Success

Being a Bills fan isn't for wimps. I can't think of a fanbase who has had so many heartbreaks, and most of them are ones opposing fans can name. Maybe the Red Sox before 2004? Who else? Cubs fans before their title? It's a small group. But I think we're at the top. No team finds new & excruciating ways to lose like the Bills do.

We could have stolen that win - but then Dorsey would still be OC today. Replacing him made that loss a LOT easier to handle. At least there is some hope the O can turn it around now. Maybe not enough to salvage this season, but if they can get back on track - and particularly Allen - it will give us all more hope for the years ahead.

11-6 will win the division. 10-7 might, as long as one of those remaining wins is against Miami.

We have lost to bad teams. We also blew out the presumptive division winner. Seasons can turn on a dime. I've been a fan for many years. I wait for the math to no longer work.

So, they have ZERO chance of making the playoffs? None at all? I get thinking it's slim. I think it's slim. But there are scenarios and possibilities - and we're not even at a point where the math starts getting insane and you need all kinds of outcomes & other teams to win or lose.

You know, a thread like this should be for fans who still have a bit of hope to discuss realistic scenarios where the Bills could still get into the playoffs. I get that other fans are frustrated and have given up - and I don't blame them - but what point is there in just hopping on here to ridicule the idea?

I think 10-7 is still on the menu for the Bills. Our losses, while they are to bad teams, are all close. We're not getting blown out by anyone. I don't buy the conventional wisdom that the Eagles & Chiefs are both automatic losses. I think we match up okay w/ Philly, and the Chiefs are beatable this year. I'd give us one of those. I see our 2nd loss as probably the Chargers. Away, and the west coast trip is always a bit tough. 3rd potential loss against the Phins. But I can see us entering that game w/ a chance at the division. Maybe I'm discounting Dallas, but I like our chances in that one at home - since it's not a night game.

My expectations are high. This offense has tremendous potential, and they have been mismanaged. Will Brady tap into that potential? There is certainly a better shot than if Dorsey had remained. Can you imagine if we start lighting it up again in the next month+? It would be nice to be able to say, ah, that was it. That's all we needed to do. Maybe not likely, but one can dream.

It ALL depends on how the season plays out. If we beat some of the good teams, get on a run, and win the division? I would want him back. If (as is more expected), we just fizzle out, lose the games we're expected to lose, and finish 9-8 or something? It's time to move on.

I feel like we'd have one loss if all of our games were at 1:00. We don't do well under the lights.

That's a fair point. We don't know all of the details. I was just frustrated, because we were running well against that D & Cook is our most explosive back.

It's the right move. The biggest difference w/ this team is that we're simply not scoring points like we used to. And we have a better line, running game & have added Kincaid. Beyond that, Allen is regressing. Someone needs to help him realize his potential. Dorsey had his shot.

Can anyone give a little background on Brady? How was he when he was OC previously?

I didn't get it. Obviously, Cook had kind of a rough night. 3 fumbles - one which set the tone for the game, one that didn't seem to be his fault, and one that fortuitously bounced back into his hands for a long gain. But he also had a pretty great night, and was one of the most impactful players on the field. He led the last TD drive entirely on his own until the actual TD play. Sitting him for a series makes sense - it's what a lot of coaches do. But what McD did made little sense. He kept Cook out for too long, and it really hurt our offense.

I thought about this one last night. Obviously, I would always hope the team makes the playoffs. But there is something to be said for not risking a heart attack in January.

Coincidentally, "Cold Hard Truth" is what I'm going to title my memoir about being a Bills fan....

Nothing flukey about that. It's a pattern. And it's maddening.

I'm sure I'll be back on board & doing the math if we beat the Jets. The schedule looks brutal, but this team is weird. It wouldn't surprise me to see them beat the Eagles by 2 scores, then lose to the Chargers.

And it's really what separates us from the top teams. This Bills team hasn't gotten blown out this year. Every loss was 1 score from being a win. And even when the offense has been clutch and pulled out the late score (last night, the Pats), the defense crumbles and gives up the 2-minute drive for the loss. Even the close games we won this year, we came thisclose to losing - PI should have been called in the Giants game, and if Godwin turns around, that's a hail mary for the win in the Bucs game. It's coaching, but I think it's also becoming psychological. We thought 13 seconds was the start of something - but it might have broken this team. If it's seeping into my head every time it's close at the end, it's probably seeping into other heads out there, and it's likely in the back of the players' minds. It's almost a feeling of, 'how are we going to lose this one? What new, creative and gut-wrenching way will we find to get the L?'

The post-Jets stretch is too tough. I can't talk myself into thinking we can make the kind of run we did after the Hail Murray, or after we went 7-6. And the AFC is tougher this year. I spent the whole summer pushing back on people saying that the Bills were taking a step back this year, or saying that our window was closing. But they were right. Feels like we may be in for a tough road to get back to the position we thought we'd be in for years.

Sign o' the times. I'm googling "how to stop being a sports fan"...

A lot of fans remember the "Dallas Monday NIght" game. The Cincy playoff game is kind of the "snow game."

I dunno. I've been a fan for 45 years or so, and I almost smashed a laptop when they called the penalty for 12 men on the field.

The Bills are part of my karma in life. I don't know what it is - but I did something pretty bad in a previous life. There is no other way to explain this. We have more "losses with names" than any team in any sport.

They won't do it. We'll be "in it" mathematically until late December, and they'll play hard to try to make it happen as long as there is a chance.