BillsFanSD

Yes. I told my son that it was four down territory once we got to the goal line. Fortunately it didn't come down to that.

I actually kind of halfway-expect Miami to follow this strategy when they play the Jets. Too much on the line to risk taking the field.

The problem with that statistic is that it ignores the fact that we play in the same division as New England. Of those 73.8% of 3-0 teams, a bunch of them go on to win their division -- that avenue is essentially closed to us. Our only realistic route to the playoffs is to sneak in as one of the two wild cards, which leaves very little margin for error. So while a generic 3-0 team might make the playoffs 73.8% of the time, our chances of making the playoffs are significantly lower than that until we're able to compete for a division title. And unfortunately, that's a year away IMO.

Remove the interception, and it's an A. But the interception changed the entire complexion of the game and got Cincinnati back into it. So yeah, C seems about right.

I don't understand why it's bad to be happy that we're undefeated after three games?

I agree. I don't think the Bills are in the same tier as New England. Yet. Just saying that "Well, look at who they've played" works both ways.

What is the combined record of the teams NE has beaten?

Nah, really just one stupid play. Allen played well aside from the interception. Even the intentional grounding call was driven by good decision-making and would go uncalled nine times out of ten.

I may have to watch the new Primetime just to hear Berman call this play.

Yeah he only missed a couple of plays I think.

Yep. Calling that a safety or whatever would have been the stupidest call of all time. White clearly perceived the play to be over.

That really sucks. He is rapidly becoming one of my favorite players on this team. That said, I don't think we necessarily lose much on net by shifting Ford to G and playing Nseke full-time at T.

The interception was terrible and inexcusable. I love Allen and I'm kind of a homer for the guy, but that was a bone-headed play that single-handedly changed the entire course of the game. My guess is that Allen has the Brett Favre gene that will never be coached out of him and we'll all just have to get used to a play like this once in a while, but that doesn't minimize how bad it was. And honestly, he looked kind of rattled on the next couple of drives after that. I can live with the occasional stupid play, but guys like Favre and Kelly seemed to forget about them after 30 seconds or so. Allen could do better in this area. That said, he looked very sharp in the first half and was clutch on the last drive. No worries on my end.

This is my read too. It feels like we out-think ourselves after halftime with regard to play-calling, and also the players don't execute the plays that are called. Regardless, all three third quarters have been disasters. Whatever the problem is, they've got to get this sorted out.

I am loving this guy. He's already a good weapon and he's only three games into his rookie year. It typically takes a while for TE to fully transition into the NFL, so he has lots of room for growth. We were all disappointed that Kroft wasn't available today, but we arguably lose the game without Knox. (No way to really know that of course).

"Maybe" Knox? Guy was our offensive MVP.

I'm very happy to be 3-0, but to be honest I give us very little chance against the Patriots. We're hugely improved over last year and clearly on the right trajectory, but we're not quite there yet.

None of us are actually playing today (I assume). As fans, we can look ahead all we want -- it doesn't matter what we do.

Need to keep winning for the national media to take our team seriously . . .

Me too. I really want him back for @TEN, which feels like a game that could go either way.

The Bills can't afford to take anybody besides Miami lightly, but that's the weekly reality for nearly everyone in the NFL. I'm sure McDermott will keep the team focused on the Bengals and have them ready to play on Sunday. That said, I think fans are right to be highly confident about this game. Cincinnati is a one-dimensional team with a bad defense. If we can't sit on a team like that at home, then we were never in any danger of qualifying for the playoffs anyway. My only worry is going into the game with just two RBs (not counting DiMarco). That's thinner than I would like. Otherwise, this should be a straightforward win barring anything weird.

If you expected the 2018 Bills to turn into the Patriots or Chiefs in a single season, you weren't being realistic. Our offensive line went from abominable to competent. That is a huge step forward. Last year's WR corps was dropping passes all over the place and was headlined by an undrafted rookie free agent. This year they're competent, which is again a huge step forward. Our best TE from last year would be 5th on our current depth chart if everybody was healthy. And of course our 2018 QB was an ultra-raw rookie who looks a lot sharper now. Ideally we would add a true #1 WR (next year's priority in the draft IMO), have Knox develop into a security blanket TE (not there yet of course, but there's reason for optimism), further upgrade the line (free agency / draft), and look for upgrades/replacements for Gore and Yeldon (both are temporary stopgaps). Then we'll talk about the Patriots and Chiefs.

Given how our other TEs have played, it's hard to get too bent out of shape over this. Quite a change from a season ago.

The Jets suck now, because they're starting some random third-string QB who they signed off the street. They didn't suck when we played them. Not that they're a SB team with Darnold or anything, but that was a quality win in my book. By way of contrast, New England has beaten a Pittsburgh team that looks devoid of offense, and a Miami team that shows promise of being the worst NFL team since the merger.

Meh. That just gives New England an easier path to a wildcard.