Logic

I really don't see how he was trolling? He gave his breakdown of the game, which is obviously slanted towards the Ravens since he's a Ravens fan. Lord knows his post was a more meaningful contribution to the discussion than 70% of what Bills fans post here on a regular basis.

I don't think McDermott wants Watkins anywhere near the Bills. I think that McDermott got one whiff of Watkins and his "I'm a four dimensional lizard god and we're all a homogenous field of vibrating energy" schtick and said "Nooooope" and promptly traded him away. As just a player? Sure. But I don't think his personality/mindset fits what Buffalo's got going on right now.

Great first post. Welcome to the forums. If the Bills somehow, some way manage to beat the Ravens, I hope you still stick around. ?

Baltimore - 20 Buffalo - 16

Just wanted to thank everyone for the kind words and give this thing one shameless bump before it dies. Go Bills!

I like Hooper, but I think Knox/Kroft/Sweeney will be the tight end depth chart for the next few years. Don't count out Jason Croom, who is on IR but who will fight for a roster spot as a flex tight end this coming offseason.

As a fan living on the west coast, this is just fine with me. 5:20 start time? I'm there. Now if only the Bills are able to have as successful an outing against the Steelers as they had against the Cowboys...

Great observation. When it was announced that the Bills - Steelers game was flexed to prime time, I was initially irritated -- The Bills usually do poorly in prime time games. Then I remembered that we have Josh Allen, and that, as you say, he seems to thrive in these situations. Let's hope that continues against the Steelers on Sunday night and the Patriots the following Saturday.

I took a few more days luxuriating in the glow of victory than I normally do, but I got around to it. Thanks for reading!

On offense: Play fast and fearless. Keep up with the up tempo and no huddle. Don't abandon the run. On defense: Pray.

Note: I post this column each week on BillsMafia.com, where it is formatted more neatly and has pictures and such. I'm not sure if it's against forum rules to say that. I'm not trying to plug anything, that's why I post the articles here in their complete form. Just trying to offer a reading alternative that may be easier on the eyes. After a Thanksgiving day win more satisfying than any turkey feast, Bills fans have much to be thankful for as November turns to December. You’ll have to forgive me for continuing to use the “what are you thankful for?” gimmick (gratitude never goes out of style, after all), but here are just a few things that I’m thankful for in this memorable Bills season. 1.) Bills exorcise some demons in front of 32 million people. What else could lead off the list of things that I and other Bills fans should be thankful for? As we all know by now, on Thursday, the Bills rolled into Arlington, Texas for the latest stop on their “NFC East Super Bowl Revenge Tour”. Giants? check. Redskins? check. Cowboys? Most emphatically, check. In the most exciting turkey day game of the NFL’s 100th season, the Bills flipped the “usual heartbreak” script — silencing doubters, quieting pre-show pundits, and giving Bills Mafia a deeply satisfying Thanksgiving gift. Leading up to the game, just about every Bills player said there was nothing special or different about this game. To them, it was just win number nine that they needed to achieve, and nothing else. One needed only to listening to the chirps of Jerry Hughes and Jon Feliciano as they left the field as victors, though, or to watch former Cowboy Cole Beasley be hoisted into the air and passed around the riotous locker room after the game, to see that this was NOT “just another game” for the Buffalo Bills. This was, as one analyst put it, the perfect marriage of a grand stage, a huge audience, and a team that absolutely no one picked to win and in whom nobody outside of western New York had any faith. The results? Much needed tonic to soothe the souls of Bills fans tired of arguing that their team is anything but “the worst 8-3 team in NFL history”. The script couldn’t have been written better by any Hollywood professional: Josh Allen coming of age in front of America and showing everyone his giant heart with a mammoth 1st down pile-pushing Incredible Hulk maneuver; Ed Oliver awakening from his rookie slumber with not one, but two sacks in pivotal moments — one of which took the ball out of the hands of Dark Prescott; the defense dominating; John Brown throwing an arcing touchdown pass to Devin Singletary; former Cowboy Cole Beasley’s revenge game — in which he snagged 6 catches for over 100 yards and a score and got the hero’s treatment in the post-game locker room. This game had everything. Any Bills win is exciting for Bills Mafia. But THIS win? In front of the largest Thanksgiving day football audience in 27 years, and against the hated Cowboys, in Jerry World? THIS win, causing Jerry Jones to sink his face into his hands in despair, and then to get up and walk out of the owner’s box while the game was still in progress? THIS win, which showed the football-watching world the mettle and toughness and resolve of Sean McDermott’s Bills and proved that maybe they’re more than just Paper Tigers after all? This had to be the most exciting and satisfying Bills win of the past 20 years. Waking up Friday morning, I had to pinch myself. Did that all really happen the way I remembered it? Yes, yes it did. A Thanksgiving miracle. 2.) Brandon Beane’s bounty a boon to building Bills. To say we are all thankful for the Bills’ big win should come as no surprise. What allowed the Bills to dominate the Cowboys so thoroughly? It is impossible to discern the answer without taking a look at the job Brandon Beane has done in building this roster. The game’s leading receiver was Cole Beasley, a shrewd free agency acquisition if ever there was one. The quarterback piloting the offense, of course, was the young gunslinger that Beane and crew traded all around the board to acquire and on whom the front office has pinned their hopes of building a champion, Josh Allen. And who gave Josh Allen ample time to find his open receivers? An offensive line composed of two McBeane draft picks at tackle and an interior three of free agent acquisitions. And how about the defense? Recent young draftees Edmunds, Milano, Oliver, and White leading the way while free agency and waiver wire additions like Kevin Johnson, Jordan Phillips, and Trent Murphy also made big contributions. Whether it be offense or defense, Brandon Beane and his staff have built this roster with purpose. They have tuned out the outside noise, stuck to their plan, and in just under three seasons, they have built what looks to be an exciting young core that should compete for titles for years to come. They have cleaned up the salary cap, accumulated talented players at all levels of the roster, and still have 18 draft picks over the next two seasons and $90 million to spend this coming offseason. Beane’s front office has done a masterful job building these Bills, and we should all be thankful. 3.) Sean McDermott sets example of hard work, attention to detail, and resilience. Brandon Beane may have done a heck of a job buying the groceries, but the ingredients have all been expertly combined by a masterful “chef” by the name of Sean McDermott. Put simply, a football team is a reflection of its head coach. He sets the example and the players follow it, for better or for worse. We’ve seen the “for worse” play out in Orchard Park: It looks something like Rex Ryan’s Bills trotting out only 10 players on a game’s most pivotal defensive play. Now we’re seeing the “for better” with the current Bills head coach. McDermott is smart, meticulous, strong willed, resilient, even-keeled, consistent, tough, and incredibly hard working. Wouldn’t you know it? So is his team. Witness Josh Allen bullying his way through an entire offensive line for a game-changing 1st down conversion. Behold the sight of young Ed Oliver staying mentally strong despite a recent trip to the bench, working at his craft, and seeing that hard work pay off in the form of two sacks. The real hallmark of this Bills team? They love each other. Love is not a word we hear often in football. Since his first day at One Bills Drive, though, coach McDermott has been adamant that he was going to build a team for whom love for one another was a key component. I heard multiple players after the game mention, in way or another, that it was their love for their teammates that allowed them to fight so hard, to never give up. I heard Cole Beasley in his “Mic’d Up” video tell his teammates on the sideline, during the game, “I love y’all boys”. The players are tough, sure, and resilient, and strong willed, and all the things I mentioned above — but it is their love for each other and their not wanting to let each other down that counts most when the going gets tough. It may be a foreign concept to football fans, but the love this team has for each other is real, it’s important, and I’m thankful that it’s a key component of McDermott’s team-building strategy. 4.) Josh Allen has his best day on his biggest stage. Beane supplied the roster ingredients and McDermott combined them into a potent concoction, but one thing was still needed: a straw to stir the drink. An on-field example to whom everyone could look. A field general. A leader of men. Enter Josh Allen. All of Bills Mafia is well aware at this point of all the negativity, insults, and defamatory comments that have been slung the way of #17. From the day he entered the draft, he has been derided, demeaned, and laughed at. On Thanksgiving day, though, in front of 32 million people, Josh Allen got the last laugh. With a 79% completion percentage and a 120.9 quarterback rating, Josh Allen had his best day as a pro against the Dallas Cowboys. He ran well, he threw well, and he got the team in and out of plays efficiently and effectively. He piloted a near flawless no-huddle attack, setting protections and calling audibles. He scored twice and did not turn the ball over. And most impressively, on a crucial 4th down play, he found a way to convert using sheer strength of will, stubbornness, and grown man strength. Strangely but not surprisingly, it may have been his signature play as a pro. It showed the nation that despite his giant frame and giant arm, Josh Allen’s most impressive and important attribute is his giant heart. I am thankful that such a man leads the Buffalo Bills, and I believe he will do so for the next decade and beyond. 5.) Defense thoroughly stifles league’s #1 offense. What would a list of “things to be thankful for” be without mentioning the calling card of the 2019 Bills: the dominant defense? Whether it was the getting-better-every-week Ed Oliver arriving on the scene with two sacks, Matt Milano and Tremaine Edmunds completely eliminating the middle of the field in the passing game, Tre’Davious White blanketing receivers on every down, or Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer patrolling deep center field — The Bills defense had another in a long line of memorable games. This time, it came in the form of just about completely shutting down the league’s number one offense, led by a potent combination of Dak Prescott, Zeke Elliott, and Amari Cooper. They limited the run, they flustered the quarterback, they collected turnovers. The Cowboys offense moved the ball, sure, but it didn’t put points on the board. This is nothing new to Bills fans, of course. Buffalo’s defense may bend, but it rarely breaks. The Bills defensive players are young, they are fast, they are smart, they are disciplined, and they are extremely talented. While Josh Allen and his offense have been coming alive of late, it is the defense that sets the tone for this team, and it is the defense that should make them a legitimate contender for years to come. 6.) The reason any of this is possible? The Pegulas. The reason we can sit here today and discuss the Bills’ big win, the brilliant front office, the impressive head coach, the exciting young quarterback and defense? Terry and Kim Pegula. It seems like a lifetime ago that Ralph Wilson passed away and the Buffalo Bills were up for sale. It’s easy to forget now, basking in the recent success and security of our favorite team, that our team was in danger of being taken away for good. It’s easy to forget that the Jon Bon Jovis and Donald Trumps and Rogers Investment Groups all loomed large, each with a plan to extract and transport the heart of the Buffalo to sunnier and more financially lucrative environs. So when you’re watching Josh Allen highlights or re-living the Bills-Cowboys game or piling the family into the car to head to New Era Field for a Sunday kickoff, take a moment to remember one thing: the Pegulas saved our team. I don’t need to go on at length about what the Bills mean to the city of Buffalo and mean to all of us fans, so I’ll just say this: imagine a world where the Buffalo Bills are, say, the Toronto Somethings. Or the Los Angeles Whatsits. Where greed had won out instead of the steadying hands of the Pegulas. Where The Buffalo Bills are nothing more than a memory. To my eternal and limitless gratitude, we do not have to face such a reality. Instead, we get to face a reality where our favorite team is secure in western New York. Where the Bills have world class training facilities, a cohesive and bright front office, a brilliant coaching staff, and an exciting, young, and talented team. Thank you, Terry and Kim Pegula. Thank you a million times. The Extra Point So — that game on Thanksgiving day. That certainly was fun, wasn’t it? The offensive fireworks, the defensive dominance, the Josh Allen coming-out party, the Jerry tears…what a day! I don’t remember a time in the past two decades that a win was that satisfying, that enjoyable to witness. I also don’t remember the Bills going into any kind of statement game, any kind of prime time spectacle, any kind of big match-up with a big, national audience, and dominating so thoroughly and winning the game. For too long, the Bills saved their WORST performances for these types of games. On too many occasions, as the eyes of the football watching world turned toward the Bills on a Sunday night, a Monday night, or a Thursday night, the team folded like a cheap tailgate table, crushed under the pressure of the national spotlight. Not on Thursday. Instead, the Bills had arguably their best and most complete game of the season. Impressively, they had just HAD their best and most complete game of the season the PREVIOUS week against Denver. They topped that performance this week against Dallas. What does that mean? It means the Bills are getting better, week by week. It means the offense is coming alive at just the right time, finally ready to complement the strong efforts of the dominant defense. It means the burgeoning young franchise quarterback is coming of age and appears ready to lead his team into the future. It means things are changing in Orchard Park. As November turns to December and the Bills embark on an exciting and challenging slate of regular season games and then, if we’re lucky, postseason games — remember to take a moment to be thankful. Be thankful that they beat the Cowboys on national TV in a giant game for the franchise and the fans. Be thankful that Brandon Beane has done a masterful job building this team, and that McDermott is doing a masterful job coaching it. Be thankful that the Bills have a captivating field general with a giant heart and a disciplined and dominant defense. Be thankful to be part of the best fan base in sports. And most of all, be thankful to the Pegulas, for without them, none of this would be possible It’s going to be an exciting December, Bills fans. You deserve it. Just remember to be thankful.

Ya know what's funny? I think a lot of the Cowboys fans feel like WE'RE a dangerous match-up for THEM! No, really! They have struggled to stop the run at times, and they're going to be without their starting defensive tackle and without Leighton Vander Esch. They've also struggled to contain mobile quarterbacks. As such, the suddenly potent Buffalo run game and the legs of Josh Allen have some of them worried. Guess we'll see who was right to worry soon enough.

I'm fine with the all-blues. They're fourth out of the current six choices on my list, which, unsolicited, looks like this: 1. All-White throwback 2. All-White away 3. Blue top, white pants 4. All-Blue 5. White top, blue pants 6. All-Red The throwback jersey with the blue top and white pants is awesome and would rank near or at the top of my list, but it's not in the current repertoire of Bills jerseys.

I hear ya. I like Ford. I had no problem with Joe B's article or comments. I think what he said was completely accurate and fair. Basically, he said that Ford certainly did pretty well, but the "he completely shut down Miller, he was a beast!" proclamations were a bit over the top. That, to me, seems like a factually correct assessment in light of the All-22 Review.

The creator, though, used that hiatus to make a Breaking Bad movie. So there's that.

Not only that: The Bills still get to play the Steelers and thus, to earn the tiebreaker against them. The Bills have already lost to the Browns, so in a scenario where they both finish 10-6, the Browns would get in over the Bills.

I'm just here to say that this wave of "no one is allowed to say anything even REMOTELY negative about the Bills!" stuff is beyond lame. People are being overly sensitive to a comical degree. I agree that over-the-top pessimism or negativity about the Bills is obnoxious. But folks...Joe B's article? IT AIN'T THAT! I'm not sure when it became unacceptable to offer reasonable, review-based critiques of Bills players and their performance in games. Do people really ONLY want to read head-over-hells boot-licking of the Bills? People saying Joe B is just like Jerry Sullivan now? REALLY?! I'm as optimistic a Bills fan as you'll find anywhere. My Bills-colored glasses are always on. Even I, though, find the over-sensitivity to any type of critique whatsoever to be absolutely ridiculous.

First time the Bills will have ever worn white facemasks with the blue-on-blue look. Usually it's grey. Looks like a nice change.

Green = easy. Red = difficult. Yowza.

As much as I hated watching the Pats and Browns game, they both appear to have been crucial to his development as a quarterback. It was after the Browns game that he started figuring out how to beat Cover Zero pressures and that the offense finally got a kick in the ass and upped their points output a bit.

It's so weird to me that "rich, young quarterback drinks and has sex after a game" is even a news story. Like...if you're not going to down a few Puppers, take down some snipes and crush some big city slams, why even become a quarterback?

On the Ravens scoring 50? No. That would be a silly bet. On the Ravens winning and covering whatever spread Vegas comes up with? Sure.

Does he have practice squad eligibility? I don't see him contributing at all this season, but as a a player to stash and bring to camp next year? Why not?

After last night's drubbing of the Rams, the Ravens game is the one I have the LEAST confidence in going forward. Weirdly, I actually feel that the Bills have better chances to win at Dallas and at New England than I do against the Ravens at home. And yes, it would be nice to see the Ravens get home field advantage in the playoffs. Anything that helps prevent Belichick's Pats going to a fourth straight Super Bowl. I'd like to think he'll have to get through the Chiefs and Ravens, but with the Pats luck, he'll just have to get through like the Texans and Colts. ?

I hear ya. For me, it's just the recognition that the one major way to beat the Bills defense is to run it straight at them, between the tackles. That just so happens to be what the Ravens do extremely well. The Bills can potentially shut the inside run down, but it will take a wholesale committing of the defense to that specific purpose, which will allow Lamar to run wild. Over all, a Greg Roman offense vs a Leslie Frazier/Sean McDermott defense just doesn't seem like a good matchup to me. Only if the Bills either pull out something really exotic and shock the Ravens or are able to match them score-for-score do I see the game being close or interesting. I would say inclement weather could be a factor, but if anything, that would just help the Ravens and their power rushing attack even more.