Logic

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/12/09/josh-allen-passes-russell-wilson-in-mvp-odds/ Let Russ sink. The odds-on MVP favorite for much of the season, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson continues to slide in the betting odds for the league’s top individual award. Via PointsBet.com, Wilson has dropped from +700 last week to +2000 this week, putting him fourth on the list behind Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (-500, from -400 last week), Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (+460, from +600 last week), and Bills quarterback Josh Allen (+1500, from +3300 last week).

Just wanted to point out that I definitely believe Josh Allen is a franchise quarterback. Just look at my avatar. I made a post here after the Raiders game saying unequivocally that he is a franchise quarterback and that it should no longer be doubted. My wording in THIS post could've been better. I should have said "if he is have sustained success as the franchise QB in Buffalo, NY", but let the record show that I have no doubt that he is clearly the franchise. I DO think he plays better in warm weather and domes, but then, what NFL QB doesn't?

In looking at the graphic from which I pulled that stat, I see that it applies only to this season, which is clearly a small sample size.

I realize that more games are played in warm weather than cold weather. Nevertheless, this is something that Allen will need to fix going forward if he is to be the franchise QB in Buffalo, NY.

meh. Was hoping for all blue or blue-on-white. Oh well.

So far in Allen’s career, when the temperature at kickoff is 50 degrees or less, he averages just 144 passing yards per game. With a likely kickoff temperature around 40 degrees, I’m hoping Allen can overcome this trend.

I legitimately didn't realize it was the Thursday Night game. That's awesome! One worth watching (not always the case on TNF). Go Rams!

Fivethirtyeight.com has them with just a 14% chance of making the playoffs. They need to win out, for starters. I'm hoping the Rams just put them out of their misery this Sunday, but I have a feeling the Pats win that one.

I re-watched the game and came away even MORE impressed with Allen. Why? Because he was making off-schedule plays just as regularly and effectively as on-schedule plays. He ran the offense with command, poise, and precision, and on the few occasions where the 49ers called the exact right play and/or had him stopped dead to rights, he just rolled out and made something happen. He did this again and again and again. Must be very demoralizing for the defense. The smoothness/efficiency with which he ran the offense when things went right on a given play, combined with his effectiveness in improvising time and time again when things DIDN'T go right, made me feel that this was his best game of the season. The caliber of opponent and opposing defensive coordinator and the late season, primetime slot add to the impressiveness of his game. 32/40 for 375 and 4 TDs isn't just a good game. It's an absolutely AMAZING game, and it came against a good defense in a big spot. If you have the chance to re-watch the game, I suggest you do it. It's a real pleasure. Very, very optimistic about the present and future of Josh Allen after that game.

To me, the fact that the only three people listed as still talking smack about Allen this morning are all verified TROLLS -- that is, people whose "gimmick" is to say controversial stuff and get people riled up -- tells me all I need to know. When Skip Bayless, Steven A Smith, and Nick Wright -- actually, who am I kidding? No one knows or cares who Nick Wright is -- but those first two guys, when they're trash talking you after a big performance, it means you've made it. Don't forget, Skip Bayless is the dude who still trash talks LEBRON JAMES. Anyway...all NON-troll sports media outlets and personalities are pretty much universally praising Allen today. But the trolls? Well, trolls gonna troll.

Up until last night's fumble -- the first of his pro career -- Moss had arguably been the Bills best runner the past few weeks. He spent most of the rest of the game sitting in timeout. That's enough punishment. Players fumble. It happens. Moss will be back and hammering it up the middle in no time.

Good stuff. I thought the comments from all the 49ers players after the game were telling. They all said they knew what the Bills offense wanted to do and just couldn't stop it. That's "elite offense" type stuff. That's "K-Gun" type stuff. There are lots of things to talk about with the Bills right now. The defense rounding into form, Tre'Davious White being the most clutch defensive back in football, Daboll, McDermott...but for my money, the most interesting and important development of this season is this: Defenses are running out of ways to try to stop Josh Allen. He carves up man. He dices up zone. He beats the blitz. He sits back and picks apart soft, deep zones. Defensive coordinators keep coming up with new answers, and Allen keeps changing the questions. Last night was a great example. Saleh threw various well-disguised zone sets at Allen all night and he picked them apart. They finally said "ah, hell, let's go man", and Allen immediately through a TD to McKenzie. When they blitzed, he beat them. When they sat back, he beat them. Even if Allen has reached his ceiling, the Bills will be good for a long time -- but no part of me believes that he has reached his ceiling. Exciting for us, scary for the rest of the NFL.

I see a lot of nerves and “ill feelings” about this game in this thread. Let me just say...while I am ALWAYS nervous before Bills games, and even more so before prime time games....I think the Bills will take care of business tonight. McDermott’s Bills consistently beat bad QBs and losing teams. I can think of only one instance since 2019 of losing to a team with a losing record: the Browns. And I can’t really think of ANY instances of losing to a Nick Mullens level QB. I get the nerves, but....the Bills are gonna win this. They are.

Absolutely. Not only was the CALL inept, but the cornerback biting on the double move? Yikes. Just legendary ineptitude.

Riiiiiiight.

But just....why? Why would they do that? Gregg and Gase won't be there to take advantage of the high draft pick. What's the legitimate theory behind WHY they would do this? Guys like Williams and Gase have pride. Surely they don't want 0-16 on their resume. Besides, if losing is the goal, why stop the Raiders in the red zone on the previous drive? Why not let them score there?

Majestic. Barrel chested. The envies of all ornithologies.

This seems....like a really good sign.

I just saw this on SportsCenter, during an interview about Monday night's game. Like the title says, Allen is one of just two QBs in the league with an 80 or better QBR against both man and zone coverage. The other QB? One Patrick Mahomes. Say what you want about QBR as a metric, but it sure seems like Josh is solving the puzzles defensive coordinators are throwing at him as the season goes along.

This game feels like last year's Steelers game to me. That is: Both teams have good defenses, both teams have good coaching. The difference, then? Just like in last year's Steelers game, the Bills have the better quarterback. We have Josh Allen and they have Nick Mullens. Hopefully that difference is enough to enable the Bills to bring home the W.

Your opinion makes it sound as if the performance of the offense and defense are static, rather than constantly changing and evolving as the season progresses. Our defense was indeed "not good" for the first six weeks or so. It's been much better since then. The following Tweet sums it up. From bottom 3 in defensive DVOA to top 7. "Just facts".

The thing that I don't immediately see for Hodgins is opportunity. Diggs Brown Beasley Davis Roberts McKenzie Those six guys are locked in. The top five are indisputable. I doubt McKenzie's going anywhere, either, given his specific skillset, knowledge of each receiver spot, and emergency special teams utility. So with six receivers locked in, how does Hodgins get on the field? The soonest I see this changing is next season. If the Bills decide to cut John Brown and save some money (which I don't necessarily think they should do), then that would open up a spot for Hodgins to try to make the roster. Still, his best shot at doing so would likely be to carve out a meaningful special teams role for himself.

Looks like the Steelers MAY HAVE lost star pass rusher Bud Dupree (8 sacks, 2 forced fumbles this season) to a serious injury. Obviously we won't know until at least tomorrow what the prognosis is, but it was non-contact and didn't look good, and he went immediately to the locker room.