Rocky Landing

My wife just had a good one: "That throw could have drilled in a drywall screw."

Davis has looked like a rookie the last couple games.

There is no game in this regular season that I want to win more than week 16 in Foxboro.

Nice work as always, DSB! Drew Lock's potential is a much debated subject among Bronco fans. His supporters like to compare him to Josh Allen (which is malarkey, of course). Others are more than willing to call him a bust. Others believe he is at his ceiling, and likely not more than a serviceable backup. My horrible take is that Denver's crappy record notwithstanding, they are actually a tougher matchup against us than we are willing to admit. I am confident that McD, and the team are going to take this game very seriously, as a win cements our division title. And, I am confident we are going to win this game. But... Their defense, while depleted, is well coached, and has one of the best records in the red zone in the league. If they can get enough pressure on Josh to force him into quick throws, the yards will get tougher, and tougher the closer we get to the end zone. This would be a good week to get some longer pass plays to their corners. If I were to make an ugly prediction, I could see us getting to within five yards of the goal line, gong for it on fourth down, and leaving points on the field. Defensively, I would like to see us go more 4-3, than nickel, especially if Taron is out (although, I have a lot of faith in Siran). I could see the Broncos wanting to run the sort of running plays the Rams did earlier in the season, pulling Oliver to the left and opening a gap. Milano/Edmunds/Klein would close that right up. And that's about as pessimistic as I can be about this game. I'm expecting Motor, and Moss to gain a lot of yards, especially early in drives. I'm expecting some long throws to Diggs, Beasley, and Davis. I'm expecting Knox to have at least two impressive YAC gains, and I'm expecting a decisive win.

Spectacular! Such a great time to be a Bills fan!

Forget these stats, and name a team where you would rather the Bills play in their stadium.

To be honest, something dark in me would kinda enjoy having two AFCE teams make the playoffs, and neither one is the Pats*...

I have a good friend who's a hardcore Titans fan (weirdly, as he was born and raised in Los Angeles), and we're quite vociferous with the smack-talking. I would have a very hard time admitting that the Titans would be a tougher matchup than the Chiefs. Be that as it may, the Chiefs are so well coached, they have the ability to dramatically shift their game plans to their opponents, I think better than any team in the league. The Titans will always play to their strengths (which, admittedly, are an especially hard matchup for us), but I think the Chiefs are much harder to game plan for, as they can adjust so well to their opponents, and are a more complete team. And, of course, there is Mahomes...

I mostly agree with this list, but I would rather play Baltimore than the Browns. I just think we match up better vs. the Ravens (but not by much). Don't change your name until we win a playoff game.

I love Motor, and I wouldn't lose him... but RB is definitely a missing piece. Chubb is top tier. But, he's going to be expensive. What's next years draft class look like?

Well, the Chiefs are the toughest matchup-- for anybody. But, after that, I agree that the Titans are our worst matchup. And, I'm going to get flamed for this, but I think that after the Chiefs, and Titans, Browns would be the next toughest. They're a complete team, and the D can be disruptive. Chubb would be hard to defend, and that opens up the rest of the field for their receivers, And, despite his flaws, Mayfield has a helluva long ball. To defend the Browns means defending the entire field.

If I were Daboll, I Would also take long, hard look at the GM situation of any team considering him for HC, and their FO situation, and culture.

I had the same thought when I saw it. We've seen other teams take that bait plenty of times. I have to think that guy (not even sure who it was?) was feeling pretty silly when he finally ran away with little more than an eye-roll from the Bills.

Sucks that Taron got his bell rung, but beyond that, we came out relatively unscathed against a hard-hitting team. BIG WIN done the RIGHT WAY!

@3rdand12, what was that you were saying earlier about the third quarter?? 😃

It doesn't feel like the Bills are in the lead...

No Kroft. If Knox drops a pass I'm going to throw something.

I kind of agree with you. I don't remember the opponent, or the year, but a bunch of years ago I remember once the Bills playing late in the season during some god-awful, sleety, crap weather. We punted, and the ball hit the ground and stuck in the mud like a lawn dart. Not a single bounce. The camera just sat on that image for a few moments. I don't know why that image stuck in my head all these years. All the players just looked miserable in that game, and they all walked away covered in mud, and paint, and grime, and blood. I do miss those sorts of warrior games where the teams have to go through hell for a win.

Be nice to start the first half with some runs for 1st downs. Make the Steelers defend the whole field, and they will struggle.

I sometimes wonder if Daboll isn't game planning for the second half before the game even starts. I feel like there have been several games where there was barely a running game in the first half, and then we came out running in the 3rd quarter, and by the 4th we've reverted back to what was working in the first half. There have been at least a couple games where I thought the halftime adjustments were good on both sides of the ball (and halftime adjustment are usually good defensively). But, historically, halftime adjustments have not been Daboll's strong suit.

I think a lot of this game might hinge on who gets an early lead. If I were Mike Tomlin, I would be very focused on going into halftime with a lead. If they come out in the second half having to play from behind, with all the drops, and mistakes their receivers have been making the past few weeks (especially Washington, and Johnson-- but even Ebron has had some issues with drops), they're going to have problems. And if we could have an effective 4-man pass rush under those circumstances, we could dominate them in the second half. Or am I just being a homer...?

Defensively, with Conner, and Pouncey both active, we're going to see a much more balanced Steelers team than last week vs. WFT. If the Steelers have their run game going, I hope we see a lot of 4-3, with Klein, Edmunds, and Milano all out there. And do whatever we can to get Big Ben out of the pocket. Offensively, their LBs are depleted, save TJ Watt. And, they're missing their best CB. They're going to try to force Josh into quick throws so they can bring their DBs in. We need to get them to respect the run, try to keep them to a four man rush, give Josh time in the pocket, and make them defend the entire field. They just don't have the manpower to do that. Just my two cents.

Cowboys also went from Romo the Prescott. I think it's also worth noting that Rodgers spent three years holding Favre's clipboard. A lot of pundits thought that was what Josh Allen should have done, but we didn't have anyone for Allen to play behind. (I don't think Nathan Peterman actually owns a clipboard.) Funny that a Pats* fan wouldn't consider Cam Newton a "bridge" QB. If he isn't that, then what the hell is he?

Andre McXavier Roberts, drafted in the third. (McXavier???)

mmmmm... ham...