Success

Let's just get to next week. This is a much more beatable KC team than we've seen in the past.

That long pass to Kirk looked okay. Lawrence could take an Allen-like leap next year, imo.

Gotta tip my cap - Kelce is quite good.

Jags going w/ the "hot knife through butter" defense. Bold.

I remember when the Jags upset the 1 seed Broncos decades ago. I think the QB was Brunell - it truly shocked the sports world. They've got this.

I think most of us felt even more pain from the 13 seconds situation after Cincy advanced last year. I was, at that time, POSITIVE that we would have beaten Cincy and made the SB if we had beaten KC and hosted the Bengals the following week. Not much difference this year. These are still basically the same 2 teams. I have a little less confidence this year - but I think it's more because of the Bengals hype. We're the better team, at home, and should win tomorrow.

In case anyone is wondering - YES, the Jags can win this game. Pederson is one of those guys - not consistently good or great as a coach, but definitely a "big game" kind of coach. He'll pull out the stops today. And the Jags are no fluke - the defense is very solid, and they have some great skill players on O.

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.