Success

It heartens me to watch other games. Just get in the tournament. I'll have hope in January, for sure. Maybe a WC run is the thing that finally gets us there.

Not sure about that. They still haven't beaten anyone. If Chase played today, they probably get the L. They're having a "stars aligning" kind of season - but it reminds me more of the Commanders last year than the dynasty-era Pats.

I was just checking a Pats board - there was a TON of celebration about re-taking the AFC East title. They think it's over. So do many here, but I'm not so sure. I'm curious how it goes w/ them & the Bengals tomorrow. Not the toughest game - but it's one of the toughest games on their schedule to this point. Which certainly says a lot.

We're still contenders. We're not TOP contenders - but if you lived through the drought, just being one of those teams that isn't "in the hunt" or worse is pretty good. I remember when the season was WAY over by this time of year. We still have a small shot at the division, and even the 1 seed. I'm not optimistic about either, but nether is unfathomable. I don't think this is "the year" (though you never know). But it wouldn't take too much to make us a top team next year. A good LB, a top tier WR, a safety. We don't have a huge list, despite how things seem right now. I can't wait to have Hoecht for a whole season, playing next to Oliver.

I still think we got hot in December & have as good a shot as anyone once the playoffs start. We've seen in some of the games how good this team CAN be. They can be as good as anyone.

I have faith that we'll see the same. People correctly observe that this team isn't as strong as previous teams. But the league & the AFC also aren't as strong. When I look at our schedule, it's easy for me to see a potential run, starting next Sunday. Honestly, I could even see winning out if guys get a little healthier and the injury bug starts to dissipate.

Great perspective here. I've gotten better in general. Losses don't linger for me too much - but when we lose a night game, it still impacts my sleep that night. I kind of get upset w/ myself for that, but it's a process.

There has already been a lot of criticism for Beane on this - but as poorly as the roster is constructed, I think he'd get much more of a pass if it wasn't for the sad, stubborn negligence on the WR position. I think he believed that Coleman might really replace Diggs or something. He took a wild gamble this season w/ that unit, and it is proving to be his biggest & most impactful failure. If he stays, there is no excuse. The WR corps needs a 180 heading into next season, starting with a true star at the #1 spot. Someone proven and great.

I am still so impressed by that defense. That defense EARNED the win for that team. I'm pretty old school, so I love a good smothering defense. I miss the days when we could play D like that - we had good defenses during the drought at times, and certainly in the '90s. But this thread is good perspective. That's the best D we'll face. I still have hopes for this season & a good late run - slim hopes, but hopes.

I hate to say - I no longer consider Bernard to be a big loss. He hasn't played that well, and he just gets hurt a lot. I hate that for him, but it's what it is. Brown is a tough loss, but we have built some good depth on the O-line at least. 1st guy in that unit that seems like he might be gone for awhile, if not the season (at least at 100%). We have been BANGED UP this year. Crazy how many injuries. But to this point, we really haven't lost many guys for the entire season. The hope is A) we don't sustain too many more injuries, and B) the guys who are hurt mostly make it back by January, particularly Oliver & Brown.

I didn't think that play was that close until I saw the replay. Josh really is incredible. Nice catch by Gabe, too. It would have fooled all of us, though. We would have talked ourselves into the idea that we can pull it out anytime, and further ignored the major flaws in this team.

Josh will probably stay - but the primary adjectives I'd use to describe him this year are "weary" and "frustrated." Maybe I'd add "exasperated." Beane has to step up and we have to go all in on receiving targets. Allen needs to have fun again - that's when we win. If he had legit #1 & #2 receivers, along with Kincaid & Cook, everything would look completely different.

I think all of that is still on the table. Obviously the Pats are good & improved - but in a few ways, they're entering the "tough" part of their historically easy schedule. If they lose to Cincy, it's no guarantee they can beat the Giants, Ravens, us or Miami, among others. I think they probably win the division, but it's far from over.

Would have been fool's gold. The Texans were dominant and controlled the game throughout.

McDaniels is the key ingredient there. He's not a good HC, but he's a great OC, and very good w/ QB's. I have no issue w/ Allen spending time w/ Maye. Bummer that Maye is so good, though. Lots of talk in Pats land about another 15 year run of domination. Probably wrong & presumptuous, but if true, I will definitely be seeing a hypnotist to help me forget that there was ever anything called "football."

Even last night - I got about a minute of feeling like I had in previous seasons, when Cook broke that run. Then we missed the XP, and it was like 'that's gonna come back to haunt us.' Every game is like a trip to the dentist now.

For sure. But human psychology is what it is. Money doesn't change that.

People talk about "windows" in sports for a few reasons. The main one is retaining talent & maintaining a quality team. But psychology is also a major factor, imo. We certainly feel it as a fanbase. There was even talk preseason about how some of us weren't as "up" for the regular season this year, because no matter what happened & how good we looked, literally nothing mattered if we were going to have an early playoff exit again. It was all about making the Super Bowl - and really, only about that. And we've felt that all season. It's not fun. WE are not having fun. It's a slog. Biding our time for an AFCCG which now looks unlikely. The players have different outlooks. It's their job, and they get paid to show up every week. But it's very obvious that they're not having fun either. There is frustration, impatience, weariness and a general malaise over this team. Even if they "show up" for work - it's the mental edge and joy for the game that can make the difference in the NFL, where there isn't a lot that separates most teams anyway. I hate how tired we look. The only real break in that was the KC game - that reminded me of how we used to be. But KC is such a nemesis, I think the team gets up for that one regardless.

I gave this a thumbs up - great points. The only thing I don't agree with is that I'd still rather make the playoffs, just because I'm shortsighted and it's more fun to be in the playoffs. But there are significant silver linings to missing the playoffs entirely. I can't shake this weird feeling that the brain trust for the Bills isn't on the same page as the fanbase. I feel like they're stubborn, and they've shown that. Missing the playoffs might be a needed wake-up call.

It seemed pretty flukey we were even IN the game. We literally had one offensive touchdown - one! And that was a long Cook run where the Texans D inexplicably broke down. I have a feeling that had the drive pushed into the redzone, we would have had to settle for a FG. And our other TD was a crazy sort of return where it's very likely not a TD if Davis didn't run into a player on his own team. The Texans dominated that game on D - and did enough on offense. Had we managed to pull it out in the end, it would have just given us a false sense of things.

We'll really have to see where we stand injury wise next week. The 10 days is coming at a very good time. It really doesn't seem like most of the injuries are long-term. Some of the predictions on here are pretty gloomy and seem more based on day-after pessimism than on reality. We could collapse, for sure - but we haven't yet in the Allen era, and I don't think we will this year. We're consistently a good December team. I just expect that to continue. I think we're beating Pitt, NE, Cleveland and NY, and probably the Bengals. If I'm wrong and we drop another 3 or 4, this is a genuinely bad team and we are in major trouble.

I was extremely hopeful at 4-0 - but the signs were really there, even at that point. I realize now that I let my inner homer take over & was sure that even though we didn't look great, we were still winning and "figuring it out." All we've figured out is that we're not very talented. I'm not sure if we'll get another team like the one we got used to for about 5 years - where we were always top-tier and scary, even in bad stretches. Like, this is a bad stretch - but we're not top tier, and we're not scary. We're just another team now.

At least we're not part of the "in the hunt" graphic yet. That would really give me some PTSD right now.

Burrow looks like he might play Sunday. We'll definitely face him.

There is probably a "glass half full" plan in here somewhere. Oliver & Hoecht would be impactful, and will be back next year. Bishop has become a revelation. We have good CB's. I think we need an overhaul at LB, but Shaq Thompson is a start. Groot isn't a star but he's a keeper. On offense, the line is good, obviously Allen, Cook & Kincaid, and we have decent enough receivers if we get a true #1. It might not be as tall an order as we think - or a full rebuild as some are starting to talk about. Tough times right now, though.