Logic

I don't think that's safe to say at all. Josh said just today that Cole is antsy to get back and will do everything in his power to get back as soon as possible, if not this week, then for the playoffs. It's a reasonable inference, but "safe to say"? Hardly.

Correct. Jersey numbers unequivocally have an affect on a player's performance. It's just how science works. Sometimes, players pick the wrong numbers and it ruins their career before it ever really gets started. Other times, they persevere through the poor decision and play well anyway (Tremaine Edmunds, I'm looking at you). Stills in 83 would probably do some damage. Stills in 87 would only disappoint us all.

The whole game was such a sight to behold. These days, I'm short on words to adequately describe how it feels to watch this Bills season unfold. No flukes, no "maybe we can sneak a win" hopes, just legitimately great football and legitimately dominant wins. To be honest, I wanted the Bills to keep running up the score, the way the Pats did to the Bills all those years. I wanted 50 points. I wanted a 5th touchdown throw from Allen. But McDermott? He's much too pragmatic, practical, and classy for all that. By the time it was 38-9, he knew that they had slain the Patriots dragon, and that bigger, more important goals lie ahead. One little thing I noticed at the end of the game was Belichick putting his arm around McDermott and patting him on the back and talking with him for a time. That wouldn't be too out-of-the-ordinary for most coaches, but it is for Belichick. He's usually just a "quick handshake and move on" kind of guy. I have a feeling he had some words of recognition and genuine respect for what McDermott has done with this team this year, and the past few years in general. Lastly, I'll just say that I could watch Belichick's post-game presser on a loop for the rest of the week. Sweet, sweet shaudenfreude.

I'd like to see a decisive victory tonight. The Bills won the first game against the Pats this year by almost flukey circumstances. I don't want there to be any doubt. I want the Bills to make it very clear tonight who the new kings of the East are.

I remember reading that his injury usually had a 4-6 week recovery timetable. If that's true, it seems they're just being extra cautious with him to ensure that he is fully healthy when he returns to the field. I bet they activate him next week to allow him to shake off some rust and get re-acclimated. Then, fingers crossed, he'll be healthy and ready to roll for the playoffs.

I'm old enough to remember when the Dolphins were a lot of analysts' trendy pick to win the AFC East this year, and Tua was the best QB in the division 🙄

Ravens fans must be so irritated that Waller got scooped from their practice squad.

I was someone who really, really didn't want the Dolphins to draft Tua. I was hoping they'd "mess it up" and draft Herbert. So far -- and its admittedly extremely early -- it looks like I was completely wrong. Herbert looks like a special player, and Tua looks like nothing more than a game manager. I'm not seeing anything Tua does that is "special". He doesn't have special mobility, arm strength, creativity...I mean, I GUESS you could say he has special accuracy, but...I don't know. He hasn't looked like a guy who elevates those around him so far. He looks more like a game manager who benefitted greatly from the all-world talent at 'Bama. There's lots of time for Tua to take big steps, but right now, I'm pretty glad that the Phins drafted him instead of Herbert.

Didn't see this posted anywhere else. How cool is this?! The players must really love this dude. Diggs already called him the best coach he's ever had. Guess the others must feel the same way!

This one seems really simple. Brown returns to the active roster, Kumerow returns to the practice squad. Bills likely gave him an assurance that as long as he clears waivers, he'll be added back to the practice squad. Numbers game. Nothing to see here.

As you all likely know by now, the Bills are currently tied for the all-time record of "Most different players catching a TD pass in one season" with 13. They need one more player to catch a TD pass to set the record. There are quite a few possible candidates. A big man TD against New England for the second consecutive year would be nice. So call it: who will be the record setting touchdown catcher?

I'm fairly certain you're speaking mostly tongue-in-cheek, as part of your Josh Allen Fanboy gimmick. If not, well....that's a ridiculous thing to say.

I mentioned that most betting odds websites don't show him as a particularly serious candidate. He is rarely discussed as being within the top 5 likeliest winners.

It's pretty delicious that there's about to be a Monday Night Football game against the New England Patriots....and it only matters to one of the two teams, and that team ISN'T the Patriots. For too many years, if a December Bills-Pats game was meaningless to the Patriots, it was because they'd already wrapped up the division. This time, the shoe is on the other foot. All that being said, I could never have imagined caring so little about a Monday Night Football game against the Patriots. Sure, it matters for seeding purposes, and it's a Bills game, so I'm still excited. But in previous years, this would've been our Super Bowl. We would all have been more excited for this game than any other game on the schedule. Instead, all that really matters is that we get out healthy, because for the first time in forever, we have much bigger fish to fry. And before anyone asks -- Yes, OF COURSE I want the Bills to crush the Pats on national TV. But still -- getting out healthy takes precedence.

Hearing NFL analysts discuss the topic of who should win Coach of the Year, and checking a few betting websites to see the odds....I can't help but wonder: Why isn't Sean McDermott more of a serious candidate for the award? Coach McDermott has overseen an 11-3 season and the first division championship in 25 years. He is beloved by his players for the culture he has instilled in the team. He has made the playoffs 3 out of his 4 seasons in Buffalo. I see names like Brian Flores, Ron Rivera, and Kevin Stefanski listed above McDermott in the odds. All I can ask is...why?! Is getting a winning season out of a previously bad team the prerequisite? How could Rivera (whose team has a losing record), Flores (whose team might not even make the playoffs), and Stefanski (whose team likely isn't going to win their division) all be seen as more legitimate contenders for this honor than McDermott, whose team is incredibly impressive, well-balanced, division-winning, and who absolutely owe a ton of their success specifically to his coaching? I just don't get it.

I've always liked Peter King, formerly author of the weekly Monday Morning Quarterback article for Sports Illustrated, and now writing Football Morning in America for NBC Sports. This week's column leads off with a big section about the Bills. I'll post a segment from it, but there's a whole lot more, and I suggest giving it a read. https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/12/21/buffalo-bills-afc-east-nfl-week-15-fmia-peter-king/ A couple weeks ago, after practice, the two longest-tenured Buffalo Bills sat in the locker room, suitably spaced out, discussing what seemed impossible. Long-snapper Reid Ferguson, on the Bills practice squad when Sean McDermott was named coach in January 2017, told defensive end Jerry Hughes, the only active player left on the roster from that day, that they were the only pre-McDermotts left. “Impossible!” Hughes said. “No way!” Way. Ferguson and Hughes started naming names. The relative old-timers—defensive tackle Kyle Williams, kicker Steven Hauschka, punter Colton Schmidt—all gone. They brought up player after player in the locker room, but none was there before 2017. Just two of the 79 active, practice-squad and IR players on the 2020 Bills were in this locker room four years earlier. Two! “We sat there 15 minutes,” Hughes told me Saturday night, “and thinking about it just blew my mind. We really are the Last of the Mohicans.” Another way to look at it: Buffalo is an expansion team with a star quarterback and some great personnel decisions made by GM Brandon Beane and McDermott. On Saturday in Denver, the Bills finally summited Mount Belichick, the mountain this franchise has been climbing through seven separate coaching administrations since New England and coach Bill Belichick began division dominance in 2001. The 48-19 obliteration of the outmanned Broncos in Denver on Saturday broke the Patriots’ stranglehold on the division (11 straight East titles, and 16 of the last 17) and gave the remade Bills their first AFC division title in a quarter-century. Think of it this way: The last time the Bills won the AFC East, in 1995, most of us didn’t use email.

He was scouting his AFC Championship game opponent.

Thanks for that link. That was awesome. I can't wait for that man to hoist the Lombardi Trophy for the city of Buffalo.

Only bummer about today is that the Statue of Liberty TD didn't count. D'oh!

It was actually 45 games. So the OP was close. Prior to last week, the Bills had gone 45 straight games without a defensive TD. It's true.

Man, if there is some kind of way that there can be fans at the playoff game at Bills Stadium -- any fans at all -- it would be so amazing. I always said I would find a way to be at the stadium for the first home playoff game in however many years, and I'm sad that that won't be able to happen for me. I do hope, though, that it can happen for a certain number of fans. I know that 20,000 Bills Mafia would be just as loud as 70,000 of most other teams' fans!

Between White, Diggs, and Williams, the one we could most afford to lose for any snaps -- if we HAD to lose any at all -- is/was Williams. It's great to hear that Diggs and White seem to be okay. Hopefully, Williams is too, but if not, Nsekhe is a good backup RT, and hopefully Williams can be back for the playoffs.

Masked, outdoor gathering? I’m all for it.