Logic

Well... He had 6.5 sacks and 17 TFL his last season in Buffalo, which would have led the Bills this season. He was a plus run defender. He fit in well in the locker room and brought some humor and light-heartedness and swag. He already knows our system and would be valuable depth for the playoffs and, if things go well, perhaps for the future. Hughes and Addison might be gone after this year, and having some veteran depth behind our trio of youngster edge rushers might be good. He's still just 27 years old. We would no longer be counting on him to play big starter minutes or to live up to a first round billing. We'd simply be bringing in a guy who can play the run well, rush the passer well in spurts, fits well into the locker room, and knows the system. At this point in the season, that's a good get.

True, but the NFL doesn't care whatsoever about weather when picking the window for each game. Their ONLY concern is maximizing each viewing window by placing each game in the window where they think it will draw in the most viewers. Not only that, but from the NFL's perspective, a 0 degree kickoff temperature is a huge win! That's excellent viewing! Many of the sub-zero playoff games throughout NFL history are still talked about to this day, some having nicknames like "the ice bowl" or "the freezer bowl". So no, the NFL would see no reason at all to try to ensure warmer weather for kickoff. In the ultimate reality show soap opera that is the NFL, Bills vs Pats on a Saturday night on the frozen tundra of Highmark field is appointment viewing.

Weather, weather, weather. Let's look at some matchups and factors that will decide the game! Judon vs Dawkins - Dawkins got the better of this one in the last meeting between these two teams, turning Judon into a non-factor. That said, Judon was placed on the COVID list the very next day, so who knows how much stock to put into his performance in that game. He has previously had big days against the Bills when he was a member of the Ravens. Whether and to what extent Judon can impact Josh Allen will be one of the biggest determining factors in the outcome of this game. Will Barmore and Mills play? Arguably the most consistent pressure-creator on the Pats' d-line is Christian Barmore. He was hurt last week, but the MRI showed no serious damage. It is unknown whether he will be healthy enough to be in the lineup this week. If he isn't, it's a huge break for Buffalo's running AND passing games. Jalen Mills, meanwhile, has been playing quite well lately as CB2 for the Patriots, and he's currently on the COVID list. The Bills lacked a healthy Gabe Davis the last time these two teams played. With his return to the lineup -- and the return to health of Emmanuel Sanders -- the Patriots better hope that Mills returns to the lineup for Saturday's game. The depth behind he and JC Jackson is not super great. Can the Bills keep the running game going? Since week 11, the Patriots have the fourth WORST run defense in the league. The Bills, in that time, have the third BEST rushing attack. Can Singletary keep up his recent string of impressive performances? Can the Bills effectively unleash Josh Allen as a runner? Allen has rushed for over 60 yards in three straight games. In the frigid night air of Orchard Park, who's gonna want to tackle Allen if he gets running at full speed? Would YOU? Bills D-line vs Pats O-line - The Bills d-line, led by Harrison Phillips and Ed Oliver, has really ratcheted up their effectiveness the past few weeks. They've been stopping the run, holding their ground, beating double teams, bending the edge, and pressuring and sacking the quarterback. That said, no one would mistake the Pats' excellent offensive line for the lackluster groups of the Falcons and Jets. The ability of the Bills to pressure Mac Jones and force him into rookie mistakes will be paramount to the success of the Buffalo defense. Can anyone return kicks and punts? Bueller? Bueller? This has all the makings of a game where, if the Bills don't shoot themselves in the foot with stupid mistakes, they should win. Not committing penalties, executing their assignments soundly and tackling well, and most importantly: HOLDING ON TO THE FOOTBALL. The Bills return game has been a revolving door of terrifying fumble-itis lately. I think we're all to the point where we hold our breath any time McKenzie or Stevenson field a kick. It is my hope that Hyde is used as the punt returner and that the Bills don't have to field many kickoffs. Belichick, though, will likely instruct his kickers to kick the ball off short of the end zone, thus FORCING the Bills to return it. I don't care if they don't have big return yardage -- all I care about in those instances is that they hold on to the football. Ultimately, just like last time these two teams played, the team that wins the line of scrimmage most often on both sides of the ball and takes care of the football will win. I'm less worried about the Pats beating the Bills than the Bills beating themselves. Play a clean game, play physical in the trenches, don't turn the ball over, and the Bills win.

Yep. Another was the one where he passed low and inside to Gabe Davis up the right sideline, but Davis was looking high and outside. I think there may have been one to Beasley, too, but I can't recall the specific down/distance/time of game on that one.

"Like a giant buffalo. Or some sort of monster, like something with the body of a walrus with the head of a sea lion. Or something with the body of an egret with the head of a meerkat. Or just the head of a monkey with the antlers of a reindeer.....with the body of a porcupine" - Michael Scott

I suppose this thread is meant as some light-hearted humor, but...it seems a bit heavy handed and tasteless to me. If it was "who do you want to always be given over-cooked steak" or "who do you want to always lose their TV remote" or "who do you want to step on a Lego every Tuesday" then I could get behind it. Talking about who we wish death upon, even in a joking fashion, seems...not great.

Hearing the national coverage of this game has me feeling like I'm taking crazy pills! So many one-sided arguments, contradictions, or flat out ignoring of facts and stats. 1. I keep hearing that the Bills are "too one-dimensional". Stop Allen and you stop the Bills. First of all, the Patriots are just as one-dimensional. Stop their run game and you stop their offense. Second, why do we only hear the "too one-dimensional" argument about the Bills, but not about other great passing offenses? Why doesn't anyone ever point out that the Chiefs and Ravens are too dependent upon Mahomes and Jackson? Not only that, but the whole "shut down the QB and you stop the offense" argument leaves out one important fact: It's REALLY DIFFICULT to stop the QB. That's what makes him a great QB! If it were so easy, a lot more teams would do it! 2. I keep hearing that the Patriots can run and stop the run better than the Bills. Since week 11, the Patriots have the third WORST run defense in the NFL, while the Bills have the 4th BEST rushing offense. What's that you say? A lot of the Bills' rushing success is due to Allen scrambling? Oh, well in that case, take those yards off the board. They don't count. Call Kyler Murray and Lamar Jackson and tell them none of their rushing yards count, either. Rushing yards are rushing yards, and the Bills are CURRENTLY statistically a top five rushing team and the Patriots are CURRENTLY statistically a bottom five rush defense. Those are the facts. 3. I don't seem to hear a damned thing from the media about how good the Bills defense is. The tenor of the discussion always tends to be "how will Allen and the Bills offense handle the elite Patriots defense?". Well, this just in: the Bills have the number one defense in yards allowed AND points allowed. They're the best defense in the league. Yet I never seem to hear "how will Mac Jones fare against the best pass defense in the league?". I normally roll my eyes at complaints about national media coverage, but it's hard to watch this stuff and not get at least a little irritated after a while. The slurping of the Patriots and lack of respect for or mention of the Bills' strengths gets really old after a while. Watching it, you'd think the Pats were the division champs, we were the wild card team, and the Pats are heavily favored. Crazy.

Poyer is elite. Not just "he plays for my favorite team so I have Homer Glasses on when I watch him" elite, but ELITE elite. His is the most egregious Pro Bowl snub I can ever remember. He should be AT LEAST 2nd team All-Pro, but frankly I'd say he should be 1st team. He plays incredibly well down in the box, making TFLs and hitting hard and cleanly. He also plays very well in both man and zone coverage. His mere presence -- with he and Hyde's pre and post snap shifts and movements -- tremendously impacts the defense for the better. He is having an All-World season, and I'm so glad he's a Buffalo Bill.

Yeah, I noticed that. He and Belichick are just...themselves. It's like the illustrator ran out of creative juice.

But it's definitely not gonna happen, as confirmed by multiple sources, so why waste your breath? It would be like me talking all the time about how Scarlett Johannson needs to take my phone calls. I mean, she DOES, but it ain't gonna happen, so lets move on.

Saw this graphic posted by CBS today and thought it was pretty funny. Josh and Brady are the best.

If a minority coach is hired away to become a head coach elsewhere, the team from which he is hired gets the picks.

I don’t want to lose him, BUT… Two 3rd round comp picks will soften the blow.

I sincerely thank Beasley for all he's done as a member of the Bills. That said, I'm beyond ready to see the Bills move on from him. The headache he seems to present outweighs the production he brings. After this season, I truly hope the Bills move on.

They sure are super irritated about a Bills fan starting the pre-game thread. Seems like much ado about nothing, but what do I know?

Eh...those drops are at least somewhat on the QB, IMO. He can't throw Howitzer-Bazooka piss missiles at 150 MPH when receivers' hands are little frozen blocks of ice. He has to learn to take a little power out of those throws and use some touch. Situational/weather awareness.

First: I like our coaching staff a lot. They certainly should not be fired. That's silly. They're one of the better coaching staffs in the league. Second: It's okay to acknowledge the above while still critiquing personnel decisions, playcalls, strategies, and other decisions. Coaches are not infallible. Even the great Bill Belichick is not exempt from criticism. Third: It's great that the Bills are AFC East champions and are hosting a playoff game. I'm excited. It's exciting. That said, the Bills SHOULD be the first or second seed. Instead of looking down the barrel of a matchup with the Pats at home and then a roadie at Arrowhead, they should be getting a week off and then hosting the Bengals or Raiders. The reasons they're NOT the first or second seed are open for debate, but coaching and player execution (which is not unrelated to coaching anyway) are at least partly to blame. Fourth: I have the right, as a fan, to simultaneously be proud of our team and to like our staff and players, and to ALSO feel that we have wasted some precious opportunities this season and have made the playoff path much harder than it needed to be, and that those letdowns have sometimes been due to coaching and, at other times, due to poor play. There's room here for optimism, pessimism, realism, and criticism. You are not czar of Two Bills Drive.

Yeah. I can't disagree. Had our defense not been so elite, and had they not been going against such an inept opponent, it's highly likely that the game wouldn't have gone in the Bills' favor. They were just too ineffective for far too long on offense. The long stretches of bad offense this season have been absolutely confusing and infuriating. Our offensive line has finally come together, our receivers are mostly healthy, even our run game has improved. And yet....for long stretches, we're the Keystone Cops. I don't know where to point the finger, but I can't pretend that Allen is totally exempt from blame.

Sounds to me more like Flores wasn't willing to continue to defer to Chris Grier. Possibly wanted more say over his roster -- particularly at the QB position? Synergy between GM and HC is important. I don't get the sense that Flores wasn't a good relationship builder with his players -- certainly winning 8 of his last 9 this season indicates the team hadn't quit on him. It feels more like he didn't have a good relationship with the front office and/or ownership specifically. I suppose it's all conjecture, though.

Anyone who is still spouting the "defense isn't as good as its stats indicate" line is just flat out wrong at this point. You can say that in week 4 or week 7 or whatever, but after a SEVENTEEN GAME sample size...there's no denying it any more. Number 1 in points AND yards allowed is elite. Period. Best defense in the league.

Fair point. I gathered from highlights and from a Pats beat reporter that the pass rush was pretty non-existent against Miami, too. Granted, Tua gets the ball out really quick in the RPO game, but still... This is the matchup of the game to me. If Allen has all day, as he did the last time the Bills faced the Pats, the Bills win easily. If Bill figures out a way to consistently get into Allen's face....it's gonna be a long day for Buffalo.

On the one hand, I think Allen will always be a guy who has weird weeks where his number stink but the Bills win. He's truly one of those "do whatever it takes" guys, and sometimes what it takes is gonna look like two INTs but a bunch of clutch runs, and ultimately a Bills victory. On the other hand, it's hard to deny that for long stretches of the past two weeks, the Bills offense has gone dormant. During those stretches, Allen has been inaccurate and out of rhythm. What's concerning is that this happened against bad defenses the past two weeks. Spare me the "bad weather" nonsense. Yesterday, there were far too many 3-and-outs, considering the Bills were going up against the 32nd ranked defense in the NFL. Bad weather or not, there's no excuse for that. They don't score on every drive? Fine. But at least put some drives together. I found yesterday and the week before concerning for the offense. Honestly, the offense has been Jekyll and Hyde for MUCH of this season. When it's on, it's really on, and you can see that it has the potential to be unstoppable -- the best offense in the league. But then other times, they can't BUY a first down or cash in a red zone trip. It's maddening and confusing, and they'd better hope that the Good Offense shows up next week against Belichick's defense.

That's exactly it. I agree that if they play to their potential, they win. The problem is that on many occasions this season -- including just yesterday and the Sunday before -- they HAVEN'T played to their potential, especially at home. I'm not saying the Bills are definitely going to lose to the Pats. I'm just saying that the Pats winning is a reasonable possibility, because Belichick is the greatest coach of all time, the Pats defense is still elite, and this will be the third time we've faced them this season. Give Belichick three cracks at a given team in a single season, and it's reasonably likely he'll outcoach his opposition 2 out of 3 times. There's a reason the oddsmakers are only giving the Bills essentially one point in the spread (they get three automatically for being the home team). It's going to be a close game.

I mean... Like I said, the Bills offense has been a bit rotten in Orchard Park for large stretches of the past few weeks. We're looking at a sub 20 degree game with a 50% chance of snow showers. We're going against a top 3 scoring defense. I wish I shared your optimism that things will definitely play out the way they did in Foxborough, but I don't.