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Whatever happens with the Texans, one thing is for sure, that team baffles me. They're bipolar. Look at their results this year: Week 1: 30-28 loss to the Saints, close one against a good team, fair enough. Week 2: A one point win over the Jags... (score was 13-12) Week 3: Beat the overrated Chargers. Week 4: Clunker against Carolina, lose 16-10. Week 5: Beatdown on the Falcons, fine. Week 6: Solid win over the Chiefs. Week 7: Loss against the Colts who have since fallen off. Week 8: Win a close one against the Raiders, who, at that point were the "don't sleep on 'em" team but have since returned to the dumpster. Week 9: Smacked around the Jags. Week 10: Bye Week 11: Destroyed by Baltimore 41-7. Week 12: Eek out a close one against Indy. Week 13: Beat the Patriots, and then... Week 14: Get blown out by the "we're on our 97th QB since Peyton left us!" Broncos. So, I'd have no idea what to expect if Buffalo ends up meeting them in the playoffs.

I've yet to listen to E. Wood with Murph. I kinda don't care for Murph but I've heard nothing but good things about Wood. There's an article in the Buffalo News today about how he's a massive upgrade over Mark Kelso. Dan Fouts was killin' me yesterday. Allen and Jackson both started the game with some poorly thrown balls. Lamar was throwing real high and Allen too far on some deep routes. But for Lamar, Fouts kept blaming the wind. For Allen, it was just a bad throw. There was even a bumbled shotgun snap where the Ravens center just snapped it towards Jackson's left side and he had to kinda reel it in. Fouts blamed the wind on that one too lol. I know most people say that these types of things are trivial to get worked up over and that's true, I'm not one to clamor for more national recognition or anything. But what annoys me is the narratives that get built as the season goes on and then the effort from production crews and commentary teams to continue to push that narrative. Right now the narrative is "Lamar Jackson MVP!" So that's all they friggin' talked about. They were raving at halftime about him, dude had like 45 yards passing and 30 yards on the ground at that point but with the way they were talking you'd think the guy had thrown for 400 and ran for 250. So that crap gets old. Even some of the media guys themselves get tired with it. Last week Nate Burleson tore up his notes on Dallas because he was tired of talking about a team that just had their rear-ends handed to them. It'd just be nice if there was less bias and more objective coverage. But there are ratings to score, clicks to get, markets to appeal to, etc. etc. blah blah blah.

It was a pretty bad day for the offense as a whole, coaches, players, etc. The amount of free rushers Baltimore had was maddening and beyond that it seemed like every other play at least one of their OL was getting beat by his guy. Receivers dropped passes, Allen missed open guys, etc. Despite all this, they still had a chance at the end and that's all you can ask for. And that definitely proves how different this team is than past teams. A past team that had a first half performance like they did yesterday would've likely imploded even worse and the game would've been a blowout. We've seen that show quite a few times. But this group is tough, resilient, and I don't think they're afraid/intimidated by anyone. They can hang with the better teams in this league, the next step is obviously winning those games. But hey, win one more this season and they're in the playoffs with a clean slate where anything can happen.

Talented guy but he's gotta be a headache to coach and manage. Sometimes I kinda feel as though he's made his living off that one-handed catch during his rookie year. He doesn't appear to be the guy that gets a team over the hump and into contention. He had a 15-year veteran QB who force-fed him the ball. The one year he makes the playoffs he's out doing a photo shoot on a boat two days before the game. Asks for a monster deal, gets a monster deal. Gets traded to go play across from his college teammate in Landry, they immediately act as if they're going to destroy records and then they come out and quickly transform into a dumpster fire this season. And didn't he just say last week that the rumors of him asking for a trade were false? And now this. Talent is there but the buy-in isn't.

It was a rough day for him, but the line and receiver group didn't help much. I like Dawson Knox, but man, dude has to catch passes that hit him in the hands. He dropped a big one on that 3rd and 8, then he dropped one in the end zone, throw could've been a bit better but it was there. So he misses on those but then he goes and pulls in a one-hander on a perfectly placed ball. Beasely missed a well-thrown ball, Singletary had the one drop. It felt like they were rusty. That was one of my concerns with the 10 day break, it can take teams out of their rhythm and routine. Obviously it's good for the players so they can get extra rest/rehab but sometimes it seems like it's a bit of detriment. However, every team plays at least one Thursday game per season so they have to just work with the schedule change. It's definitely a bummer to continue to see Josh miss on deep throws, especially when his receiver has a step or two on his man. But, I'm hopeful that Josh will turn it around with that like he did with short/intermediate throws. He struggled with those last season and spent all off-season working on it and showed a ton of improvement this year. I think this off-season he'll do the same with the long ball. He shows a great ability to be coached, to adapt, adjust, etc. I think right now he might be in his head a bit too much, he might be overthinking things. We know his instinct has been, "I must make a play on every play!" so he keeps that in mind when he's out there, don't go slapping on the Superman cape and try to do too much. Also, the path to success is never linear, there are ups and downs and this week he was on the downside, it happens. Despite the rough outing, he still had his team in position to at least tie the game. I'm sure the competitor in him wants to show that he can be/will be the guy that we saw against Dallas. I hope he comes out next week on fire outta the gate and through the whole game.

I really can't stand "The Champ is Here!" I mean, I'm glad they cut it down a bit as the original, full-length ad has "the champ is here!" being said about 94,000 frickin' times. On Sundays my wife and I will randomly say, "Hey babe, did you know the champ is here?" "Is he? Tell him I'm busy and that he can #*@$ off!" Mayhem is alright. The guy who plays him is Dean Winters, a really good improv actor (he also had a role on Oz). He came up in the Second City in Chicago along with Tina Fey, who cast him in a recurring role on 30 Rock and now she's doing the Mayhem commercials with him. I don't know why I know this random sh*t. With the amount of commercials he's already done, it's pretty clear that Mayfield really prioritizes landing sponsorship and commercial deals. I've heard rumors that the dude is more interested in the fame of being a pro athlete than actually putting in the work and that coaches have kinda had to twist his arm to get him to take on more of a leadership role. Dude thinks because he walked on that he can not put the time in and just wing it every game. It does seem as though they've tried to scale back on the whole commercial break after a TD, then back for the kickoff, then another break, then back to the game. They still do it at times but they tend to do a picture-in-picture and leave the game on while players just stand around.

Nate Burleson comes up with some really awkward phrases at times but I liked last week when he tossed out his notes on the Cowboys because he was sick of talking about them. All of these shows always talk about big market teams because they want those fanbases to be tuning in for ratings. What's hilarious is the fact that the Bills win over the Cowboys was the highest rated Thanksgiving day game in 27 years. People in our market tend to pay attention when the Bills get some national love. After that first Dallas drive I was fully prepared for an implosion and the same old, "Yup, they get a national game and embarrass themselves." But instead, they knuckled down and spanked 'em.

I always liked Pat Summerall and John Madden, even if Madden had to say, "BOOM!" and "Here's a guy..." 62 times a game. Romo and Nantz are alright. I kinda like when Romo gets on a roll and just starts calling out every offensive play before it happens. Or he'll call out whatever options the offense has in that situation. I kinda don't mind Buck and Aikman, but since they've covered more Thursday night games this year I've discovered that Aikman uses the same tropes for just about every game. At times he'll kinda trail off in the middle of saying something and you can tell he's trying to word it differently than he usually does but it comes out the same. How about all-time worst play-by-play and commentary guys?

Someone had said something about it earlier in the thread.

I'm certain the camp competition for the starting kicker job will be a bit more contested next summer. I like Hauschka, I wonder how much that cheap shot he took last year against the Jets has affected him. It's a bummer that he's declined this season and they don't seem to trust him with anything over 50 yards but if it comes down to it , hopefully he can still come through. Overall though, unless you're Justin Tucker, kicking this season has been pretty crazy.

Flug Doutie, heh heh.... There were/are fans who believe he was better than Jimbo? Yeesh.

It's tough not to say Tre' just because of his attitude and all-around personality. Dude always seems to be having a good time, his "we got the ball goin' this way!" dance during the Jags game last season was hilarious. Allen is another one, I think he just has a "gamer" vibe to him, it may not always be pretty, but he really seems to find a way to make plays when it's needed most. I like Edmunds a lot, freak athlete, works hard, leading a talented defense at such a young age is pretty admirable as well. I dunno, overall I really like this roster. People can bash on culture in sports all they want but McBeane has done a fantastic job of building a team full of like-minded individuals who refuse to disappoint the guy next to them and just want to win. Seems like you could ask any player on that team (let's say a WR for instance) "Would you rather have 12 receptions for 206 yards and 3 touchdowns in a loss or would you rather have 2 catches for 24 yards and a first down in a victory?" and they'd all pick the latter.

I'd love for Ed to win it but I think it probably goes to Devin White. Dude had a scoop and score and then a game-sealing interception.

Alright, I'm not necessarily a huge Watkins fan but the part I highlighted is untrue. The dude does put in the work. When he was in Buffalo he was always part of the group of receivers that'd fly out to meet Tyrod and run routes in their off-time, he's done that in KC as well. He's also had zero issues with any community in the cities he's played. Obviously, he didn't pan out here and that's a bummer but it's not like it's entirely 100% on him, injuries added up over his first few seasons and beyond that I don't think his abilities were maximized while he was here. The injuries, getting traded, being on three different teams within one calendar year, having OC's struggle to find what his best role would be, etc. are all things that have surely steered his career in a direction he probably didn't expect. The decent thing is, is he's still young enough to rebound and turn into the receiver people saw at Clemson. As for him returning to Buffalo, that's about as likely as me suiting up in place of Allen this Sunday. Chances are slim and none and slim just left town.

Take him where? I'm low on gas and he needs a jacket.

I figured he would be shown the door but I didn't think he'd be the first one to get axed.

They made the right call on the 5th year option. We all like how he's playing this season but obviously it makes people wonder where this kind of play has been in past seasons. I've also noticed most of his sacks are usually due to coverage. He's a decent player in their rotation and I'm sure they'll offer him a modest contract but being that he plays a high demand position there'll probably be a team out there that overpays for him and we know Beane doesn't do bidding wars.

Didn't say it was terrible. It isn't necessary on a game by game basis to constantly throw for over 300 yards in order to win. Lamar Jackson is averaging 211 passing yards per game this season. He has exactly one game where he went for over 300 (a win). He has five games this season where he's failed to crack 200 yards passing, and all five of those games were victories. Throwing for 300 yards each game is not a prerequisite to victory.

Would be awesome if he were still with the team this season. But, I'm sure he's enjoying the fact that he can be around the team and enjoy in their success without having to put in all the work. He seems pretty content to be retired.

I feel like the dude really thrives in high pressure situations and as we move into December and look ahead to January, the pressure is only gonna increase. I don't wanna crown him and say he's arrived as he still has things to improve, but the last three games definitely make it difficult NOT to believe he can be the guy. Just keep it rollin'.

Ryan Fitzpatrick just racked up 365 yards yesterday. That makes him good?

Defensively, obviously they'll need to contain Lamar. Offensively, looked like the Niners had some success running on the edges so I'm sure Daboll will take that into account. Might be a good time to dig into his bag of tricks again too.

? Barf. Yeah, I don't know what her process is for coming up with these numbers but I'm willing to bet she just throws all team names in a hat and picks at random.

Wait just a goshdurn minute here. This is all wrong. Cynthia Froeundlinedijrr says the Bills only have like a .00007% chance to make the playoffs. And her mathematical process is INFALLIBLE, people! She is a friggin' genius, obviously. I kid. Last time I saw one of her playoff prediction bullsh*t things she had the Chargers with like a 10% better chance of making the playoffs than the Bills. It's mind-boggling on an astronomical level why anyone would pay her for the drivel she comes up with. I probably feel that way about most of these yappidy-yapping toolbags. Dont bother to turn on the TV until 1 PM and sometimes can't even listen to the commentary. All of 'em have an agenda and part of that agenda likely states, "Do all you can to discredit the Bills. They're a small market team and really, who cares that they're 9-3? Dedicate tons of time to talking about how all their victories came over inferior opponents and don't forget to make endless excuses for why Dallas let the Bills win." I just want all of them to feast on a fat turd sammich.

I was surprised that they chose to go with the other official who was further away but I think they did so they could review it. Still though, the other official was in perfect position and made the correct call and then the other zebra comes prancing in with his bestest "complete pass" signal, which screamed, "Oooh, look at me! I'mma eff this game all up now!" I feel as if the officials feel marginalized during games and just wanna be noticed so they go into hyper-douche mode and call 37 erroneous penalties. Even the way some of these guys make the announcement. Seems like it comes with some snark sometimes like, "Oh, you thought you had a nice 20 yard gain but you know what? I got da zebra shirt, I'm da head zebra, I'm in control, ME! Therefore, personal foul on your whole team for having the audacity to think they could have nice plays, my ball now!" I just...if anyone can get this message to Santa just tell him all I want this year is the entire NFL officiating staff to get kicked in their miniscule nuggets for a good three hours.