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I generally think Beane approached the WR corp and adding guys that Josh will just make them better because he is awesome. I am waiting for him to say he added Beasley & Brown in 2019 to improve the room as vets and he needs his recent additions to do the same. The difference is Beasley was in his prime and at the time maybe the best slot WR (heck we beat NE for him) and Brown was a proven speed burner by then also a solid WR at the time. Palmer I like, but the rest look like cheap flameouts and lotto tickets they keep hoping for a $100 with when they spent $1. Coleman they have forced out of position (not that I think he is good either) rather then drafting actual outside boundary WRs.

Should be an interesting game and I think it will be a weird one that ends like 23-18 or 25-21. The Bills will be dogs and eager to prove on D especially they can be up for it. Allen typically is in his zone for KC so he will do some things. The Chiefs have been hot for a bit and I expect they win tonight to be on 3 game winning streak and five of the last six. Where it gets interesting is their offensive line is messy right now and like the Bills they have had a lot of night games including tonight so they will come in with one less day. For the Bills I would feel better about their chances knowing Palmer is a go, Kincaid is fully healthy, and the D has Milano/Bernard. I see this as another game (fans will hate this) which the Bills want the ball to dictate pace and eat clock which is why I think we get some weird score by the end of it. If ever there was a game for the offense to let the passing game loose it is now and maybe they finally do a bit but will see. For the Chiefs I think you want to get the ball first and get points early so the Bills can't sit in their gameplan. If KC can get up even 10-7 or something where they force Buffalo to chase I can see them pressing this quicky to a 28-20 finish. A lot in this game will hinge on how that offensive line is in terms of health but more importantly if the Bills can actually get some true pressure to Mahomes or not. Hariston is a nice wrinkle for BUF, but the Chiefs still should be able to use the speed of Worthy and Rice to push the Buffalo secondary.

Matt Bove says this team can absolutely win a SB, but they go as far as 17 takes them. I tend to agree with that despite my frustration currently. If 17 is on a heater they can go places regardless of talent.

Unfortunately this is the dark truth especially with the offense that has forever bothered a lot of people and no WR addition over true quality. Expecting the offense to be at that peak which meant record low turnovers, sacks, & penalties is statistically impossible. I had hoped that the defense with all the investment would be able to carry its weight more and that would swing the difference. With injuries this year you will probably not see the full vision and the defense was not good the first 6 weeks. I will say yesterday they looked really good with a lot of those additions playing granted it was against Dalton. At this point I am hoping they can add a good WR so the offenses potential is higher and the defense molds into a unit that can create pressure at the line without giving up a ton of big plays. IF that happens it could be a different year. But your premise is spot on and why so many including myself were frustrated with how the offense was constructued.

Not sure how old you are but the offense this year has reminded me of what Brady went through 2005 and especially 2006 where his best receiving option was his TE Ben Watson while the WR corp has Reche Caldwell & Jabar Gaffney! Non surprisingly the Pats while competitive with a good running game didn't have the pieces on offense and flamed out. Of course the 07 Pats happened after that and Brady never had a WR room again that shallow in talent (lesson learned). I am nervous the same is happening here where they hope they can win with the QB being the game manager with a great running attack. Problem is that limits your gameplan in a league that favors passing far more then 2005-06.

Seasons to me are all defined by expectations and the eye test. Last year virtually everyone thought it was a reset year of sorts and instead it was a wonderful season that unfortunately ended in "what if". This season the hope was to build on last year and take the final step after years of spinning our tires to get the 1 seed and finally make the SB. The defense was always going to be a work in progress and the injuries have derailed whatever max potential exists, but the offense while good in many ways fails the eye test when it comes to passing right now. The one flaw which people have said going back to Diggs final year was the WR corp where you have wanted to add talent and they haven't done that. I enjoyed yesterday, winning is always nice and to knock a team down like that was a good return to form. But I can feel your sentiment at the same time because: -Josh is not getting younger -McD is year 8 with a defense that is shaky right now even if the potential in areas like the dline is more -KC is hot and their offense looks dynamic especially passing the ball something we use to be dynamic in -NE's fast rise with Maye means it is not a cake walk to the division crown as it has been in every year minus 2023 where you could have bad weeks and losses. Additionally it is always more fun to be on the rise as a team then be established (unless you win every year) because optimism is boundless and the sky feels like it is the limit So yea I get your feeling they missed the window or it is narrower because truthfully it is and that invisible clock is far closer to closing time then feeling endless. The window opened in 2019 and like you said we have come oh so close and now you can see we probably have Josh at his max for 4-5 years tops before you need him to be more Brady/Peyton esq in his later years passing the ball more which also means the org consciously building a team that can do that. The KC loss in the AFC title this past year forever altered my view of the org/coach and our window and it seems to have for many others. Time is not limitless and a golden chance went through our fingers with no guarantee it comes back. With that said sports are really weird and winning is hard for even the best. Most elite QBs have a ring/at least have made the dance, but Brady/Mahomes really skew the bar on what is normal. If you told me in 2010 Aaron Rodgers would have only one ring today and not even appeared in another SB I would've been stunned. Drew Brees got royally screwed back to back years in the playoffs from seeing another SB. The frustration that seems to be seeping out for real is we want this window to be as large as possible with what time we have left and the org's moves make you question if that is really being done from how drafts have gone to how the WR corp has been treated to the coach himself. If tomorrow they landed Olave or Ridley and Harrison Phillips at DT (examples not my actual wishes) to help plug with Oliver out there would be a lot of relief by fans on the said window and how it is being handled. The eye test right now says more can be done to help a team with high expectations and previous results have everyone feeling the same ending (or worse) if nothing changes. I sincerely hope that changes so I can just go back to dreaming and not thinking "if only".

I agree with you here on all of this. I do want to add Albert Breer today mentioned that a lot of teams seem to be more careful right now with QBs in a load mgmt type of way with their usage and what is being shown in the first half. I absolutely believe that the Bills have been doing that with Josh and he has been told to keep it in check until later in the year. That still does not excuse the issues in the passing game that are so prevalent at this time, but it has made me wonder if the game plan has been so intentional at times with runs partly for later in the year. Breer acknowledging as much and other analysts saying the Bills are make Josh be a game manager really makes me think there is credence to some of lack of passing being shown. I don't agree with it, but with the injuries this year and longer season I can see more teams doing that.

Coleman is EJ Manuel 2.0 at WR. Was brought in with expectations he won't ever hit but they want him to, the GM refuses to admit his error which is hurting the team now and the longer they go without admitting the mistake the worse it is going to be. Samuel is what he is at this point. He has been here long enough that he just isn't a fit I guess.

So with you knowing the future will we win a SB with Josh?

Makes sense and Rapp has been beyond disappointing this year. Bishop I think is having some ups and downs but can be a quality starter in the future. The fact Beane ignored though this position and didn't bring in a legit vet to compete sucks. Kevin Byard was available in 2024 and he would have been great to have next to Bishop, the Bears have loved his play the last two years. All the years of stability and great play from Poyer/Hyde show now with how bad our backend has been.

While I am not one for excuses there is some real truth here. The stat lines for Josh against Ulbrich in all of his games are as followed: 2025: Bills lose 27-14 at ATL: 15-26 180 yds 2 TDs 2 INTs 57.7 cmpl 4 sacks 72.6 rating (42 yds rush) 2024: Bills win 23-20 at NYJ: 19-25 215 yds 2 TDs 76.% cmpl 2 sacks 127.9 rating (18 yds rush 1 TD) Bills win 40-14 NYJ: 16-27 182 yds 2 TDs 59.3% cmpl 2 sacks 104.2 rating (17 yds rush 1 TD) 2023: Bills lose 22-16 at NYJ: 29-141 236 yds 1 TD 3 INTs 70.7 cmpl % 62.7 rating (36 yds rush) (MNF football disaster) Bills win 32-6 NYJ: 20-32 275 yds 3 TDs 1 INT 62.5% cmpl 1 sacks 108.2 rating (15 yds rush) 2022: Bills lose 20-17 at NYJ: 18-34 205 yds 0 TD 2 INTs 52.9 cmpl % 46.8 rating (86 yds rush 2 TDs) (Gabe Davis drop game) Bills win 20-12 NYJ: 16-27 147 yds 1 TDs 59.3% cmpl 3 sacks 86.5 rating (47 yds rush 1 TD) 2021: Bills win 45-17 at NYJ: 21-28 366 yds 2 TD 1 INTs 75 cmpl % 125.6 rating (3 yds rush) Bills win 27-10 NYJ 24-45: 239 yds 2 TDs 53.3% cmpl 2 sacks 83.5 rating (63 yds rush) Josh's average day against his defense breaks down as followed: 227 passing yards 1.6 TDs 1 INT 62.9 compl% 1.5 sacks 36 yards rush .5 rush TDs The only year Josh really was clean against Ulbrich was 2021 and that is the only year he was able to pass in a big way on his defense. From 2022 on Ulbrich absolutely had success reigning Josh in passing wise and 2024 was the only year I would say Josh stayed within himself against that defense without getting sugar high. Josh was only sacked 14 times in 2024, Ulbrichs defense got him 4 times. Where the numbers get even more interesting is from 2021-2025 Josh had 53 INTs and took 109 sacks, Ulbrichs defense was responsible for 9 INTs (16.9%) and 14 sacks (12.8%) total which is pretty strong number in itself. There is something to be said for division games as teams get to know each other really well, but even against the Pats who Josh has had some weirdo games against he has been far more successful in that time period and BB is maybe the best D cord ever so you can understand when the off game happens. But the turnovers and sacks especially paint a picture that Ulbrich in general found ways to slow Josh considerably in a way most teams have not been able to.

Because if the starting QB says make a change or he will make noise to leave he has no choice.

Maybe. I think even he knows that time is ticking with Josh and I can absolutely see Josh saying something if they regress out of the playoffs.

Woof do I have to predict this? Bills 23 Panthers 17 I am not going to go into a long winded thing like normal. I will say this under McD they have never lost post bye and since 2019 they have not lost three in a row. I won't say it is a get right game as much as back to basics type game with limited penalties and no turnovers. I think the Bills have the lead by the 3rd quarter as Josh is more normal and they are running decent. The difference is the additions to the d-line help as the Panthers cannot run the way others have so it slows their attack. A late turnover by Dalton allows a FG by the offense and the defense ends it on downs. If they do lose this game I think the end is here for McD for real and this season very likely becomes a non playoff year.

They may accidently walk into a coach like Bowles who is pretty good and get a QB who is a journeyman like Fitz who is hot to get a wildcard spot. But it will be more accidental then intentional. The great irony is that in the current playoff format the Jets would have made the playoffs as the 7th seed and played New England who they did beat once and lost by 7 the other time. The owner has no ability just to step back and let actual football people run stuff. It was beyond evident last year and continues to be this year.