ShakAttack

Actually we do usually generate pressure on Mahomes in the regular season meetings. In fact, I would point to that being THE main difference as far as "why can we beat them in the regular season and not the playoffs". We have sacked him, pressured him into ints, bad throws, etc............... but only in the regular season.

I refresh TBD every 30 minutes in anticipation of a notable DT/WR acquisition and this is what we get. Typical.

This is also why the Ravens looked as good as ever last season. It was the one season in which they weren’t dealing with injuries. Same thing with the season SF made the Super Bowl a couple years ago; relatively low on injuries. In contrast, the Chiefs are somehow always healthy where it matters most by the time the playoffs start each year, so every year they have the benefit of the Niners a couple years ago and the Ravens last season. Not to mention, usually a first round bye. For those that claim “KC gets injuries too!” When was the last time you saw Mahomes, Kelce, Chris Jones or McDuffie miss a playoff game? On McDuffie, MAYBE in his rookie year? Other than that, the answer is never. So yeah, Chiefs have injuries here and there, but it’s never the guys they can’t afford to lose.

So David Chao is full of BS? Yesterday said decent chance of return in playoffs if he had surgery within 48 hours.

So.... Out for Regular Season... think we can all agree. But since the decision for surgery was made promptly, does anyone know the likelihood of Oliver being back for the playoffs? WC round perhaps??

Interesting little fact. Christian Wilkins was also the next DT drafted after Oliver in 2019, who was the DT drafted after Quinnen Williams.

Yeah unfortunately as of today WR and DT both seem more important than CB thanks to losing Ed Oliver.

This stat reminds me of Myles Garrett.... yesterday.

Probably was his best performance then. According to my research, here are Ed's career stats vs. KC 9 games, including playoffs: 11 solo tackles 10 assisted tackles 1.5 sacks (0.5 in regular season, 1 in post season, believe it was in first quarter and more of a coverage sack if I remember correctly) Not much to write home about. Again, don't get me wrong, huge loss overall, and I wasn't able to enjoy this 40-9 blowout win as a result of this injury (kinda reminds me of Tre White on Thanksgiving, actually) but I don't think his absence was ever going to be a major reason we won or lost to KC next week. I'll tell you what was a worse injury, hands down, and that was Von Miller on Thanksgiving. The season he was having for us to that point, the impact he DID have on Kansas City, it was clear that if he were able to stay healthy, we might have actually had a post season pass rush against Mahomes for the first time ever under McDermott.

If it seems like I am reaching for silver linings here, it’s because I am. With Chiefs up next, I am wondering, has Ed Oliver ever played a truly impactful game against KC? Given his tendency to “disappear” in certain games (in past years) I wonder if he’s always been more of a matchup guy, and I wonder if the Chiefs OL has always been a bad matchup for him. He has gone on record saying the 2 toughest OL he has ever gone up against were both Chiefs. Having said that, he has played 3 games this season and played at a very high level in all 3, so the fact this was trending towards being his best year as a Buffalo Bill is what bums me out the most.

Smartest adjustment we made during the bye week. Dumbest adjustment we made all off-season was convincing ourselves the Chiefs broke the Tush Push just cause they stopped it a few times in the playoffs (including one they didn’t technically “stop” in the first place) If anything, make a small adjustment to the most effective short yardage play you’ve ever had as opposed to removing it entirely

Yes, he did. I'm probably in the minority here, but when we lose a player for the season (likely, in this case), it saps all of the joy from a big win. Oliver was playing his best ball this season. Best I've ever seen him play. This just sucks and takes almost all of the excitement out of a 40-9 win for me. Yeah, yeah I'm the Debbie Downer. It is what it is. If KC has a similar injury to Mahomes, Chris Jones, McDuffie or Kelce, I will feel 100x better actually, but when does that ever happen?

Yeah this really sucks. Ed has had a sack in every game he has appeared in this season...

Bijon made us look like Grey Poupon

He's also a little bit different than some of the other "washed" examples in that... Davis is still 26 years old.

My 3 leg parlay last night: Cook over 13 yards receiving Cook over 78 yards rushing (got that one) Shakir over 48 yards receiving Thought it would have been a slam dunk. Only went one for 3. Placed the bet after I find out Kincaid was inactive. Yeah, I do blame Joe Brady!

Our endless pattern of: - start hot - win sloppy games for a few weeks until it catches up to us and then - lose games (2 in a row at some point every year) - Finish the season the way we started it is pretty much the reason we have never had the 1 seed. This team has always had consistency issues, which is a weird thing to say about team that has won its division 5 years in a row, but the Bills have their own unique issues and we all know this. I think at this point most of us have already shifted from “let’s get that one seed!” To “boy I hope we can just win the division and/or make the playoffs” My issue is, unless something drastic changes, we are going to be the same old team with the same old issues even if we do make the playoffs. You can’t have the worst defense in your conference every season entering the playoffs and expect to make a Super Bowl….

I find it interesting that the one year we didn’t have “2 consecutive losses” was the year we were sitting at 6-6. That’s pretty incredible. i still think morale was a lot lower that year compared to now, especially considering how difficult the remaining schedule was. hopefully we do not get to that point again. Probably, but this would be a waste of AI’s capabilities! We usually make a trade around this time every season. We are going to need to do the same thing season. Problem is, this time, we have multiple glaring needs and not a lot of $, so what is the choice? That’s what concerns me about this year vs. previous seasons. It’s the lack of talent. The Coleman pick still bothers the hell out of me. That was an elite WR class, and we come out of it with Keon Coleman!? Draft pick value is overrated, I would have gladly bundled several picks - if needed - and trade up for BTJ. If we are never in a position to draft an elite prospect, MAKE it happen.

Probably one of the most interesting "prompts" I have entered in ChatGPT to date. Here it is. Enjoy (if you have the patience/attention span to read it). The prompt: I recently heard a statistic that the Buffalo Bills have started the NFL football season with a record of 4-2 in each 5 of the past 6 seasons AND they have lost 2 consecutive games in each of Sean McDermott's seasons as the Bills head coach. The morale of Bills fans always hits a low point after these consecutive losses each year. Please review user posts from the Buffalo Bills message board twobillsdrive.com over the past 6 seasons, and give me a year-by-year summary of the message board's overall "pulse" and opinion of the team after their 2nd consecutive loss in each of these seasons. I would like to know - in particular - the overall outlook of the team's chances following these consecutive losses, if the majority of the fan base seems to doubt the team or still have faith and, in general, how the fan base feels about the Bills chances of making the playoffs, especially with consideration to the fact that the Bills have won their division for 5 consecutive years at this time, despite these obstacles and challenges they always seem to face each season. Response from ChatGPT: Love this topic. I pulled reactions on Two Bills Drive (the “Stadium Wall” forum) right after each season’s second straight loss (or the closest equivalent if a given year didn’t have a true 2-game skid). Here’s the pulse, year-by-year, and how confident fans sounded about the Bills’ chances—especially the playoffs. 2019 Context of the skid: The Bills lost Weeks 16–17 (at NE, then NYJ) after already clinching a wild card. Forum pulse: Pragmatic and playoff-oriented more than panicked. Threads that week revolve around resting starters and playoff positioning rather than doom, which fits a team that had already punched its ticket. Two Bills Drive Mood verdict: Measured confidence. Fans were debating reps vs rest, not crisis. 2020 Skid: Weeks 5–6 (at Titans, vs Chiefs). Forum pulse: Plenty of hand-wringing after the Titans blowout (“Allen regressed… defense was horrendous… total disaster tonight”), then schematic/identity debates after the Chiefs loss (possession, run fits, plan vs Mahomes). Still, you can see posters trying to add perspective and push back on overreaction. Two Bills Drive+1 Mood verdict: Shaken but not broken. Anxiety about defense and Allen’s off night, with a vocal minority urging patience. 2021 Skid: Weeks 13–14 (wind game vs Patriots, OT loss at Buccaneers). Forum pulse: Emotions ran hot—frustration aimed at specific players (e.g., Edmunds) and coaching after Tampa, alongside gripes about situational execution. But there’s also an undercurrent of “this can still turn” that grows over the next two weeks as they right the ship. Two Bills Drive Mood verdict: Critical, bordering on fed up—but still hopeful. The board was heated, yet not writing off the season. 2022 Skid: Weeks 9–10 (at Jets, vs Vikings in OT). Forum pulse: This was the most “gut-punch” vibe—posts range from “we’re cursed” to “unless Josh sorts it we’re not making the postseason,” but you also see fans immediately plant the “we can do it the hard way” flag. It’s classic TBD whiplash: despair and defiance in the same page. Two Bills Drive Mood verdict: Whiplash: despair + defiant faith. Confidence dipped, but belief didn’t vanish. 2023 Note: 2023 didn’t actually feature a clean, two-game regular-season skid (losses were staggered around a win and a bye). The mood low still arrived after the Broncos loss and OT loss to the Eagles left them 6–6, when injuries and OC questions dominated the board. You can find posters insisting “Bills can still win the AFC” mixed with pointed criticism of roster/coaching. Two Bills Drive+1 Mood verdict: Split skepticism. Frustration with execution and staff; a steady contingent still betting on a run. 2024 Skid: Early-season two-game wobble (Weeks 4–5). Forum pulse: Threads show the familiar cycle—“sleepwalking” critiques and scheme angst, but also counter-threads arguing the panic is overblown and citing recent history of bouncing back. By November, the tenor flipped to swagger after statement wins (e.g., KC), and in December the Bills clinched a 5th straight AFC East title, which forum and news posts hammer home. Buffalo Bills+4Two Bills Drive+4Two Bills Drive+4 Mood verdict: Early wobble angst → renewed belief. Panic cooled quickly as results arrived. Big-picture takeaways Morale trough after skids is real—the post-loss pages reliably tilt negative (scheme, injuries, specific players). You can see this clearly in 2020 (Titans/Chiefs), 2021 (Pats/Bucs), and 2022 (Jets/Vikings). Two Bills Drive+3Two Bills Drive+3Two Bills Drive+3 But the board retains a “bounce-back muscle memory.” Users repeatedly remind each other that the Bills have a habit of surging after the 2-game dip; one thread tallied a remarkable combined record after those skids since 2020. Two Bills Drive+1 Division confidence remains high. By late 2024, sentiment swung from fretting to flexing as the Bills clinched a 5th straight AFC East—framed on the forum and in news as validation that the sky-is-falling weeks were, again, a phase. NFL.com+1 Net answer to your “faith vs doubt” question 2019: Calm/secure (already in). 2020: Nervous about D and Allen’s hiccup; faith intact. Two Bills Drive+1 2021: Critical and weary after Pats/Bucs; belief simmering underneath. Two Bills Drive 2022: Emotional low after Vikings OT; split between doom and “we’ll grind back.” Two Bills Drive 2023: No true 2-loss streak; mood still hit a trough at 6–6; divided but alive. Two Bills Drive+1 2024: Early mini-panic, then perspective threads and, ultimately, division-title validation. Two Bills Drive+1 If you want, I can pull direct post excerpts around any single game (e.g., 2022 Vikings OT) and chart sentiment (positive/neutral/negative) by page to quantify the swings.

And why did we just completly give up on the QB sneak? Even if teams figured it out 15-20% of the time, let's say, it's still better than the BS they are calling now!

Bosa would've been a bright spot as well if every play he made wasn't wiped out by something stupid.

On the bright side, this is the type of game (and potentially season) that it would take for the Bills to re-evaluate everything around Allen and Cook... But I just don't think this organization has the guts to go there. Feel bad for Allen man. Yeah, he had his mistakes too, but how unreliable is Keon Coleman, a WR that we took in a WR rich draft class? How bad was the play calling at times? What happened to the QB sneak that was so effective last season, just because it converted at a lower rate in a couple of playoff games!? Is it not better than coughing up the ball on 4th and short instead?? I mean the sad thing is, we could keep going and going and going here, but you all know what's going on. This has been a major, major waste of #17 and every single off-season some of his create this false hope that we somehow improved it, only to be let down. I will say this though... Deone Walker... officially a stud. Ed Oliver... stud. Joey Bosa... all of his best plays tonight went to waste because of player's around our DL, but he's a stud too. That secondary though is one of the worst I've seen in recent memory. If we care at all about this season, something needs to change during this bye week, players need to be acquired, and stop acting like our picks are so dang valuable when we miss on most of them.

But the Mooninites are in. If that month and a half was towards the purpose of bringing him back as close to 100% as possible (as opposed to 70-80%) then I am all for it, and I sincerely hope that is the case here, but yeah, they definitely painted an oddly vague and incomplete picture of whatever happened.

The fact that almost none of our recent draft picks or recent FA acquisitions have met expectations (or come anywhere near meeting expectations) is yet another reminder of how spectacular Josh Allen is for this team, and James Cook, too. FULL practice for Ed Oliver. That's pretty cool, at least.

If we aren't good enough to beat the Falcons, none of this matters, and I hate to say it, but it might be in our best interest to be in a position where we can draft and/or sign an actual difference maker on DEFENSE because we have been in the same damn boat since 2019-2020 and we know how that story ends every single time. For a while it was Allen and Diggs Now it's Allen and Cook (who I'd argue is better because Cook actually shows up in the playoffs) But meanwhile, our defense has become worse. Somehow. This defense has never had a DL that is capable of causing chaos in the post-season. You think KC wins any of those Super Bowls without Chris Jones? MAYBE the first one, but DEFINITELY not the last two...