Success

Josh needs to BE JOSH. Last thing I want to see is our home run QB start to "reign it in." That doesn't mean abandoning open receivers on shorter routes. But you have to take the bad w/ the good, and there is a lot more of the latter w/ JA. If you're an opposing fan - what do you want to see? You don't want Allen slinging it and going deep. Because those hit more than they miss.

Seems like Bengals fans are counting on 2 things: - Their makeshift line holding up against what they perceive as a weak Bills pass rush - Turnovers Advantage Bills. As a Bills fan, all I'm counting on is the team to play close to their potential.

I see a big day for Cook.

The whining nationally is epic. The poor Bengals got screwed, and why is the NFL already selling tickets to the potential Atlanta game? It must be rigged! Give me a break. What happened in the 1st match-up was crazy, and unprecedented. The league did what it could to adjust. Every team that was gonna make the playoffs still made it, and they'll all have their chance on the field to prove they deserve to go to the Super Bowl. It's pathetic. I've seen so many comments on how they're fixing it for the "league darling Bills" to win it all. Like, when did we become that? The league doesn't care about small market teams, and never has.

That narrative does seem to have shifted this past week. It now seems to be, who is better - Burrow or Mahomes? Allen became an afterthought in the "best" convo. That's fine. It ALMOST feels like we're under the radar again - though that's impossible for the Bills these days. But I feel that Josh, and the team, are being underestimated. Which is perfect.

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Burrow & Mahomes get so much more respect than Josh. JA was perfect in the playoffs last year. 9 TD's, no picks. One of the best, most clutch games a QB has had in the playoffs. But he is getting so disrespected this week - by pundits, by opposing fans. It's a little frustrating to see & read it all as a fan, but I have a feeling he's going to have one of those "sssssshhhhh" games on Sunday.

I've been critical of Dorsey this year. But when I think about, I was critical of Daboll, also - and that guy is clearly an excellent coach. The offense has had some great stretches this year. Dorsey deserves credit. He has brought guys like Cook & Shakir along gradually, to the point where they're both ready to be big contributors the rest of the way. And sometimes the playcalling has been solid, but not the execution - and that's not really on him.

Being a sports fan is as tribal as we get - even more than politics. In the end, fans are pretty much the same everywhere. All fanbases have great people, and people who are not so great. In general, the great ones far outnumber the not so great ones. Except New England, of course. Those fans are terrible.

I have heard almost endless comments at this point that the Bengals were well on their way to winning that last game before it stopped. Huh? Pretty much every game this past weekend had a team that started out hot, and then either ended up losing, or (in our case) almost lost. Did people just start watching the NFL? That happens all the time in games. Cincy's 1st drive was great, but it's not like the whole game was gonna look that way. And our 1st drive wasn't all that bad.

Every narrative I read now is "bumbling Allen." The Bills COULD win, but our many turnovers will result in a loss. Give me a break. He was perfect in the postseason last year. The team got all of their mistakes out of the way against Miami. I'm not usually one to be over-confident, but I don't think this one is particularly close, especially w/ Cincy's O-line situation. We're going to look like we did for some of those games in September & October.

Watching the replay tonight - Edmunds was everywhere, really leading the D. Great instincts. I'll get ridiculed - but the guy he reminds me of is Polamalu.

It's mainly because the Dolphins went well past "0" on the play clock on every play. Without the refs calling anything.

I'll add to my previous comment: it will probably be a close game, but if it's a blowout, chances are about 95% that the Bills would be the victor in that kind of game. I don't think the Bengals can beat this team going away. Because no one has.

I'm over 80%. Feeling VERY good about this game. Strangely, I feel like the Bills - and particularly Allen - are being underestimated. And I think that O-line situation is going to be very tough for the Bengals. We don't have a great pass rush, but it will be effective on Sunday. Cook is also gonna run wild.

If Allen plays against Cincy like he did last Sunday, we win the game. I'm still not sure the Brown pick wasn't on him - but the one off Beasley was not for sure, and the fumble was an almost impossible play. When a defender breaks through unblocked like that, there isn't much he can do. He needs better blocking, and receivers to hang onto the ball. But he's playing at a high level. Playoff Josh is a real thing.

Just a gut feeling on my part - but I think the Bills we saw earlier this season are going to re-emerge this coming week. I actually don't expect a close game. Cincy's O-line issues will be the difference.

It was tough to see such a legend struggle with his game last night, and be a mere shadow of the formidable player he once was. I kid, I kid. It was absolutely awesome.

This is it for me. I know a lot of younger Bills fans, and I've been ridiculed a little for my irrational fear of TB - but if we make the big game, I just want to enjoy it w/out all of the baggage, and hearing every day about his record against us & all that. Just normal championship stress is plenty.

I always feel bad for kickers. I know they get paid & all that - but what a lonely job.

That's fair. That was great fight from Motor on that last run - and he does that a lot. It's close w/ both of them, and I'm glad we have 2 guys there who can make big plays.

Elam had some big plays yesterday - but if you watched throughout the game, he was basically blanketing whoever he was covering. Cook is our top RB. I love how Motor plays, but Cook has a better ability to turn nothing into something, and is more of a threat to break it when he gets the ball. Shakir had the drop - but he's an exciting player. He has a 5th gear that our other receivers don't really have, and it seems like they're starting to trust him more & work him more into the offense. Benford is great depth. With JA's contract kicking in, good drafting is going to be the key to sustained success. Beane looks to be up to that challenge, imo.

You may as well ask when we'll turn off America. The dollar rules here. I'm okay w/ it.

JA played great yesterday. I might put the long pass INT on him, though Romo was saying it was more on Brown. The Beasley pass is one we've seen completed many times - that wasn't on JA. Bease also got interfered w/ there. On the fumble, that was just tough all the way around. JA had the quick outlet w/ the RB on the left, but there was no way he could even get into a throwing motion - the defender was on him almost immediately. He has to protect the ball, but pass protection cannot break down that quickly. Otherwise, he made all of the usual JA plays that win us games. No QB in the league I'd rather have.

If we still had Von, I wouldn't be too worried about this game. Cincy has a tough situation w/ that O-line right now. As it is, we should still be able to create a lot of pressure. I don't think Allen really turned into a pumpkin yesterday - the picks really weren't his fault, and the way the rush was on the fumble, he didn't even have time to tuck the ball back in. Obviously, we have to clean up the mistakes, but I don't expect a repeat of yesterday or anything close to it. And I think the Bengals will have challenges stopping both our run game and the pass attack. In a way, I'm glad it worked out this way. I want to see how we match up w/ that team. This will likely be the 1st of many times we'll see them in January.