Shaw66

I stopped feeling this way last night. It's real.

Through all those years of futility, years without division titles or playoff appearances, years without respect, years of frustration, I never thought about a game where the Bills crushed the Patriots. Yes, the Bills did beat the Patriots 31-0 in 2003, but that was before the heart of the drought. I just wanted the Bills to be respectable against the Patriots, win or lose, and I wanted the Bills to win a meaningful game against them. This season we saw plenty of things that are different about Sean McDermott’s Bills. We saw the process, the commitment, the superb players, the wins in big games. Through it all, it never occurred to me what it might feel like to see the Bills blow out the Patriots in a game that mattered. The Bills had beaten the Patriots at an important point earlier in the season, but that game turned into a nail-biter and nearly a loss. Monday night, the Bills needed a win again. Granted, there wasn’t a lot on the line, but there was enough. The Bills need wins to secure the number 2 seed in the playoffs, a spot that would allow the Bills to play at home for at least two games, and three if somehow the Chiefs stumble. I’m sure, too, the Bills had some desire to beat the division rival that has been their nemesis for so long, and some desire for a convincing win. There also was something on the line for the Patriots, it seems. The Patriots played like this game mattered to them. It was evident in their intensity early in the game; the hitting was ferocious. It also was evident when Bill Belichick threw his telephone in disgust after blowing a challenge on the Dawson Knox catch on the sidelines. Well, I can say now that it feels good to blow out the Patriots. Really good. It feels good to see the Bills get the final points of the first half, not the Patriots. It feels good to see the Bills score a touchdown on the opening possession of the third quarter, not the Patriots. It feels good to see the Bills execute on third down and on fourth down, not the Patriots. It feels good to see the Bills continue to attack methodically when there was plenty of time left but no hope for the Patriots. It just plain feels good. Josh Allen was positively Brady-like, starting slowly, getting a feel for the game. He spent the first quarter sizing up the Patriot defense with Brian Daboll. After what was just a few turns around the track, it was “okay, we get this, let’s put the pedal to the metal.” Three touchdowns on three straight possessions to end the half (not counting the kneel down), and another to start the third quarter. Allen was in complete control, operating behind a line that protected him like he was the GOAT. Game over. How about one more TD on the victory lap? Okay, got it. I knew so very well how it felt when Brady and the Patriots did it. Now, I know how it feels when the Bills do it. Allen to Diggs was good early in the season, but these two now seem like they’ve been together for years. Allen trusts Diggs to get to where he needs to be, Diggs trusts Allen to get him the ball. They’re seeing the field together, and what they see looks beautiful. Diggs had another big night, going 9 for 145 and 3 TDs, including two highlight-reel scores. On the first, Diggs outran his man from left to right across the field, and when the corner on the far side followed Gabriel Davis to the post, the entire right side of the field opened up. Allen saw it and got the ball out to where Diggs could catch it on the run toward the sideline. Once Diggs made the turn up field it was over. 50 yards. Then on what is becoming their signature play, Allen scrambled out to the left and threw hard, down, and away to a covered Diggs diving in the end zone. It’s one of the most difficult throws to make, and one of the most difficult catches, and they do it like they’re tossing frisbees in the backyard. On defense, it was about the same. They gave up a big play early, then held for a field goal. They gave up one long second-quarter drive, powered by the Patriots’ running game Then it was lights out. The Patriots had six more possessions in the game: Punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt. Matt Milano was the standout defender. Hard hits, solid open field tackles, a sack. The guy was outstanding. This is classic-team defense. They are so well-schooled, so athletic, and so driven, that they seem to be playing with a couple of extra players on the field. Wherever the offense attacks, there’s a defender with a few more on the way. The defensive load was lightened by the fact that the Patriots don’t have a quarterback who can throw effectively or receivers who can catch consistently. The receivers dropped a couple of big-gain opportunities, and first Newton and then Stidham missed plenty of open receivers. They were absolutely Bills-like. The special teams are really good, and Andre Roberts is their poster child. Roberts popped another long return. Bass is kicking off short or long, depending on whether the Bills like their coverage opportunities. The punt coverage is superb – the Bills swarmed downfield to disrupt a fair catch and get an extra 20 yards of roll. They executed a fake punt flawlessly to give the offense the little boost they needed. Was it perfect? No, Taiwan Jones, Dawson Knox, and Gabriel Davis, it wasn’t perfect, but it was darn good. And, ooh, it feels so good to say it: The Bills crushed the Patriots! It will be interesting to see how the Bills play the Dolphins. The Bills rested starters last year and then couldn’t get the job done in the wildcard game; still, resting starters is attractive. On the other hand, a win secures the number 2 seed, and sweeping the AFC East would be satisfying. The Bills need Beasley and Poyer back, but at least they have a week to rest them, if necessary. It’s a tricky spot. GO BILLS!!! The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were everyday people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

You know, I read this article in my local paper and thought about posting a link, but then I thought there's nothing in it Bills fans don't even know. (I did react to the guy saying that with Beasley and Diggs the Bills have "a nice little passing game.") What's noteworthy about the article is that it exists at all. It's just so satisfying to pick up the paper and see a feature article with that headline. I never imagined seeing such a thing. What a trip this is.

Whoa! Thought my computer was broken! Great look!!! Thanks.

These stories are amazing.

Agreed. But the bean counters won't be in charge. Bills will pay whatever it takes.

I continue to expect Josh to give a discount. Josh is the perfect team guy. He won't take the last dollar. I'm really not interested in the business end of football, no idea what a contract should look like. The only question I'm interested in is should Josh be extended, and I was sure of that after his rookie year.

Offense IS about where we were, true, but I think that's more a commentary about the beginning of the season than about progress. Like a few other teams, I think the Bills were way ahead coming out of the gate. It took the league four or five weeks to figure out how to stop getting absolutely bombed out of the park by the best passing teams. Probably a better way to think about it that the first four or five weeks of the season was preseason. In the middle of October, teams had caught on. So if you look at the offensive graph starting at week 6 or week 8, you see a serious upward trend. That's what's real, I think. On defense, the graph just confirms what everyone has been seeing. The defense has really come together in the last month. Klein came alive, Edmunds got healthy or woke up, Milano came back, the defensive line started playing better as a unit and learned how to play the run better. Everything just began to click.

Thanks. Gotta admit, it's harder but more fun writing about wins.

I like this. I think we do see some things when we are older. I will say this about th we announcers. I think part of their falling for this mechanics stuff is they just don't do their homework. They weren't paying attention last year to what Josh was, and now this year they feel a need to explain why they didn't see it last year. The great jeap forward is a better explanation than "I didnt know what was going on."

He had five games this season with a higher passer rating. By that measure, it was sort of an average game. There are many measures of Josh's greatness. This game is one of those. If Fitz or Tyrod had that game, we'd be excited about it. Josh has it, and it's just an average game. After all, he didn't even complete 80% of his passes! Only two TD passes! The guy is amazing. His average games are excellent.

Virg - In your closing, you talk about whether anyone thought New England-Miami would be two meaningless games. I certainly didn't. Last year, the Bills had one meaningless game, but that was because the wildcard was assured, not the Division. It really is the measure of how good the Bills are. Of course, they aren't completely meaningless. There's still a lot to play for. The Steelers have the Colts and the Browns, so they could easily lose one or two. Chiefs aren't likely to lose two to the Falcons and the Chargers.

As I said, I think the leap was statistical, and it's startling, but I think his skill set is progressing linearly. That is, I think his improvement from year 2 to year 3 isn't all that different from his improvement from over the summer year 1 to year 2. He's down to learning and executing little things, like the pass to Beasley. Being able to do that has big impact on the game, but the actual improvement in his skills to be able to do that is pretty small. Just learn to recognize the situation and execute. He's been making those little improvements, lots of them, since he came into the league. I think what we see is that the cumulative effect of mastering little things like that has some kind of multiplier effect. He masters that kind of play, and the Bills get more first downs. More first downs means more plays for the offense and eventually more offense. That stresses the defense more, and creates other opportunities that Allen already knows how to take advantage of. My point is, I think he just keeps working and keeps getting better, but the impact on his stats hasn't happened in a straight line. Also, I think all this stuff about Allen changing his mechanics is way, way overblown. Yes, apparently he's looked at his mechanics. But if I recall correctly, over the summer Palmer said all they did was tweaking of mechanics. I've said all along that Allen has always been an accurate passer, just inconsistent. He would recognize a situation late and not be in optimal position to make the throw, and he'd be inaccurate. Next time, same situation, if he recognized the situation more quickly, he'd be right on the money. I think what they did with him was to get him aware of his mechanics so he understands better how to make the throw correctly even when his body isn't in the right position, but what's really happening is mostly that his recognition of what's going on keeps improving. He sees the defense better, he understands the routes better, so he isn't surprised. When he isn't surprised, he's accurate. Again, these are little, incremental growth items that are having cumulative effect. I think that's exactly what's going on with his short-yardage accuracy. He's learned over three years to get away from hero-ball, down the field stuff and accept the short pass as the right decision. That means he's coming to the short receiver on time, instead of late, and he's prepared to make the throw. He's prepared not because his mechanics have changed - he's prepared because he has the time to make the throw properly that he's always made when he's prepared. Finally, there simply is no denying the impact Diggs has had on the passing game. Diggs and Beasley together in the short game is what the Patriots would have looked like with Welker and Edelman on the field at the same time. One of those guys is ALWAYS open, and Josh usually knows which one will be open when the play starts. Josh gets a lot of easy throws, in position, in rhythm, because those guys are so good. And, of course, because those guys are so good, Davis and Knox get open more. The amazing thing to me, and to a lot of people, is that Josh is still learning. I've said all along that we aren't going to be seeing the full-blown Josh for another year or two. And that's why he could end up being better than Mahomes. Josh is on his way to being Aaron Rodgers in Cam Newton's body.

Yes, it was brilliant. I've seen it before. That's the way the classic Statue of Liberty play is run, with the QB holding the ball behind his back for the back to take. It was beautifully executed, and as someone said somewhere, the holding call was pretty weak, if not non-existent.

Fair enough. For whatever reason, he missed a few times. When he's lights out for the game, he completes over 80%. Does anyone know what happened on the near interception. It was Davis, I think. My guess is that that Allen was going back shoulder and Davis didn't read it that way. Allen doesn't miss by that much.

Exactly right. We've been living with it for three years now, living with the feeling that he can go off at any time. First and goal from 30, I thought the Bills were going to get the touchdown. Two plays later, Kumerow scored. Not since Jim Kelly did any of us expect the Bills to get seven on first and goal from thirty. In fact, we were just hoping the Bills didn't lose any more yards and miss the field goal opportunity. Allen is amazing. I have to say, though, that I'm tired of all the announcers talking about this enormous leap he's made this year. The only enormous leap has been in the stats. He was amazing as a rookie, and he was amazing in 2019. He's been learning every week and at least for me, there is nothing surprising this season. He's doing what I expected. At the beginning of the season I said it would be this season or next season that he'd be a serious top-10 QB. The acquisition of Diggs made it happen sooner rather than later.

Wow. Think about the deep ball to Diggs with wind like that. That ball was absolutely perfect.

Yeah, I know, but I don't think Jerry will read it, so I wasn't worried about offending him. Truth is, he's a spectacular athlete, and he's grown into a super teammate and leader. No longer the guy who makes a great play here, jumps offside there, and gets trapped out of position. The guy is a stud. Well, spotting the ball on running plays like that is really tough. If you don't gain enough to make it obvious, you're going to be stuck with the occasional officiating mistake. No question he made, but if you can't see the ball on review, you're not going to get the call. Personally, I thought the Bills should have taken the field goal and made it a four-score game. That was the right move. No harm done, they got the field goal on the next possession.

I love him, but for now he and Mahomes have to doff their caps and bow to Rodgers.

Of course they did it for the money. But when we look back at this time and how we survived, we will remember that the NFL soldiered on. We really will remember how health care insititutions and workers soldiered on how, people helped each other, how we grieved together but kept moving forward. We didn't need the NFL like we needed a lot of more important things, but the NFL has helped us through.

Great, Chevy! Really nice. The parents and grandparents got me. For some reason, my grandfather never was much of a Bills fan, but my father was. And my sons, and now my grandsons. Magic moments.

The Bills are rolling now. They rolled over the Broncos in Denver on Saturday, 48-19. In the process, they sent a simple message to the NFL: We’re ready. Every game. The Bills now are looking like a premier NFL team. Except for the last-second loss to Arizona, the Bills haven’t lost in two months. In a statement game last week, they manhandled the Steelers. This week, against a beatable team, they needed a win to clinch the AFC East division title. They dominated. The Bills’ mistakes were one measure of how good the Bills were. There was Andre Roberts’ muffed punt, Allen’s sack fumble, the failed fourth and one play deep in the red zone, and stretches when the Bills looked like they were in an NFL officials’ training film, demonstrating rule violations: offensive pass interference, holding, illegal procedure. The penalties came in bunches, and multiple touchdowns were called back. Still, even though the halftime score was close, the game wasn’t. The Bills were in control, and they proved it in the third quarter. Josh Allen didn’t have his best game, but it didn’t matter. He missed Knox high, missed Diggs high, too. He threw rockets when sometimes more touch was needed. Still, “not his best game” was more than good enough and sometimes breathtaking. Some of those rockets were spectacular. The touchdown to Knox was one - it was all Knox could do to keep the ball from ripping through his hands before he secured it. The touchdown to Kumerow was another. For most NFL quarterbacks, that throw was an interception waiting to happen, as two defenders were quickly closing the window. Allen saw it and knew he could get the ball through to Kumerow before the defenders arrived. It was a terrific throw. The deep ball to Diggs was too beautiful for words. Allen managed the pocket well, knowing when he could wait and when he needed to move. His scramble to the right and throw as he was going down was the kind of play that only elite players make. Allen ran effectively, too. He navigated the middle of the field for his first touchdown, and he recognized and took the edge for his second. He’s just so good. And so is Diggs. Unstoppable in man coverage, with hands that are among the best the league has seen. It’s only a matter of time before he uncorks a massive run after catch. Awesome. The defense couldn’t hold after the Roberts’ muff, and they gave up a drive to end the half. Not perfect. But other than those two scores, there wasn’t much to complain about. Leslie Frazier masterfully mixed the calls and kept Drew Lock uncomfortable all afternoon. One of those calls erased any doubt about who was in control. The Bills opened the second half with a big return from Roberts and a quick seven-play, 45-yard TD drive. After the kickoff, Lock dropped back to pass, and Tre’Davious White looped all the way around behind Lock to make the hit and force the fumble. Jerry Hughes outhustled Taron Johnson for the ball, and then the fun began. We’ve seen Hughes carrying the ball before. He sees the field well, and he can change direction. Weaving through would-be tacklers like a cross between Barry Sanders and a couch potato, Hughes found the end zone. Game over. The rest of the game was fun plays (Singletary’s touchdown run was almost as masterful as Hughes’s). For the game, the offense piled up more than 500 total yards, more than doubling what the defense allowed. By the end, the look on Lock’s face said “Get me out of here.” The fourth quarter saw a series of troubling, apparently small injuries, to White and Diggs and Wallace and Epenesa. Williams had left the game earlier, and Hyde was returning punts late, in place of Roberts. The Bills are hoping nothing is too serious, and they’re fortunate to have a couple of games remaining that, although important, aren’t true must-win. It will be time to get healthy. Oh, yeah, note to league: If you think Kumerow looks like a new threat in the passing game, better watch some film of John Brown; he’ll be back. What’s important about the remaining games? Well, there’s symbolic importance at Foxboro next week. McDermott and the Bills don’t care about symbolic importance, but the fans do. It’s been a great season so far; a win over the Patriots, punctuating the end of Patriot dominance, would indeed be sweet. What McDermott and the Bills DO care about is home field in the playoffs. With the division win, they are assured one game in Orchard Park. If they can win the final two games, and if Pittsburgh loses one, the Bills would be assured two in Orchard Park, and possibly three, if they can keep winning. It's been a long time coming. The Bills have arrived. GO BILLS!!! The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were everyday people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

Once again today, Knox is the only serious pass-catching tight end active. Regardless of what several of us may think if him, it's pretty clear that he's McDermott's man.

I live in Connecticut. I was wearing my Bills hat in Booth Bay Harbor, Maine this summer and two Bills fans from Texas stopped to say hello.

He's been injured, for one. I thi k he also has been getting overpowered I. Pass protection. I've never thought he was a solid anchor there.