one championship for Steve Young to emerge from Joe Montana's shadow. Peyton Manning was considered a postseason choker, unable to get past Tom Brady. Then the Colts knocked off the Patriots, took the Lombardi and he never had that label again. The truth is that Beane's roster has now beaten the Kansas City Chiefs three times in their last four matchups, with the only loss coming in the 13 seconds debacle. But if they lose Sunday, history will say the Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen just couldn't break through the hurdle of defeating Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs. And everything the front office has done will be questioned.

I feel way better than last year. The Bengals were always a terrible matchup for us (still are), and going into that game the Bills overall had been playing horribly for about 2 months. Everybody in the media kept talking about us like the Damar Hamlin thing was going to be destiny for us, but I saw a team with nothing left in the tank. Going the wrong way at the wrong time. Although I'm still 50/50 on us winning Sunday, this team does seem to be coming together at the right time. It's still not quite perfect. But I like how the defense has been performing since the Eagles game. And the offense took a nice step against the Steelers, avoiding the normal turnovers and stupid mistakes. That weird blocked kick was the only reason we didn't totally blow them out. The Chiefs are also very vulnerable (although you should never count out a player like Patrick Mahomes).

NFL history is covered with all-time greats who struggled for years before finally breaking through: - Steve Young's 49ers couldn't get past the Cowboys - Brett Favre's Packers couldn't get past the Cowboys - Peyton Manning's Colts couldn't get past the Patriots This game is the next step for Josh Allen if he wants to be mentioned with those names. Keep struggling to get past the Chiefs, and he becomes the next Phillip Rivers.

Feel about the same as I did in 2021 when we faced them in Arrowhead. These two teams are about as evenly matched as teams can be. It's a 50/50 coin flip (literally) and we happened to come up on the wrong side last time. I would like to think that makes odds in our favor this time, but it never seems to work that way. Homefield may give us a small edge. Injuries may cause that edge to disappear. Either way, I see this one going to the final minute/seconds like most of our games.

Even back in 2020-2021 during Brian Daboll, the offense was pretty streaky. Lots of games where they started slow, then seemingly woke up in the late 2nd or early 3rd Quarter. Fans remember Daboll more fondly, because his last two games were the Perfect Game against the Patriots and 13 Seconds against the Chiefs... possibly the best streak Josh Allen has ever put together in his career. The big difference I notice this year is the lack of deep ball plays. Allen seems to just miss on anything over 30 yards that requires some arc. On the flip-side, the offense does have more balance between run/pass than under Daboll or Ken Dorsey.

Hopefully the Bills has a better answer this time around. With the defensive injuries, 20 points probably isn't going to do it. If the Chiefs only send 3 rushers, we need to have more success in the running game. And Josh needs to be more patient in waiting for people to come open.

I never realized how pathetic Steelers fans were until the last couple days. The way they are complaining (literally everywhere on social media) about officiating, you would have thought this game had the MOST egregious referee errors in the history of pro football. Saints fans didn't even whine this much after the 2018 NFC Championship and Nickell Robey-Coleman. Yes folks. George Pickens getting barely touched on the back... with his team down 14 points with 4 minutes left... and still over 60 yards away from the endzone even with a flag. THAT was the worst no-call PI ever. Then you have the late quarterback hit. Clear proof the refs were paid off by Terry Pegula. I mean yeah it was late. And yeah the league calls that a penalty 95% of the time. But it wasn't REALLY late and it didn't give the QB a concussion. So the refs should have just let it go. I mean it's the playoffs, right? And also, the refs should have invented a brand-new rule during the game and penalized Josh Allen for executing a "fake" slide. Because it's just not fair on the defensive players. These Pittsburgh fans can't be serious.

All I want is consistency from the refs. I agree it's a ticky-tack call. But they are going to call that 95-99% of the time. Agreed. I'm perfectly OK with them changing the rule in the offseason. But until they do, it needs to be called.

Miami should have learned it's lesson with Ryan Tannehill several years ago. You don't give big extensions to mid-level quarterbacks. I'm sure lots of people will point to the stats, but those numbers are due to the system and skilled players around him. Once Tua's contract goes on the books, it will be harder and harder to keep that kind of talent there to prop him up.

The Ravens had the best record in football, even after sitting their starters in the final week. The Texans needed a win in the final game to scrape their way in. There is also a natural skepticism about the Texans, considering they were among the league's worst teams just a year ago. Not to mention they are starting a rookie QB, who is bound to hit the wall at some point (right?) With all that said, I would not be a bit surprised if Houston wins this.

The fumble by Pat Freiermuth that was not reversed was terrible. But the Steelers ended up throwing a pick in the endzone on that drive anyway, so it really made no difference in the score. It was weird to see the officials stop the game and discuss a couple flags... the hit when Josh Allen was sliding, and the PI/holding in the 4th Quarter. You don't usually see that, and it was frustrating. But they ended up getting both calls correct. The hit was late, and the ball was uncatchable. Steelers fans probably have a legit complaint about the non-called PI at the end. That does usually get called. But they were down by 2 touchdowns with about 3 minutes left. It would have given them less than 10 yards and a new set of downs. Not sure they can argue this play was the difference in a game they lost by 14. The complaint about Allen's big run and supposedly faking a slide is just weird. From my vantage point it looks like a juke move, not a fake slide. And even if it was a fake slide, there is nothing in the NFL rulebook that makes it a penalty.

Thought he looked really good on a couple third downs. His route running looked just as un-guardable as ever. Josh Allen just keeps missing on the deep throws this season, which is stopping him from making the big plays. Diggs has never been a huge YAC guy.

The Steelers were very thin at Linebacker, and it's clear we focused on attacking them with our Tight Ends. Against the Chiefs, we may need some production from the outside receivers. Getting Gabe Davis back would be very good.