mjt328

I'm not that person always screaming to fire Sean McDermott. But if poor defensive play destroys yet another postseason run for the Bills... even his biggest supporters are going to have a tough time defending him. This franchise is carried by Josh Allen. He's on his third OC now (and may be looking at a fourth next year). He's seen the WR room totally overhauled, and has managed to improve through all of it. It's fair to believe that he would continue to thrive and make us a contender, regardless of who is the Head Coach of this franchise. The only things McDermott can hang his hat on... are having a consistently strong Defense and being able to keep a strong culture in the locker room. On the negative side, our Special Teams are continually one of the worst in the entire NFL. And of course the questionable game management decisions that continue to plague us year after year. I've been hopeful that McDermott FINALLY figures out how to get this Defense to perform in the playoffs. But this year he can't even get us to the postseason before that unit starts crumbling to pieces.

Because the Bengals are much better than their record. And the Steelers/Broncos are huge frauds. Chiefs win #1 seed. Ravens win AFC North. Bengals make the playoffs. We have to go through all three to make the Super Bowl. NFC representative is either Lions or Eagles. I don't think any of those predictions is unreasonable. Check back after Week 18.

Like I said... I have a feeling we don't see Allen play again during the regular season. If the Chiefs win on Wednesday, the Bills have literally nothing to gain. Why would they even consider risking injury? A couple huge performances by Jackson, and that Lions game will be a distant memory to MVP voters.

It was an overall terrible week of football for Bills fans. In terms of our Super Bowl chances: - The Chiefs pretty much locked up the #1 seed in the AFC. No way they lose the last two games. - The Ravens are going to overtake the Steelers in the North. Which means the Chiefs also avoid them in the Divisional Round. - The Bengals are a step closer towards that final playoff seed. Looking at the schedule, this one almost looks inevitable. This defense has been WELL below average most of the season, and has only gotten worse down the stretch. So much for a rebound against a terrible opponent and rookie quarterback. This unit will once again destroy our chances in the playoffs. No way they survive a postseason gauntlet of Bengals, Ravens, Chiefs, Lions/Eagles. Josh Allen will need to will this offense to 45-50 points every single game. And just for the cherry on top, Allen probably just killed his MVP chances with a terrible game... while injuring his throwing arm/elbow/hand. Not sure what we did to get a lump of coal in our stockings. But yuck.

Allen's MVP case is toast. The Chiefs will win on Christmas and clinch the #1 seed. The Steelers are the biggest frauds in the NFL. With nothing left to play for, the Bills will shut-down Allen for the remainder of the season. Especially with scares the last two weeks on his throwing shoulder and throwing hand. Meanwhile, the Ravens will destroy the Texans and take the lead in the AFC North. The final week they go against the clearly tanking Browns. Lamar Jackson will pad stats and walk away with at least 7-8 more touchdowns in the last two games. All those voters who said the MVP race was over after the Lions game... they will start backtracking.

There are 31 other teams in the NFL. It's NEVER good for a sports league to see the SAME franchise winning over and over and over and over and over. Especially after suffering through nearly two decades of the Patriots. Every other fanbase in the country is beginning to hate the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes with a passion, and eventually I think people are just going to turn it off. If it wasn't for Josh Allen and the slim hope we may someday pull one off, I know I would be done. That's what I did in the 90s with the NBA. Michael Jordan was a fun player to watch. But the dominance by the Chicago Bulls eventually just got tiresome and predictable. All the other great players during that period (Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, etc.) who couldn't sniff a trophy because of them was a true travesty. I can tell you that if the Buffalo Bills don't win a Super Bowl with Allen, that's it for me with the NFL.

That sounds about right. Don't forget the Ravens will win the AFC North, giving the Chiefs a cakewalk into the AFC Championship. And no doubt the Bills will suffer at least one major injury during the Wild Card game.

I don't think people are trying to make excuses. Sometimes a little bit of luck can make a difference getting through the playoffs. The difference between a Wild Card matchup and a Bye could mean additional injuries. Think about how many guys went down against Pittsburgh last year, and what they could have meant against the Chiefs a week later. I know we can beat anyone. But I like our odds better going through certain teams/quarterbacks, and being forced to play as few elite teams as possible.

The Ravens are probably the worst matchup for us on paper... but I also think our opinions are a little tainted based on that game earlier this year. I'm pretty sure things would go much different the second time around. That Week 4 game was the beginning of a rough 3-game stretch, where our outside receivers group and OC were trying to find their footing. Much has changed since early in the season. Since we added Amari Cooper, Keon Coleman started getting some experience under his belt, and Mack Hollins developed some chemistry, this offense has been on an absolute tear through the NFL. The Bills passing game would not struggle that badly again in a rematch. Don't forget, our defense was also missing key run defenders in the middle with Terrell Bernard and Taron Johnson (not to mention Matt Milano). Not to say these guys would cause us to completely shut-down Derrick Henry. But I certainly wouldn't expect him to just steamroll us again from the first snap. Finally, game script is hugely important. There is a reason that game was our first time being blown out in 3 years. Most teams cannot just run the ball down our throat all game, because they are worried about keeping up with Josh Allen and the offense. But when you combine our struggles at the time, along with the boost of Henry's quick TD run on the first play... it was just a perfect storm for them putting the whooping on us. And when we started getting some momentum and moving down the field, Joe Brady called that awful trick play that totally killed it. Like him or not, Lamar Jackson also has a history of playing poorly in the playoffs.

Best potential scenario is getting the bye... followed by Pittsburgh/Houston in the Divisional Round. Worst potential scenario is getting the #2 seed and being forced to play the extra Wild Card game... followed by Baltimore in the Divisional Round, and then Kansas City in Arrowhead for the AFC Championship. Yes, there is a very possible scenario that we end up with the worst of both worlds. Obviously we should be rooting for the Chiefs to lose, giving us a crack at the #1 slot. But if that doesn't happen, my hope is the Steelers win the AFC North. That would give us a much better shot at avoiding the Ravens in the playoffs. The Colts can't ever seem to beat the Jags with their season on the line. Their schedule seems easy. But I definitely wouldn't pencil them in at 3-0 down the stretch.

Lamar Jackson ranks slightly higher in his era (in my opinion, 3rd behind Mahomes and Allen). Kelly was probably #4 in his era (behind Marino, Montana and Elway). However, I think Jackson wouldn't have made it physically back in the 80's-90's. Injuries would have piled up and hurt his career. In today's game, Kelly would have dominated even more. In regards to MVP... that award was regularly given to running backs and receivers back in those days. So there was way more competition to win it. Today it is almost exclusively a QB award, with rare exceptions. Kelly rarely had the stats of his peers either, mostly due to Thurman Thomas getting a ton of work.

Excellent post. Younger fans have absolutely NO IDEA how much the rules have changed the NFL over the last 20-30 years, and how it's DRASTICALLY inflated offensive production and passing numbers. You can't even start to compare the different generations by simply looking at stats. The game is way easier for QBs today. It's a total joke to bring up things like yards, completion percentage or interceptions. Jim Kelly in 2024 gets a huge boost in stats. Today's passers in 1990 find things way tougher, and get a big drop. You mentioned the rules made to protect the QB, which is obviously huge for longevity. Guys can play 5-10 years longer, stay healthier during the season, and feel more comfortable throwing in the pocket with far less threat of taking a serious injury. But what about things like illegal contact, which has made pass defense a million times more difficult for corners? Or penalties for DBs hitting defenseless receivers, which makes it way easier to work the ball over the short/middle of the field? QBs today get tons of free checkdown yards now, which weren't available to guys back in Jim Kelly's day. More easy yards. Higher completion percentage. Less reason to risk interceptions. The list goes on and on. Kelly was one of the smartest and toughest QBs who ever played. A tremendous leader. He was very accurate, and had a powerful arm comparable with most starters in the NFL today. What else could you possibly want? He absolutely would be amongst the elite passers in today's game. And his stats would certainly be much better than what he posted during his career, due to all the reasons above. Throw in today's advancements in athletic training, he's Top 3 for sure, if not the top guy in the entire league. You also make a great point about Patrick Mahomes and how well his style may not have actually fit so well back in Kelly's day... but it also somewhat applies to Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. All of those guys are currently doing things the NFL has never truly seen before. But their mobility and ability to extend plays is clearly boosted by today's rules... which are specifically intended to protect QBs. There is a reason that "running quarterbacks" had trouble succeeding in the pros back then, and the few who did (Steve Young, Randall Cunningham) had relatively short careers compared to the pocket guys. Allen may be the outlier because of his size, but he's still taking much less punishment than he would have back in the 1980s or 1990s.

I'm fine with rivalries. But I wish opposing fans could show some respect, and not always try to put down the other guy's QB in an attempt to make their own guy look good. Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson are all fantastic players, fun to watch, and on a HOF career trajectory. Jackson is having a great season. But simply on the basis of consistency, he is not the league MVP in 2024. Just last year, he won the award... despite being outside the Top 10 in most passing statistical categories. The reasoning was because of his team's record, and his performance in the biggest games of the regular season -- most notably the 49ers on Christmas Day. Based on the consistent standards MVP voters have set for the award, Allen deserves it this year.

You answered your own question exactly. All of these reasons above.

I'm sure Mahomes hurt his ankle. And I'm sure it's painful. But we've seen this over exaggeration drama from him before... getting carried off the field by teammates, and then "miraculously" finding a way to play. My guess is that he's questionable all week. But I will be shocked if he doesn't start on Sunday.

Thought about that too. But outside of the Ravens/Texans games early in the season (before we got settled at the outside WR position), this is really the Josh Allen that we've gotten all season long. I don't think we are just seeing him in the zone. I think he's actually elevated himself to another level. Part of the reason he wasn't putting up 3-5 touchdowns EVERY week is simply because he hasn't had to... He's sat an entire game worth of 4th quarters, because the Bills were so far ahead.

The Bills now have one of the best O-Lines in the entire NFL, along with a really good running game. And even without an elite #1 wide receiver, they have an extremely versatile, consistent and effective group of weapons. So I would not agree that it's all Josh Allen. The defense has been really good for a chunk of the season, and is one of the best at creating turnovers. When they aren't good though, they are terrible (like the past two games). And they always seem to be dealing with clusters of injuries at the same position. Top 3 safeties, starting corner and starting linebacker down.

But what does it say when OUR quarterback puts up 6 touchdowns and still loses the game? We can't expect Allen to play at that kind of level every week.

I'm not someone calling for Sean McDermott to get fired. But I do understand the frustration, and the feeling that he is holding us back. Listen around the league, and you are starting to hear national voices recognize what we've been saying the last 2-3 years here. The Bills are rapidly wasting the prime of Josh Allen's career. There are no guarantees how long he will remain in this elite class. And when it's over, there are no do-overs. Every postseason loss can be attributed heavily to poor coaching decisions, combined with a defense (McDermott's baby) that simply VANISHES and has no answers for even slowing down the opposing offense. A unit that somehow plays so POORLY for four quarters, that even historic level play from the Quarterback cannot bring the team to victory. No, the Rams game was not a playoff matchup. But it looked EXACTLY like one. It was as close to the "13 Seconds" game as we have witnessed in the past three years. Which begs the question... what have we learned since that point to get us over the hump? My fear (and many others) is that nothing has been learned, and we are bound for another total defensive collapse in January.

How many times do you remember Richard Seymour, Willie McGinest or Vince Wilfork making the huge game-changing play on the D-Line that won New England the Super Bowl or even a big playoff game? That's what we were talking about, correct? None of those guys were elite game-wreckers. They were good players who got HOF consideration because of their association with the Patriots. I'm not saying we can't upgrade on the D-Line. I just don't think we NEED a TJ Watt, Myles Garrett or Chris Jones level player in order to win a Super Bowl. We just need our good players like Greg Rousseau and Ed Oliver to not completely disappear in big games.

I was thinking about elite QBs during my lifetime who failed to even make a Super Bowl. The only guys I could think of were Warren Moon and Phillip Rivers. Both of those guys had multiple Hall of Fame quarterbacks to get past on a yearly basis in the AFC. Moon had Jim Kelly, John Elway and Dan Marino. Rivers had Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger.

Who are the superstars on the Lions? The Eagles? Greg Rousseau and Christian Benford have played at an exceptional superstar level all season long. Terrell Bernard has been a regular force in the middle. The Bills have gotten All-Pro play out of guys like Matt Milano, Taron Johnson, Tre White, Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde over the years. I get what you are saying. But the NFL has plenty of championship teams that didn't have someone like Chris Jones or TJ Watt on defense. I would argue the New England Patriots never had that kind of player on defense during their ridiculous dynasty run. Closest thing was probably Vince Wilfork, and he was more of a reliable anchor DT than someone who made big plays in big moments. It's clear the Bills failure to make/win a Super Bowl can be traced back to the defense. I'm just not so sure it's due to a lack of talent or lack of superstars. There has to be SOME reason why EVERYONE on that side of the ball can play consistently strong 95% of a season, and then suddenly disappear for an entire game.

My confusion is... I don't know if the problem is the scheme. Lots of other teams have found championship success with a similar-style defense to the Bills. And very few teams run this scheme with the expertise and perfection as we usually do. We've seen various levels of aggression and playcalling combos with Leslie Frazier, McDermott himself and now Bobby Babich. This year we are seeing more adjustments than in the years past. The defense couldn't get pressure in the first half with 4 guys. They blitzed more in the second half, and still couldn't get to Stafford. They usually play zone. But I saw lots of man coverage throughout the game. Nickel, Dime. And they still got picked apart easily. The Ravens just steamrolled us with their running game earlier this season. But against the Rams, it was mostly the passing game (not that our rush defense was halfway decent either). For some inexplicable reason, this defense plays at a consistently high-level season after season, for about 95% of the year, even with tons of backups forced into the lineup... and then somehow puts together 1-2 games where it's like every player on that side of the ball is being affected by a voodoo curse and forgot how to play football.

I understand the gripes with Sean McDermott's game management. But I literally see the same kinds of mistakes (or worse) from other coaches around the NFL on a weekly basis. Including from guys like Andy Reid, John Harbaugh, Mike Tomlin, Dan Campbell, etc. Imagine if Campbell's goofy 4th-Down decision last week backfired, and it ultimately cost the Lions the #1 seed or the division? Especially after what happened in last year's NFC Championship game. Coaches make huge game-changing decisions every week. But I don't see anyone who constantly gets things right.

It's OK to sometimes have a bad game. Happens to everyone. It's really not OK to have performances like yesterday. Ever. And we seem to have it happen a couple times every season. Remember the perfect game we had against the Patriots in the Wild Card game. The defense is basically playing 95% of that bad.