fergie's ire

I think this issue and can happen for a variety of reasons. One criticism of Beane is that a lot of his free agent DT aquisitions have not been good. However, I saw a list of the top 10 DTs in the league (sorry...don't remember who put it out) this year and 2 Beane free agent pickups made the list: Poona Ford and Tim Settle. If they played here, like they're playing now, they would have been amazing signings.

See? I KNEW it was a good idea to drop that game to the Falcons.

Except their losses are to the Raiders (yes, the Raiders) and the Steelers when they turned the ball over 5 times. I would say they HAVE tripped up, but did it early. What they haven't done is lost toss up games against good teams (Bills and Tampa in Tampa come to mind). I've also heard how awful it is that the Bills could lose to a team like Atlanta and the Patriots beat them by 1.

Agreed. Should've clarified. I meant they would run the table in the playoff as the 7 seed. If that happens, the only way the Bills would play them before the AFC championship would be if the Bills are the 1 or the 2. If the Bills are NOT the 1 or 2...but both teams advance to the Championship, the game would be in Buffalo. Could you imagine a 6 vs 7 in the championship? If there were a year it would happen, this is it.

Didn't anyone tell him he's supposed to at least play a half before retiring and walking away from the Bills?

What I find interesting is KC is often predicted to be the 7 seed. I don't think many would be surprised if they ran the table if they are in. If that happens, unless they win the division, the Bills would host the AFC championship if they make it that far.

Am I the only one whose favorite thing is when the Bills ruin a franchise? I'm thinking comeback Oilers...Bellichick and the perfect game...and now it seems like the Steelers. I just love it.

Agreed. If Bosa gives us a team friendly deal because he loves the culture, great. But particularly these one year deals are signed by the player so they can use it to get a bigger contract the next year. That's the trap. At this age, he's great as a one year rental but would not be great on a multi-year deal. What they need to do is go out and find the NEXT Bosa...a player who is great and a free agent...but whose recent history means they sign for less and will work on a prove it deal.

How will you feel if Patriots lose tonight? Seems far fetched...but who would've thought the Broncos Commanders game would go to overtime. Also heard something about Pats having O-line injuries. Also, I think the chances of winning the division are better than they were this time of year 2 years ago.

Yeah, it's one of those things though. The defense was historically bad early in the season but has improved. Now? Just held Baltimore to 14, so may not be as dreadful as we think. Oh put Davies in. Just have him in the backfield with a guitar singing "He's a well respected man about town, doing the best things so conservatively." The defense will be so confused and entranced that the rest of the offense will run wild...like some kind of Apeman.

I think we already passed it to CJ Stroud and Jayden Daniels.

Not only how other teams struggle (I would add the Chiefs through 3 quarters), but also how good some of these "bad" teams can be. I saw much on hear about there was no way we were going to lose to lowly Houston particularly with Davis Mills. Well, the Texans are 6-2 over their last 8 and the offense has been playing better with Mills. Yes...the Bills looked bad...but the Texans are not an awful team.

Yeah, Ravens had it pretty bad in late September and early October, too:

Li'll Jordan Humphrey wasn't good enough to stay on a bad Giants roster...and still got signed away. It's always a risk. If Josh is as happy as he seems to be to have Davis back, I wonder if they could actually be working on a multi-year deal. I'm pretty sure it can't technically be signed until after the year...but I suspect these things are worked out under the table.

I think an AI bot pulled a hammy.

Josh Allen had a pretty good year playing with a broken left hand.

I'd love to see a return to rookie Gabe: Mr. Toe Drag Swag. He was great at those out routes.

I remember a few years ago, when Beane was asked about doing nothing at the deadline and he said something about being burned in the past for making a panic move and didn't want to do that again. He was clearly referring to Kelvin Benjamin. Last year, he went ahead and pulled the trigger and gave up a third for a whole lotta nothin'. I still hope he does something in the next hour...but I would not be surprised if it's a while before we see Beane make one of these deadline trades again.

I agree. I think that they brought Hoecht in to fill this niche role for what they wanted to do on defense and his loss is a killer. If they can't find someone on the market to fill that role, some have suggested Jackson...but I'm wondering if AJ could do it. Seems he has always been a bit of tweener. Not quick enough to be great rushing DE and not powerful enough to be a DT...but maybe his weakness could be his strength in this role?

Ha, funny. I almost added a line about knowing the Dolphins suck, but decided it would be bad juju during Dolphins week. Also, even they went out and crushed the Falcons in between getting destroyed by the Ravens and Browns.

Agree 100%, but I think what frustrates the OP and certainly frustrates me is why can't people ever learn this? The NFL is weird...so to act like you know something for certain in terms of who is good or bad is a bit crazy. A few weeks ago, the Chiefs were terrible and might not make the playoffs, then they were a juggernaut headed for another Super Bowl...and now people are again questioning whether they'll make the playoffs. The Packers were great...but then they weren't...but then they were...and now, not so much again. Detroit, same thing. Chargers. Bo Nix had come down to earth and was a bad quarterback who, 3/4 through the Giants game had only managed to put up 13 points total in almost 2 games against the Jersey teams. Then he puts up 33 in a quarter...and 44 the next week. And yet people love to say with certainty that team X is great and is a lock to make the Super Bowl and team Y sucks and doesn't stand a chance of making the playoffs.

I saw the Chiefs player go by him...taking himself out of the play, so Knox steps through and puts his arm against him on the side...but didn't even really push, let alone hold. It looked a bit like a D lineman doing a swim move. I think it's one of those plays where the official looks up and sees an arm outside the frame and assumes he is holding. It's a lot like the calls against Dawkins several times last year where he would chop down on the D lineman's hands so violently that the lineman would fall to the ground. The official sees Dawkins' hands go to a players chest and sees the player falls and ASSUMES that he pulled him down.

I think "numb mind" is a perfect description, because I think the Chiefs played on Bosa's experience...got him to do something out of habit without thinking. Situational football, even if it IS a screen, you trust players downfield to rally to the ball in that situation. However, I think when a DE is given a free pass like that, particularly someone with as much experience as Bosa, the DE's mind screams TRAP without even really thinking. That feeling of being allowed to rush caused Bosa to pause for just a second which is what Mahomes needed. It is one of those plays that has the potential to go horribly wrong, but when it works it's brilliant.

Yeah, that hit made me happy. Mahomes like to run toward the sideline and then when defenders pull up to avoid hitting him late, he'll stop and make a throw (like he did here) or even run forward for an extra yard or two. Liked to see him get punished for F'ing around.

Agreed.