Shaw66

I don't watch Hard Knocks. Never have. Will there be an episode following this loss? I mean, it'll be seriously painful for them, but good reality TV. GDT?

Right. I have to admit, I didn't notice Spector, whom several people have commented on. What I noticed was that the defensive line wasn't blowing people up, but they were working hard enough to get consistent pressure and be making stops in the run game. And the D backs were all over the place. Loved when Poyer lit up that guy and Collinsworth went nuts. Rapp was possessed on the last two plays. Benford stood out all game, and Jackson was his usual solid self. It was a great show. I'm sure the Dolphins came into the game expecting to win, and came into the second half confident. I usually don't take pleasure in the other guy's misery, but I really enjoyed thinking about how shell-shocked they were at the end. Josh just coming at them relentlessly, mistakes or not, especially on the long third-down run, Harty exploding on them, and the defense just completely taking it to them. It was awesome.

Fans have different opinions about the color commentators on NFL broadcasts. Some like one and dislike another. Others feel the opposite. I like Chris Collinsworth. I like him because he genuinely enjoys watching the games. He gets excited about plays and about situations. Does he embellish his excitement sometimes? I’m sure he does, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t enjoying what he’s seeing. And he sees the game well. As soon as a play is done, he often talks about one player who did one particular thing; then the replay comes up and there it is, just as he said. Sunday night Collinsworth got to call the final game of the 2023 regular season, the game between the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins to decide which team would win the AFC Eastern Division. He got a great game to watch, full of interesting plays, important plays, big plays, and big mistakes. He loved it. Late in the game, Collinsworth said something that was absolutely correct – the game felt every bit like a playoff game. It was dramatic from the very first play until the final interception. Every play mattered, and every fan watching knew it mattered. Everything about the game was at an emotional level higher than Bills-Cowboys, Bills-Eagles, Bills-Chiefs in previous weeks. It was great football entertainment, and it was the perfect game on which to end the regular season and move into the playoffs. And, of course, it was a perfect game for the Bills, because they came from nowhere six weeks ago to the number 2 seed in AFC championship bracket. I loved it. One play was one of the great plays in Bills’ history: Deonte Harty’s 96-yard punt return tied the game and gave the Bills the emotional energy to take the lead on their next possession. And because the game felt just like a playoff game, I will remember that play together with Taron Johnson’s 101-yard interception return against the Ravens in the 2021 Divisional playoffs. Emotionally, the plays were so similar. The Bills were leading the Ravens and were trailing the Dolphins, it’s true, but the Ravens were about to score to tie the game, and the Bills had seemed to be going nowhere. They certainly seemed to be going nowhere against the Dolphins. As Johnson started out of the end zone, I thought he should have taken the knee and the touchback. As Harty caught the punt on the four, I thought he should have taken the fair catch. Then, in both cases, an absolute explosion! By the time Johnson hit the 20-yardline, and Harty, too, it was a simple footrace. Both games turned around after those 80-yard dashes. I knew the Ravens were dead birds after Johnson’s magic, and when the Dolphins went three and out on their next possession, they were dead fish. Two role players (Johnson hadn't yet emerged as the stud he's become), two game-changing plays, two phenomenal Bills’ wins. Mike McDaniel is one of those offensive-geniuses we keep hearing about. He installed some wrinkles in the Dolphin running attack that absolutely tore up the Bills’ in the first half. Achane, particularly, was running wild, and Collinsworth appreciated every minute of it. He understood and explained how McDaniel had taken misdirection to a new level, and how it was confusing the Bills. Still, the Bills’ defense held the Dolphins to two touchdowns in the first half, and the Bills trailed by only 7. Then Sean McDermott, the other coaching star in the game, took over. Having watched only from the sideline, and with the help of his assistants, he developed and installed the antidote during half time. McDaniel’s magic was neutralized, and the Dolphins didn’t sniff the end zone again. The defense completely smothered the Dolphins in the second half – the run game fizzled, and the offensive line harassed Tua enough to limit the effectiveness of the Dolphin quick passing game. Josh Allen had just enough to overcome a series of costly mistakes, including a first-half interception and a second-half sack-fumble-turnover. Still, he was larger than life. When he got going, running like a man possessed and making multiple pinpoint throws to receivers finding their way into seams, he was Josh Allen at his best. He’s just so good, running and passing, that he demoralizes the other team. His play said, “We are not going to lose,” and the Dolphins heard it. The playoffs began Sunday night. 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 woke up thinking the same thing. Beane does a solid job.

No.

If they can, then the game obviously is in the hands of the Bills' defense.

This. I don't know the Pats personnel, and I really haven't followed them, but the reality is that every Belichick team will play defense well. I went into the game fairly certain that the Bills wouldn't score 30. Belichick just won't allow it. He's been doing ever since he was the Giants' defensive coordinator. The scary thing was that Belichick might hold the Bills under 20, and once the Pats returned the opening kickoff, I thought the Bills were in a bigger hole than it may have looked. The Pats weren't getting over 20 unless the Bills gave away points, and that's what they did immediately. I don't know if there's a formula for stopping the Bills, but there's not much question that good defense can slow them down considerably. The Bills have a defense to slow the Dolphins down. The question is whether the Dolphins can keep the Bills under 30.

Interesting. Thanks. Other two clearly seemed to be reporting. Did the ref screw it up that badly?

I'm late to this party, but it seemed to me that Detroit had two and maybe three guys who needed to report. 68 and someone else talked to the ref, and then he turned to notify the Cowboys. 70 got there late and looked like he was trying to get the ref's attention over the shoulder of one of his teammates. The ref kept walking away, so I don't think the ref ever got the message from 70. As others have noted, the ref should have done better. He should have seen 70 was coming over to him. Still, it's the player's responsibility to report, and the player should have seen that the ref wasn't getting the message. It's the same as Toney lining up offside. It's the player's responsibility, not the ref's. It was a great play, but the players have to be trained to do everything to make it work, including report.

1, 3, 4, 6, and 7 all have scrambling QBs. I don't trust PFF analysis, ever, even when it makes the Bills look good.

Can we e keep this thread on page one? It's useful.

I hear you, but there are a lot of people playing for their jobs, either with their current team or their future team. And every team is playing to win. In high school, we all played hard to win, even the last game of the season. The whole point of playing is to win. And at the NFL level, these guys want to win. If I were on those teams, I'd definitely want the best QB on the field, and the best QB is Taylor and Brissett. And I wouldn't care at all about developing the young guys because (1) I won't be on this team in a year or two, (2) it's take those guys more than a year or two to develop, and (3) I've watched them play, and I don't think they'll ever make it. The coach is playing for his job, too, and he wants to win, too.

Yes, lump, for sure. When the ball was thrown across the field, there was a moment of terror. Then, I thought, "don't be silly." Then, I saw the replay and realized it wasn't silly at all.

Oh, yeah, I wasn't including the Bills in the list. But the definitive list isn't determined until the end of February, and we aren't there yet. The fact is that inconsistent from game to game really doesn't matter. Winning in December and January is what matters, and the Bills won Saturday night. Miami and New England won, too, and both of them will be tough opponents. They're both beating playoff contending teams.

I was 13 at the first game at the Rockpile in 1960. Moved from Buffalo for good in '68, but I've been through it all, too. We just keep waiting.

That way overstates. The 49ers and Panthers aren't where they are because of luck. The better teams win more games. The Bills just haven't been the better team for many games.

I'm the one who earlier this year was on Josh for still not taking the easy throw and going for broke. The INT was a poor decision. He had better, much higher percentage options, including, I think, running. But the other thing I've said about Josh is that the reason we want him is for six or eight plays a game, and the team has to trust him to decide when it's time for one of those plays. On that throw, he decided it was time. He should have run, but if I'm the coach I'm giving him latitude to make that play. It was a bigger risk, but a similar play as the TD to Davis, and we all were OK with his deciding to go long that time. And you're right, he missed several throws in the first half. It looked to me as though he was spending so much of his brain energy thinking about the play that he sort of forgot to focus on the quality of his throws. Obviously, I can't read his mind, but he didn't seem focused on his throws.

I gotta respond to this. I haven't read the thread, except for a few of the early posts. It's not for me to say what OldMan meant when he said "lucky," but I've been trying to use the word "fortunate" instead. The win wasn't lucky, but the Bills were fortunate to win. It wasn't a lucky bounce, or a bad call against the Chargers. But it WAS a game the Bills good have lost. They were fortunate. I wouldn't say the Bills "sucked," but they certainly didn't play well. And it certainly is true that the Bills have lost too many times to inferior competition. The Bills have too many games when they should be cruising through the 4th quarter and aren't. On the other hand, the mark of a good team is that it finds a way to win when they don't have their A game. That's what we saw yesterday.

That's amazing. Period. Hard to know which team will show up.

When the ball flew a Ross the field to the left sideline, my heart sank. When I saw the replay with the wall set up, I realized we'd dodged the same bullet.

This is a good take. Every once in a while I go back and look at late-season games in 1964 and in the Super Bowl run. There were a lot of these games. Win and advance. Find a way to win. Cough up the lead late in the fourth quarter? Well, find a way to win. It's easier to find a way when Josh Allen is the QB.

Seriously, Dick. I was thinking about this today. We're ready to come here for eleven months with all of our brilliant critiques and suggestions, but in December, when it gets down to crunch time, when nothing else matters by the W, when every game is a big game, all the armchair quarterbacks (and coaches and GMs) go silent.

Thanks. So strictly as a matter of principle, he's not going to watch. Seems to me there are about 10,000 ways to protest rampant capitalism around the world. Of all the ways to protest, I don't get boycotting a Bills game in the middle of the playoff hunt. To each his own.

You own a Bills Backer bar and you won't have the game on in your bar? What are you going to tell your customers when they come in Saturday and you tell them the game isn't on?

Three punts after the two minute warning. Stimulating football.