Logic

McCaffrey's great. So is Barkley. So are a handful of other guys. None of their teams are winning many games. If we take a look at the Patriots, Ravens, 49ers, Chiefs, Packers, Seahawks, Texans, i.e. the leading teams in the league....none of them have big contract, mega-star running backs. I just don't think that having an All World running back is going to win you many more games in the NFL in 2019 than having a pretty good one that you let walk after his rookie contract. Give me high quality defense, offensive line, coaching, and quarterback all day. But having an elite running back in 2019? A luxury.

The only thing that could make me even LESS confident than I already am in a Bills win at Pittsburgh is if the game is flexed to prime time. The Bills STINK in prime time. Full stop.

THERE HE IS! ?

The model is this: Build an All World o-line and then plug in whoever the hell you like at running back. Of the recent running back mega extensions, which teams that doled them out are currently happy they did so? Anyone?

Draft a couple of running backs in rounds 3-5. Ride them through their rookie contracts. Let them walk and draft two more. Rinse and repeat.

Now that's the same Josh Allen that you said on the Orange Mane message board that you're not a fan of and you find to be highly inaccurate, right? Just trying to keep The Troll Report straight.

No. I disagree that Williams should be active. The best the Bills offense has looked all season was last week, when they stuck with 21 personnel (3WR, 1HB, 1TE). The three receivers were Brown, Beasley, and McKenzie. Speed and shiftiness are the common elements. Williams has neither. As for special teams contributions: Williams hardly makes any. Foster is a starting gunner. Williams stays on the bench this week.

It's almost like he's a CFL caliber receiver who doesn't have NFL speed and can't separate.

I expect Josh Allen to have a bad outing vs the Broncos. Vic Fangio's defensive schemes have been cited by many as some of the toughest in the NFL to prepare for and for quarterbacks to diagnose. Defenses like this are the ones that have given Allen the most trouble so far in his career. Forget Denver's poor record -- just look at the defense. It's very good. I'm not saying I think the Bills will lose, I'm just saying it will be tough sledding for Buffalo's offense. I hope I'm as wrong as can be on this one.

I guess the "We could've had Watson or Mahomes!" takes weren't enough. Now we're doomed to "We could've had Lamar Jackson!" takes, too. Yippy.

In reading a preview of this game just now, it was notable that the Broncos defense struggles against hurry-up offenses. Given that fact, and given that the Bills offense moves the ball most effectively when in hurry-up mode, it seems obvious what the gameplan should be this Sunday.

I disagree. The Bills likely need 10 wins to make the playoffs, and with the Cowboys, Patriots, Ravens, and Steelers coming up, that won't be an easy task. As such, the Bills need every single win they can get, including yesterday's win, ESPECIALLY since it was an AFC opponent. As far as it being a confidence booster: You're right, it was. And boy oh boy, did this Bills team need one. Let's hope their confidence stays boosted as they head into the toughest stretch of the season.

From the sinking feeling of last week's loss to the joy of this week's victory -- what a difference a week makes. 1.) Fearless Josh is the best Josh. Throughout his up-and-down rookie season, Josh Allen made one thing abundantly clear: He was a rare athlete, an improvisational wunderkind, and a potentially lethal playmaker. Sure, there were some head-scratching lows mixed in with the dazzling highs, but overall, the potential that Allen showed in his rookie season was incredibly exciting for Bills fans. Fast forward to his sophomore season. Though Allen had thus far been limiting mistakes and improving his throwing accuracy, he no longer seemed to be showing the same playmaking potential that he did as a rookie. This caused many Bills fans, myself included, to wonder if he had OVER-corrected. As I asked in this column two weeks ago, had the coaching staff taken the Josh Allen out of Josh Allen? Allen's performance in the 37-20 victory over the Dolphins showed that when he's not overthinking things, and when "play fearless" is the edict of the day, he IS still the electrifying playmaker we saw in season one. What a welcome sight! Allen had arguably his best and most complete game as a pro. He played well within the structure of the offense, he improvised when things broke down, he ran well, he threw well, and ultimately, he tallied four touchdowns on the day. When #17 plays the way he played on Sunday, the Bills are a dangerous team. Before I move on, some cool Josh Allen stats from the Twitterverse: Since the week 4 Patriots game, Josh Allen has 10 touchdown passes and 1 interception. In the last five games, Josh Allen has accounted for 12 total touchdowns and zero interceptions. And most impressively, courtesy of Buffalo Bills PR: "Josh Allen has now tallied five consecutive games with 2 TDs/0 INTs, becoming the first QB since Russell Wilson in 2015 to do so. Allen joins Wilson, Aaron Rodgers (2014), Peyton Manning (2012), Tom Brady (2012) and Drew Brees (2011) as the only QBs to do so since 2011." Wowza. The arrow is certainly pointing up with Josh Allen. 2.) Smoke has himself a day. John Brown has been arguably the best free agent signing in the entire NFL this season. Actually, scratch the "arguably" part. Brown is on pace for 1,300 receiving yards and six touchdowns, and he has provided a dangerous and consistent pass catcher to an offense that direly needed one. Sunday's game against Miami was Brown's best game as a Bill. He caught short passes and accrued run-after-catch yardage. He ran crisp routes and secured critical 1st down catches. He stretched the field. He collected two touchdowns. The 40 yard touchdown strike he caught from Josh Allen may have been the prettiest play the Bills offense has produced all season. Put simply: John Brown was a free agency steal, and Bills fans should be extremely happy that Brandon Beane was persistent in going after him two offseasons in a row. 3.) It must have been the mustache. One week after taking an absolute beating from Bills Mafia about his gameplan and playcalling against the Browns, Brian Daboll redeemed himself with an excellent day in both categories on Sunday. He provided a good run-pass balance, he gave Singletary a good amount of touches, and he repeatedly put Allen in positions to succeed. Encouragingly, the Bills offense did things that had yet to do this season. The passing attack beating all-out cover zero blitzes -- something it had, up until Sunday, been unable to do -- was a sight for sore eyes. The best and most encouraging thing the Bills offense did, however, was staying aggressive into the fourth quarter. Too many times this season and last, we watched the Bills offense go into a conservative and predictable shell when they obtained a lead. Not Sunday. With the Dolphins and the ever-persistent Fitzpatrick refusing to quit, the Bills decided to put the pedal to the metal and secure the victory. The offense ran a hurry-up, no huddle or muddle huddle attack that saw the quarterback getting to the line with 20 or more seconds still on the clock. The CBS announcers were confused, stating that they thought it was a mistake for the Bills not to bleed the clock and run the ball. Personally, I couldn't disagree more. I understand the argument for better clock management, sure, but I'll take a highly aggressive offense that trusts its playmakers and tries to score more points all day over a wimpy and frightened attack that plays not to lose. The buzz word leading up to the game was "fearless", and the offense didn't just talk the talk, they walked the walk. Cole Beasley stated leading up the game that he and John Brown had a good feeling about the offense going forward. Based on Sunday's results, Beasley might just be on to something. 4.) Defense Gets right. After several consecutive weeks of getting gashed in the run game and appearing as though they had lost their mojo, the Bills defense was back in a big way on Sunday. They stopped the run, allowing a measly 1.8 yards per carry to the Dolphins ground attack. They got after Ryan Fitzpatrick, sacking him six times. Every single Bills defensive tackle had a sack. They rallied to the football. They tackled well. In short, they did just about everything right.The most interesting development of the day might have been the frequency with which Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier dialed up blitzes. The Bills are not typically a very blitz-heavy team. After seeing Ryan Fitzpatrick have an excellent day against them in Orchard Park, however, they seem to have decided things would be different this time around. Middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds rushed the passer a season high 13 times. His running mate at linebacker, Matt Milano, rushed the passer 12 times, also a season high. The pressure packages were mightily effective. The Dolphins offensive line simply couldn't stop them with any consistency, and it was a huge key in the Bills victory. While the schematic details and the sound execution by Buffalo's defense were impressive, the biggest change seemed to come from an intangible quality: confidence. One of the Bills defenders after the game stated that Tremaine Edmunds gave a fiery speech to the defense on Saturday night. Whatever he said, it worked. Buffalo's defense got their mojo back. 5.) Special Teams anything but special. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows on Sunday. The Bills special teams nearly cost them the game. At the very least, the unit was responsible for making the game much closer than it should have been. They allowed a 101 yard kickoff return touchdown. They were one tackle away from allowing a SECOND kickoff return touchdown. They failed to recover an onside kick that could easily have let the Dolphins right back into the game. Against an inferior Miami team, the Bills offense and defense were good enough to overcome the abysmal play of the special teams. Against the opponents coming up on the Bills schedule, however, Buffalo might not be so lucky. Heath Farwell's unit simply MUST find a way to improve in a hurry, or it may cost the Bills a game or two this season. 6.) He'll always be Fitzmagic to me. I have to take a moment to proclaim my love for Ryan Fitzpatrick. In both games against the Bills this season, he reminded me why he captured the hearts and minds of Bills Mafia during his time in Orchard Park. He plays with heart, passion, persistence, and -- to go back to the buzzword of the day -- fearlessness. Virtually everyone who has ever met him or shared a locker room with him also says that he is whip-smart, hilarious, and kind, too. While I certainly wasn't rooting for him on Sunday, I absolutely WILL root for him in every game in which he is not facing the Buffalo Bills. He is one of my all time favorite players from any era in the NFL. To have the career that he has had, given his physical limitations and draft pedigree, is amazing. His longevity in a league whose initials stand for "Not For Long" is impressive. I tip my cap now and forever to the Amish Rifle, the once and forever Buffalo Bill, Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Extra Point Sunday's game against the Dolphins was a great reminder that football fans should try not to get too high or too low after a single game, no matter the outcome. Last week's loss to Cleveland had Bills fans questioning the offensive and defensive coordinators, the head coach, and the quarterback. Some fans were even ready to fire Brian Daboll and to begin to wonder aloud whether Josh Allen was a bust. Despite the Bills' 6-3 record, fans were some combination of livid, disheartened, depressed, and as I wrote here last week, ready to say "here we go again". Luckily, the week passed, and the next Sunday came around, and things changed. Sean McDermott constantly preaches a "one game at a time" mantra. To hear him tell it, each game is its own unique entity, its own snapshot. It should perhaps come as no surprise, then, that a team that looked so inept in every phase one week could look so phenomenal the next. Was it the "play fearless" edict that ignited the offense? Was it Tremaine Edmunds' fiery Saturday night speech that ignited the defense? Were the Bills just sick of hearing what a disappointment they were? Sick of the outside noise and the doubt and the narrative that they are nothing more than paper tiger pretenders? Whatever was going around Buffalo's locker room that infected the players with the passion and effectiveness we saw on Sunday, the Bills need to bottle it and drink from it for six more weeks. Many looked at the upcoming games against teams like the Cowboys, Ravens, and Patriots as surefire losses. If the Bills play like they did on Sunday, however, they will have a much better chance at victory than fans would have guessed. If the defense can continue to stymie the run and attack the opposing quarterback, and if the offense can continue to play fearlessly and connect on big plays in the run and pass game, the Bills can absolutely make the playoffs. And if they do? Who knows. Once the tournament starts, it's anybody's game. From the pit of despair to the joy and exultation of a convincing victory -- what a difference a week makes.

Great post. Especially the bolded.

Fair enough. THAT I can agree with.

Meh. You can cobble together the worst plays of any QB in the league and get a similar video. Now let's see an actual highlight video. Selective editing can paint any picture you want it to.

On the contrary: watching, say, 7 different plays from one game where receivers are open and Allen isn't hitting them DOES begin to tell a story. The story is "our quarterback needs to improve". I could just as easily state that IGNORING visual evidence of poor play and fixating only on play-calling doesn't tell the whole story, only the narrative you want to push. Again: I don't think all the blame is on Allen. I don't think all the blame is on Daboll. BOTH OF THEM aren't performing well. But it certainly is hard to tell how much of Allen's poor performance is due to Daboll calling bad plays, and how much it just APPEARS that Daboll is calling a bad game because the QB can't execute his gameplan. It's really hard to separate these things. It's a complex relationship. And yet, we have plenty of Bills fans who are certain that it's just Daboll that's to blame. It's ridiculous.

I agree that Josh deserves credit for the steps he has already taken as a quarterback. What I DON'T like seeing, though, is people putting on blinders and pretending like he's immune from criticism. He has progressed, yes, but he has a long way to go. He currently has the 30th ranked QB rating and 31st ranked completion percentage in the NFL, for instance. He has thrown just 10 TDs throw 9 games, despite playing some of the worst teams in the NFL. Furthermore, as far as "creating rhythm"...how is an offense supposed to have any rhythm when the quarterback fails to hit open receivers so often? How are we supposed to know what identity the offense WANTS to exhibit when the field general of that offense plays so inconsistently and, at times, poorly? I'm not saying it's JUST on Allen. The Bills offense is a combo platter of suck right now. Daboll deserves some blame. I absolutely agree with that. But to say that he deserves the lion's share of the blame or to try to completely absolve Allen of responsibility for how poor the offense is? That's rubbish. Did you not pay attention at all to the breakdowns and GIFs from the Browns game? Cover 1 already DID show that there were options on some -- not all, it's true, but more than a few -- of the plays in which Allen either took a sack or threw an incompletion. Yes, Daboll can do more to help Allen, but Allen needs to start to learn to help himself. He needs to take more steps toward being a big boy quarterback. It's not all on the OC. Daboll is an easy scapegoat right now, because it's easier to want to fire the OC than it is to admit that the 1st round, prize young QB isn't getting the job done. It's not an either/or proposition. BOTH need to improve. But this "it's all on Daboll!" stuff has gotta stop. It's ridiculous.

If you think Cover 1 has any sort of vendetta against Allen or was pro-Tyrod and looks for ways to bash Allen, you're nuts. Allen wasn't "bad" on Sunday, you're right. But he also wasn't GOOD ENOUGH to beat the Browns. The Browns packed the box against the Bills, blitzed over 40% of the time, and dared the Bills to beat them through the air, and the Bills couldn't. Josh Allen completed 53.7% of his passes and threw zero touchdowns. That's not good enough against an average to below average Browns defense. People who exclusively blame Brian Daboll are ignoring the many plays he calls where wide receivers ARE open and Allen can't or won't throw to them. It happens a lot. It happened a lot on Sunday. I'm not an Allen hater. I like him and want him to succeed. Just look at my avatar. However, to put all of the blame on Daboll and completely absolve Allen is a chickenshit copout, in my opinion.

I agree only to an extent. The fact is that the All-22 footage from yesterday reveals that there were numerous instances where receivers were open and Josh didn't find them. Just with the exact personnel that they already have in-house right now, they would have gotten the job done on Sunday if Allen had played better. The loss isn't all on him, obviously, but his play was a huge factor. I like Allen, for the record. Just look at my avatar. I want him to succeed and I'm nowhere near wanting to bench him or call him a bust or anything like that. Better weapons will help him, sure, but they won't fix everything. It's time for his play to take another step forward, or else defenses will keep beating the Bills the same exact way they did on Sunday. Nailed it.

I have held all along that the Bills would finish 10-6 or 11-5, but after the recent stretch of offensive and run-stopping ineptitude a 9-7 or 8-8 record looks more likely. The Bills feasting on easy opponents early on unfortunately set expectations at unreasonable levels for what is still a very young squad in the midst of a rebuild. The funny thing is that BEFORE the season started, we all would have happily accepted 9-7 with progress from the quarterback. Once the season started the way it did, though, the goalposts were moved. Now people will likely consider 9-7 or 8-8 a failed season. Forget the record for a second and just ask yourself this: Do the Buffalo Bills LOOK like one of the 12 best teams in the league? I picked the number 12 because that's how many teams make the playoffs each year. The Bills, to me, do NOT look like one of the league's 12 best teams. When you watch them play and then go and watch the Patriots or 49ers or Seahawks or Saints or Packers, it's absolutely crystal clear that the Bills are just not on that level. What it will take to GET to that level is open for debate, but the Bills aren't there yet.

Every response so far in this thread is pretty much on the money. Passing game needed to beat the Browns' cover 1 looks and couldn't. The Bills need two things: a stud #1 receiver and for their quarterback to play better.

I don't disagree that the Bills could use an upgrade on the offensive line this offseason -- specifically at RIGHT tackle. However, with regard to your second sentence: Just about EVERYONE in the NFL gets beat my Myles Garrett. He's tied for the league lead in sacks. No whiz kid rookie is going to come in and stymie that guy, either. He's arguably the best (or at least in the top three) edge rusher in the entire NFL.

On Sunday, during and after the game, I was absolutely furious that Singletary didn't get more carries. HOWEVER...reading through Daboll's presser comments and watching All-22 footage that seems to back them up, what he says rings true: The Browns basically packed the box all game long and dared the Bills to beat them through the air. You can make the argument that the Bills should have just run the ball anyway and tried to impose their will on the Browns, but I'm not sure how much success they would have had against all the 8 and 9 man boxes the Browns were presenting. What the Bills did instead was to try to force the Browns to back off by beating them through the air. The only problem was that the Bills couldn't/didn't beat them through the air, so the boxes kept getting stacked and the pressure kept coming. You'd like to think in these types of situations that the QB you selected in the 1st round would have the ability to make the opposing defense pay for over-committing to the run by punishing them through the air -- he could not. He did not. Less of my irritation and concern is directed toward Brian Daboll now, and more of it is directed at Josh Allen. He NEEDS to be able to make defenses pay when they do this, and he couldn't. He needs to step up. He needs to get better. If he doesn't, teams will just keep on doing this.