Shaw66

I’d been antsy all week. From any perspective, the Chiefs at the Bills was a big game. A Bills win would put them back in the running for the bye in the playoffs. The Chiefs had displayed a great knack for finding a way to win, and we all knew they’d found ways to win against the Bills in the past. It was Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce and Andy Reid coming to town for a showdown, and they would be ready. The national hype for the game was well under way. Everyone who cares about football would be watching this one. At noon on Sunday, my friend and I were sitting in the parking lot at the Buffalo Sports Garden on Southwestern Boulevard in Orchard Park. We had talked about going downtown for lunch, but I was too much on edge to plan for a mid-afternoon drive from downtown to Highmark Stadium – the traffic and parking lots are so unpredictable that I simply didn’t want to risk it. Orchard Park was a much better staging area, because it meant we had only a short drive to the stadium when the time was right. The restaurant opened at 12:00 sharp, and we walked in. Surprisingly, the place wasn’t packed. Most tables were occupied, but not all. They have a lot of TVs, and all sorts of pregame shows for all the 1 pm games were on the screens. The CBS studio crew kept popping up all over, with Bills fans in the background, yelling and waiving signs. It was like we were in the parking lot with them, but we were just sitting, having lunch, and getting wired for the game. We watched the 1 pm games, focused primarily on the Steelers and the Ravens. Interesting, hard fought game. AFC North games are always entertaining. At halftime, we were out the door and in ten minutes, we were pulling into Lot 6 at the stadium. There was very little traffic and as I drove to a parking space, I realized why the traffic was light: It was an hour and half before the game, and everyone going to the game was already there. The lots were almost completely full. We donned our gear and went directly to the gate. There were no lines – tailgating was in full swing, so we walked right in and went to the Pepsi Club. We’d missed only a few minutes of the third quarter of the Steelers-Ravens, and we watched the rest of the game in the Club. Every once in a while a TV screen in the Club would switch to the CBS crew, still doing their pregame shtick, including jumping on tables. Finally with a minute left, it became clear that the Steelers would win it, game time was fast approaching, and we headed for our seats. Understand this: We’d just had pretty much the same television experience that millions of fans around the country had had. It had been a normal Sunday of NFL football on TV. We’d seen all the hype about Bills-Chiefs, with highlights of Mahomes and Allen making plays and all of that. And then we walked twenty yards and walked into the stadium to our seats. It felt like we had somehow walked into the TV show we’d been watching. The stadium was completely packed – all those people who were in the lots when we walked into the Club at 3 pm had filled the stadium while we were watching football on TV. There were no visible empty seats. Anticipation of the game was hanging in the air. Within a couple minutes after taking our seats, a huge American flag covered the field, the Star Spangled Banner was sung, helicopters flew overhead, and the game began. We were at the game the entire country was watching! The noise during the Chiefs’ first possession was as loud as it gets in Highmark Stadium. We’d seen the occasional Chiefs fans at the hotel, at the restaurant, walking through the parking lot, and in the Club, but in the stadium, it was Bills blue everywhere, with only the occasional dot of red here and there. The Chiefs fans tried making some noise, but it was obvious to everyone that it has hopeless: they were in Bills country now, and they had to just sit and wait for whatever was coming. The game, of course, lived up to the hype; it was another classic to add to the story of the Bills and the Chiefs under Allen and Mahomes. When the Bills went up 23-14 early in the fourth quarter, it was the first time that either team had had a two-score lead. The lead didn’t last long; the Chiefs drove seventy yards in five minutes to get back within two points, 23-21. There were eight minutes left in the game, and everyone in the stadium had the same thought: This is Mahomes and the Chiefs, and they’ve just started their Mahomes-and-the-Chiefs thing, taking over the game down the stretch to win in the end. There was only one way to beat them, and that was to drive the proverbial stake in the heart. Running out the clock would do it, but an eight-minute drive was unlikely. The Bills needed a touchdown. A field goal wasn’t enough; everyone knew that with a minute to go and the ball, Mahomes could find a way to get the touchdown to win. That’s what Mahomes does. Even McDermott admitted it later. The Bills put together the drive they needed until, at third and two from the Chiefs’ 26-yard line, Ty Johnson was stopped for no gain. 2:27 left in the game. The Bills were where they have often found themselves late in games: in a one-score game, with the offense stalled and asking the defense to win the game with one more stop. Sometimes the defense comes through, sometimes it doesn’t, but it shouldn’t be that way. The offense needs to win the game, and that was exactly the message Sean McDermott delivered to the offense. A field goal wasn’t enough – it still would be a one score game. The offense had to get the first down, at least to run more time off the clock, but also to give the Bills another chance to score the touchdown that would end the game. One play to win the game. Did the offense have it in them? Yes! Allen came to the line of scrimmage and understood the defense the Chiefs were showing. As the play began, the Chiefs left what had been a disguise and changed defenses. Allen was ready. His options were to throw if his receiver was open or to run if the defense had covered the receiver. It was more or less impossible for the defense to cover both options. Allen looked briefly at the receiver and took off running to his right. Chris Jones, the Chiefs’ all-world defensive tackle had been lined up to that side, but he was being man-handled by Bills guard O’Cyrus Torrence. Torrence drove Jones completely out of the play. A cheer went up as Allen took off running. It was the fans saying, in unison, “Josh is our man and he’s running the ball!!!” Within a second, the cheer got louder, because Allen had gained the necessary two yards, had the first down and was still running. Now Allen was at the fifteen, running at full speed with some Chiefs closing in. The fans got louder; they’d seen this before – their 250-pound hero doing his Superman-thing. Allen barreled through the last Chiefs defender at the goal line and fell into the end zone as the crowd erupted into the loudest roar of the entire afternoon. Touchdown! Game over! Bills win! It wasn’t over, of course. Two minutes left; for any other team, the situation would be hopeless, but this was, still, the Chiefs and Mahomes. They began their march up field, probing the Bills defense, looking for some way to put up a big gain and a quick score. It still seemed possible when on fourth down Mahomes scrambled for 18 yards and a first down to the Bills’ 34 yard-line. However, an offensive holding penalty negated the gain, and on fourth and 13, Terrel Bernard intercepted. One more eruption from the fans, a couple of kneel-downs by Allen, and the win was secured. Leaving the stadium, everyone was smiling (except Chiefs fans – including one in a red Chiefs game jersey, number 13, with “SECONDS” where a player’s name should be). It felt so good. The Bills stadium workers at the exits were smiling and greeting us as we left. One fan, assuming a staffer at the game had been outside the stadium throughout the game, said to her, “Wait until you watch the replay of the game.” She said, simply, “I can’t wait!” The traffic jam getting out of the lots was, of course, massive, because no one had left early. Within a half hour, we were back on Southwestern Boulevard, and within a few minutes more we had returned to the Buffalo Sports Garden, where the day had started with lunch and the early games. Now, we were back for supper and the first half of the Sunday night game. At halftime (after watching the Bills highlights one more time), we went back to the hotel, and as the final seconds of the the Chargers’ win over the Bengals ticked away, I turned off the television, turned out the lights, and fell asleep. Perfect. 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 every-day 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.

I think you understate the importance of what we saw yesterday. It's true, it's only one game, but I think the game displayed beautifully a couple of things we've been waiting for. 1. McDermott's approach is based on a belief that the offense and the defense can literally get better from season to season, as the players learn to make decisions and to execute nearly flawlessly. I think this season is demonstrating that. A good argument can be made the Bills are better this season than last season, even with the substantial personnel changes that were made. And, as he's already alluded to occasionally, the coaching is getting better year over year, too. McDermott is developing a better feel for decision-making. He seems calmer than in previous seasons. A lot of the time he's observing, because his coordinators are funning the game the way he wants. 2. Allen gets it. His description of what he was thinking on the TD showed that it's all coming naturally now. He knew what he was looking at, could see the Chiefs were showing one defense and sliding to another, he understood what it meant and where he could attack it. That high-level thinking on the field. He's been taking the short completion over the deeper 50-50 ball more often - and he's making smart decisions, generally, about when to throw the 50-50 ball. These aren't things that have happened overnight, but to have it so clearly on display in a big game against the most feared opponent in the league (along with Detroit), that's important.

Full time officials and booth review. Full time officials would cost each team $1 million a year. Worth to improve the credibility of the game.

Thanks, and I agree about the last point. If he lost any speed that a good receiver wouldn't, that was the difference between a completion and a near miss.

I haven't watched replays carefully. Did he lose speed? If so, that's a really interesting point, because it was literally a half step, which means the ball was right on the money. Still, I'll say that given how open he was, Allen could have and probably should have dialed it back a tad. That was a tough run for his receiver.

Talk about complementary football. They are it. They play really tough defense, and when the defense needs someone to pick them up, they turn to Mahomes. Great combination. I think the Bills simply aren't at their level, yet. I think they're a year away. I think the Bills need to plug in a really good defensive talent somewhere. I was hoping it would be Bishop, and maybe he's like Bernard - he needs his rookie season to get up to speed. I hope they'll acquire someone special in the off season, ideally a stud d lineman. Then the Bills will look like the Chiefs do now - great defense, with a quarterback and an offense that demoralizes the opponent. Brady and Manning used to play every year for the same reason. I'm sure the Pats and Colts fans hated it, but the rest of the country loved it. Pats-Colts was always a must-see game.

It's true, it's not a rebuild, but it's still a fabulous job on the coaching (and personnel) end. The pieces keep changing, and a lot of the pieces are not high-end talent, but the team keeps winning. The list of names who have contributed is impressive: Rapp, Hamlin, Lewis, Spector, Williams, the D line rotation, the receiver room. It's not that all of these guys, and others I haven't named, are great. The whole point is that McDermott and his staff can prepare less-than-great players, and the collective result is that the team keeps winning. That's impressive.

No replay of the call against Douglas in the end zone. Penalties are part of the game, so they aren't showing the whole game.

I hear you. No one had immediate success in those days. That was because the pro game was so different from college. Now, the pros have adopted a lot principles from the college game, and I think that's why guys are having what seems like more immediate success. I think I heard that Jayden Daniels is running the same offense he ran in college (maybe it was someone else). Then the defenses figure out the tendencies of these kids and they stop them unless they grow as a field generals. Ultimately, college skills aren't enough to keep anyone on top. I think Lamar is a good example. He's gotten progressively better, year after year, running the Ravens' passing offense, and that's what keeps him on top. Kudos to him. A lot these kids from college plateau and don't keep advancing. But it is true that some have more success immediately than in earlier eras.

Yes, about the presnap penalties. The formations, the motions, the various options, the tackles eligible. All of it adds complexity and increases the chances that guy screw up. Yes, about the receivers, too. They're extraordinary. But the league needs to find a way to get back to their being able to make plays downfield. Right now, they're pretty much hemmed into the line of scrimmage and five or ten yards beyond. No, about the QBs. I think there are young QBs who fall into the right situation and make big splashes, but they have to have the brains and mental discipline, and experience, to run these complicated offenses. So, you have Stroud being all the rage last season, and now he is struggling. Every season there are one or two who are flashing greatness, but we haven't seen many climb into the true upper tier. As much as I've dumped on Lamar, I've gotta say that he's now upper tier. Mahomes, for sure, and I think Allen, particularly given the maturity he's playing with this season. As of this season, I'd say not Herbert, not Murray, not Cousins, not Mayfield, not Fields, not Darnold, not the guy in Philadelphia, not Stroud. And I'd say don't crown Daniels in his first season, just as crowning Stroud was premature.

CeeDee Lamb And I always thought Dak was a bad investment. I think all three franchises have habitually made bad personnel decisions, including head coach choicess. I suspect, however, that the problem with the coaches is inappropriate interference from the owner, certainly in the case of the Cowboys and the Raiders (if we assume Mark Davis manages like his father) and probably the Browns, too. Jones's approach is too much driven by the bottom line. He values the show that he puts on more than the superiority of his team. They always seem to have multiple players who love the spotlight so much that they lose sight of what's necessary to win, players who make for good TV. All the way back to Prime Time, TO, and Michael Irvin. Great, great, players, but they wanted the spotlight. At least Irvin won, but I think that's probably to AIkman's credit. .

When the Bills got Cooper, someone asked why has the guy changed teams so much. Answer, ownership. He played for the Raiders, the Cowboy, and the Browns. That's dysfunctional, cubed.

This is great stuff, nice analysis. Thanks.

I guess it isn't a fascinating question, because more or less everyone agrees it's the Browns. In my mind, it's simple. If you're NFL team and you don't have a QB to build around, you need a quarterback. Seems like both teams have cap problems that will keep them from acquiring a QB in free agency, but it's pretty tough to get a good QB in free agency - just look at, uh, the Saints. Cousins is about the free agent QB any team has gotten since, uh, the Saints and Brees. That means they have to draft a QB. Let's assume both teams hit the lottery and draft QBs are good from the get go and are guys they can build on. Which team is in a better position to build? Saints, because their cap situation is less bad than the Browns. Ownership? I have no idea if Gayle Benson knows what she's doing in New Orleans. I am sure that Jimmy Haslam doesn't know what he's doing in Cleveland. Again, the negative advantage foes to New Orleans. I'd rather be the Bills.

If I had to guess, I'd guess it wasn't his best game. He showed up in the passing game, but I've been noticing him playing special teams. He plays them all, I think, and multiple times I've seen someone make a play and ask, "Who was that?" It's surprising how often the answer is Hollins. I think he's another one of those guys whom McDermott loves.

Apparently, and that's another thing that's problematic. One ticky-tack call, okay. Maybe it's a makeup call. But two in row? If you don't see it, don't call it.

Logic - I saw this when you posted it, but didn't have time to respond then. I just remembered. The bolded part describes it exactly. It's a great, succinct statement of the philosophy of the run defense. The Bills put a lot of people on the field who can run and can tackle. Then they give them assignments that require them to run to the point of attack, starting from some optimal place. They are not power guys, not on the line of scrimmage, and certainly not at linebacker or DB. The result is that they are susceptible to getting block, because they are running to make the play. The Bills force the offense to execute those blocks, which isn't easy, because the defense is so fluid. As you say, the best offenses execute consistently enough to get good yardage in the run game consistently. But even then, except Henry's run, they don't get beat for game-breaking runs. And to their credit, when they're in the red zone, they are really tough against the run. The Chiefs showed the other night that they are happy to play against a defense like that. They'll run all day long. Great post. Thanks.

Thanks. Definitely not a hold on Dawkins, and I agree that this doesn't show a hold on Torrence either. It's possible that he was grabbing the guy's shirt, which we could see from this angle, and the official could. However, it has to impede the player held, and it didn't. Torrence is carrying on with the execution of his block, moving his feet with defender and pushing with his arms. One of the most difficult thing for officials in any sport to do is to be disciplined about only calling the foul when the official actually sees it. What happens with the poorer official is that they see something happen that looks like the aftermath of a foul (like the defense lineman unable to get off the blocker when the lineman changes direction). I think that's what happened here. The lineman is turning to get off the block and to make a play on the ball carrier, but it doesn't look like he was being held. The same is true on the very next play, also called on Torrence, and the same thing happened. Torrence is in excellent position with his hands on the guy's chest, managing the block just as he's taught to do. Really unfortunate calls, and poor officiating. If you don't see it, don't call it.

This is a familiar technique, and we shouldn't be surprised. Because of the continuity that exists in Buffalo, which includes continuity on the defensive scheme, the Bills can bring back former player and plug them in almost immediately. It's what we've the Chiefs do with Kareem Hunt and with whichever receiver they brought back late last season. If a guy who returns can't cut it, they'll figure that out soon enough and deal with it. In the meantime, they've live warm bodies who are up to speed almost immediately.

I agree, the offense isn't overpowering. And I agree, I don't know what Anderson and Virgil add. Either one takes a valuable skill player off the field and makes the offense less multiple. As to your first paragraph, again, referring to three years ago is pretty much irrelevant. Most teams are stopping that dynamic downfield offense. All the good teams are winning by going on extended drives, just like the Bills did Sunday and against the Seahawks before that. That seems to be the only way for offenses to succeed consistently in this era.

I don't know about 13 seconds, but last night for sure. Coin toss is 50-50, and Chiefs probability of getting the TD on the first possession is higher than the Bucs. That means the chances that you win the game in overtime are less than 50-50. I'd guess that the Bucs chances of making the two-point conversion are better than 50%. That means your chances of winning the game are better going for 2. .

DHop will change that. They are going to be dynamic on offense now. Worthy deep, DHop all over, and Kelce finding openings as the DBs chase the other two. I think the Chiefs will be explosive.

The first half of the season is about winning enough games to be nicely positioned to make the playoffs. The development of the team isn't complete yet, and the result is that there will be close games, ugly games, even a loss here and there that shouldn't happen. As the second half of the season progresses, the team should be rounding into form, becoming the best team they can be. What's disturbing about the Chiefs is that they've been able to win all of their games, even the ugly games. But it really doesn't matter all that much, except for the playoff seeding. What matters is becoming high-performing team over the next two months. The Bills have a shot at that. If they develop nicely, they'll win their share of the tough games coming up, they'll finish the season at 12-5 or better, and they'll be ready for a playoff run. If they don't develop, they'll lose three or for of the big games ahead of them, finish 10-7, and struggle for a game or two in the playoffs.

I'm not going back through this thread to see who's said these things already, but I had a few thoughts about the game: 1. Nobody matriculates the ball down the field like Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Nobody. 2. DHop still has it and he's a fantastic addition to that team. He changes that team. 3. Late in the game, Chiefs needed about four for a first down, DHop ran a quick slant on the left side. Mahomes threw it before DHop looked for it and it fell incomplete behind him. Mahomes' throw was great, and DHop knew it as soon as he realized what had happened. He's been around the league, but he's never played with a QB like Mahomes before, a guy who is truly a master. Imagine how tough the two will be after working together for a few weeks. It was a little like Cooper dropping the quick sideline throw on his first live target from Allen - Cooper looked startled that the ball arrived as soon as it did, on tim.

One of the Bills, maybe Johnson, said after the game that the Bills were sort of giving the Dolphins the run. He sort of stumbled over it, but it was clear that the Bills were determined to keep the passing game under control and challenged everyone to make sure the run game didn't beat them. I think the Bills' defense did a great job. Ultimately, they didn't stop Miami much, but Miami comes at you with great, great skill players. In the end, only Ray Davis broke free for an explosive touchdown.