Logic

One thing I'm curious about: Where the hell did the Pats pass rush go? It was pretty non-existent against the Bills in the most recent meeting, but I wrote it off to Belichick asking the d-line to play contain against Allen instead of getting up field. But then the pass rush continued to be non-existent against the Phins, and now I don't know what to think. Add to this the fact that Barmore likely will not play, and this becomes the matchup of the game to me. If Belichick can manufacture a good pass rush and make Allen uncomfortable, the Pats win. If he can't, and it's more of what we've seen the past few weeks, Bills win handily.

Count me among those that wanted to play the Chargers rather than the Pats. The Chargers would have been coming off a five quarter game that went late into sunday night, and would have to fly east to play in cold weather. They have a statistically weak defense, specifically against the run. The Pats, meanwhile...even though we have shown that we can beat them handily when things are clicking...well....things haven't been clicking the past few weeks in Orchard Park. Anyone who actively WANTS to face Bill Belichick for a third time in the same season must have sat out the past two decades and/or missed the way Allen and the offense have been performing for large stretches of the past few home games. Aside from the strategic advantage of facing the Chargers instead of the Pats, I felt like Herbert vs Allen would have been a really FUN matchup. Nothing about facing the Pats with the season on the line is FUN to me. Not in the least. The playoffs are all about what path you have to take to reach the Super Bowl. The Bills will likely start out with the Pats and, if they win, the Chiefs at Arrowhead. That's a rough way to start the playoffs. The Chiefs, meanwhile, start out with a Charmin soft Steelers team at home. Ugh. Oh well. Here's to me being totally wrong and the Bills wiping the floor with the Pats*.

On the one hand, Flores just coached his team to wins in 8 out of the last 9 games, and one wonders if firing a guy after that will alienate a lot of the locker room. Head coaching changes also tend to set roster construction back, as the new coach will often want "his guys" and there will be a bunch of roster turnover to fit new offensive and defensive systems. I DO wonder what the Flores Dolphins would have looked like with a legit QB under center. I sense they could be a perpetual 11 win team with capable quarterback. On the other hand, Flores seemed to me like a guy that was always gonna be just good enough to reach 9-8 every year. Good enough to MAYBE sneak into the playoffs, but that was his ceiling. I sort of don't blame the Phins for wanting to get off of that rollercoaster. Stephen Ross is a "flash over substance" guy. I'm guessing they go hard after some big name head coach, and sell the farm to bring in Deshaun Watson.

Yeah I noticed he was out there a bunch yesterday. He's basically our Lee Smith now. Granted, he presents zero threat to run a pattern or catch a pass, but he's a capable extra blocker. It's kind of funny to me, actually. After the Bills struggled with run blocking and pass protection all season, Daboll was finally just like "***** it, we're bringing in an extra tackle." It also helps explain us only having one true tight end active the past few weeks. If, heaven forbid, Knox ever goes down with injury mid-game....yikes. It's Gilliam city.

Listen up everybody.... I think the OP just forgot to type a few words in his original thread title. What he MEANT to say was: "McDermott era should end with a Lombardi trophy or two"

It's crazy that after 17 games and what seemed like a real marathon of a season, the Bills will now have to win four games in a row to claim the Lombardi trophy. Nuts.

Apparently, the 53 yards by the Jets today is the lowest offensive total for them in franchise history. The Jets have been around for 61 years. They have played 948 regular season games. Sometimes, in the heat of the moment, cool historic moments like this get lost. Between the Bills winning back to back Division titles for only the third time ever (and 1st time in 30 years), and the defense's performance....this was a historic day for Buffalo Bills football.

You'd have lost that bet, though...

A few thoughts: - Just win, baby. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know...it was ugly for long stretches. Yet again, an "off day" for the Bills still meant over 400yards of offense, 27 points, and a 17 point win. - Don't take today lightly. Only the third time EVER the Bills have won back to back division titles. - The Bills held the Jets to 52 TOTAL yards on offense. I don't care if they're the Jets, that's really, really impressive. - Would the Bills dare activate practice squad punter Jamie Gillan for the playoffs? Probably not, but......ya know.... Bottom line: Division champs, three seed, playoff home game with a full house incoming. And... One QB sneak slip away from the one-seed. Game of inches. Oh well. No use crying over spilt milk. Tonight....we drink!

I'm not sure you'll need condicidence anyway.

So, uh.. What happens if the Steelers and Ravens tie?

A slate of crappy games featuring backups in week 18 because teams want to give their guys a rest after a too-long season. Who could have foreseen it? Coming soon: Two straight weeks of crappy games and backups to end the regular season, basically turning it into a pre-season quality collection of crap. Thanks, NFL!

Absolutely. For them to have as many wins as they do, with that roster....speaks pretty damn well to Culley's ability as a head coach. They're gonna fire him because....WHY, exactly?

Man...most of the early window games SUCK. I know they all have implications on the Bills' playoff seeding, but still: Woof. Backup QBs and playoff-eliminated teams galore.

I'm sure this has been said already, but... A plus run defender, able to pressure the passer in spurts (his 2019 total of 6.5 sacks would lead the Bills right now), knows the scheme so he could hit the ground running, and most importantly: Brings a juice, a swagger, a looseness, an element of fun and levity that is a real boost to the Bills locker room. Personally, I'm interested in bringing him back not just for the playoff run, but for the future, as well. Hughes and/or Addison might be gone after this season. If so, he'd be good depth, veteran leadership on the d-line, and as previously mentioned, a great fit in the locker room. Get him.

A tale of two teams: One, playing out the string on their 11th straight non-playoff season. Pinning their hopes on a so-far-not-too-impressive rookie quarterback that they had to settle for after messing up the chance to select Trevor Lawrence, who they only needed to pick in the first place because they ruined their PREVIOUS savior 1st round QB via epic mismanagement (with an assist to mono). Ownership that many fans despise, a GM approaching the hot seat, and a head coach that hasn't exactly given the fans many reasons for optimism. The other, having clinched their fourth playoff berth in the past five seasons and looking to clinch their second straight division title, riding the rocket arm and dangerous legs of their once-in-a-generation franchise quarterback and their consistently excellent defense. Deep pocketed owners, an excellent front office led by last year's AP Executive of the year, a tremendous coaching staff, and a winning culture give this team an exceptionally bright present and future. I sure am glad that my team is the one described in the second paragraph, and that the team described in the first paragraph plays in our division. GO BILLS!!!

You left out the most important comp picks of all: If Leslie Frazier gets hired away to be a head coach somewhere, the Bills will receive compensatory 3rd round draft picks in 2022 and 2023 drafts. Not bad.

Touché. In all seriousness, would you prefer that I delete it and make a separate thread? I don’t want to clutter up the game day thread.

I thought about giving this it’s own thread, but I didn’t want to start another 29 page Tremaine argument. This is high praise from Saleh, though:

Nope, I remember it vividly. Its just that : 1) The Bills are playing much better now than they were then 2) I believe the Bills would be fired up for revenge against a team that bullied them earlier in the year 3) Intentionally losing the division crown and a home playoff game to the Patriots in order to avoid ANY team, let alone a Carson Wentz QB’d Wild Card team, is loser mentality, cowardly sissy foolishness 4) The most likely outcome if we go in as the 7th seed is a trip to KC in the opening round. If you think we have a better chance of beating the Chiefs at Arrowhead than the Colts at home, I think you’re nuts In conclusion: don’t be a coward. Win the division for a second straight season (only the third time we’ll have EVER done that) and let the chips fall where they may. Fear no one.

Ridiculous.

Joe Burrow not playing Sunday. Bengals likely resting other starters as well. Three seed looking increasingly likely.

I was just over at the JetsNation forums trying to find a Bills vs Jets thread, but....there doesn't seem to be one. I think the Bucs game zapped the last bit of give-a-damn out of them, and they're fully focused on the draft now. Can't say I blame them. Thinking back on all those years of meaningless season finales, where I couldn't wait to have the game over with so I could officially wipe my hands of the season and start thinking about the draft and free agency. Now? Now playoffs are an every season occurrence, and we spend all our time worrying about seeding. My, how times have changed. But not for the Jets.

I think it's more likely we get the #3 seed. Mixon and a host of other Bengals are on the COVID list, and while I still think they'll beat the Browns, it at least seems reasonable to me that they could lose in an upset. If they lose and the Bills win, Bills are #3 seed. If that happens, I believe our most likely opponent in round 1 would be the Colts, not the Patriots. Pick your poison, I guess.

I'm proud to have McDermott as the leader of the Buffalo Bills. He seems like a legitimately good man. Humble, willing to learn and adapt, and very genuine. He's not a BS artist or a yell-in-your-face 50s gym teacher cliche. He leads by example both in how he approaches the game mentally and in how he takes care of himself physically. He's a player's coach, but also a guy that demands accountability and will yell when yelling is needed. He's not a pushover or someone to be taken advantage of. He's a leader of men and tireless fighter. The list of head coaches I'd rather have over McDermott is extremely short. I'm honestly not even sure there are any names on it.