ShakAttack

If it’s not the injuries, it’ll be the refs if it’s not the refs, it’ll be the defense if it’s not the defense, it’ll be the receivers If it’s not the receivers, it’ll be allen etc this is Buffalo bills football something, somewhere, will always go wrong. Come on guys, don’t kid yourselves; we know this by now!

while this is true, it always feels like despite all of the injuries and all of the obstacles we have to overcome almost every year, when you look at the elimination games - particularly last 2 vs KC - and how we lost, it always come down to some stupid blunder. You know, the type the chiefs never have either. Like… neglecting to squib kick in “13 seconds” or, Allen neglecting to hit Diggs on the wide open crossing route on 2nd and 9. Ultimately, our most promising seasons end on what we did to ourselves, more-so than what the opponent did to us. And other than losing a game on a blown call by the refs, the next worst way to go out is over a stupid mistake at the very end of the game, that takes away from everything great you did up to that point. the Eagles OT game felt very much like this year’s KC loss too, but that game ended up being much less significant than it felt at the time

Props on the avatar btw. 2018 Panini America Canvas #307 Josh Allen RC A very nice card.

Just when I thought I had made it through the first 24-hour period (since the KC game) without a flashback to this play. Thank you for that. And I agree btw, which is why I had such an insanely difficult time with it when it happened. I was yelling & pointing frantically at my TV "DIGGS!!! HE'S WIDE OPEN!!!!!" and when Allen released the ball, I was certain it was going to Diggs. Smh.

When it started off with Tom saying "You're 27 years old" did anyone else think this was going to be a conversation about Super Bowls?

From reading the responses, I think a lot of people are looking at 13 seconds as a missed opportunity from the perspective of how explosive that team appeared to be in the playoffs. But that doesn't necessarily render it a better opportunity than this season. Look at KC, the offense they had that season had more fire power than they did last year or this year, but they still came up short. To me, the opportunity this year was more based on what was happening around us in the AFC. This year was a great opportunity because no team was running away with it, all of the "good" teams had major flaws and there were also a lot of QB injuries down the stretch (most notably, Burrow). And to top it off, we were on a longer winning streak than any other team in the AFC at the end of the season besides maybe the Ravens? And they clearly have a playoff Lamar issue. I mean this year's Chiefs is the prime example. One of the reasons so many people felt this year was a great opportunity is because the Chiefs were having a down year, but look at them now! And honestly, the difference between KC being in the Super Bowl instead of the Bills might be as simple as 2nd and 9 from the KC 26. We will never know. But it really feels like that is how close we may have been. But I can't minimize the opportunity that we had this year just because our elimination game was not on the same level as "13 seconds". Ultimately, we had just as much of a shot at making it to the Super Bowl at minimum, based on what was happening in the AFC this year. Next year? Who knows. KC's only notable FA is Chris Jones, so they will probably get better (but again, getting better as a team doesn't always mean better opportunity at a Super Bowl, as evidenced this year). But if we meet again in the playoffs, it might not be a home game again. Cincy is probably back. On and on it goes. That said, even if this is a missed opportunity, I am not one of the fans that feels like we are "running out" of opportunities. In fact, I am very excited about our offense next season because it looks like we are in line to have our first "reboot" on offense since acquiring Diggs in 2020. I anticipate the Bills using their first round pick on a WR for the first time in Allen's career, giving us a genuine top-end talent to go with James Cook and Shakir coming off breakout seasons and Kincaid entering Year #2. If we play our cards right, this could be the most dynamic group of receivers JA17 has ever had.

True. They did lose a couple key players during the game as well though, to be fair. It did not balance it out, but it helped. And we were moving on their defense effectively enough, which is why I thought we would get the job done at the very end (and score the TD with very little time on on the clock). Especially because - despite the Bills struggles this season - how many times have we watched Allen go down the field late in the 4th quarter and score a TD, even in his worst performances, he always came through in those "gotta have it" moments at the very end (even if the defense was unable to hang on for him, like earlier in the year). So, even though it was the "mighty KC" when I saw us moving the ball on that last drive that sucked 6 minutes off the clock, the plan was obvious, and it was genius, it seemed like we could all see what the Bills were trying to do and it was working... until suddenly... we went off script... and that was that.

Well, hopefully the team does not feel the same way. Rather than "getting used to it" like us, I hope it adds more fuel to the fire than ever before. I hope they are sick and tired of the narratives, sick and tired of the labels and I hope we prove them all wrong. I remember the first thought that crossed my mind when we had 1st and 10 at the KC 26 with 2:00 left to play and it looked like we would be in position to score a TD with very little time remaining on the clock and it was "This is the chance to shut down ALL the narratives. Bills can't beat KC in the big game. Allen can't win a close playoff game. Mahomes is unstoppable." It was all right there. And in that moment I wanted it badly. It has stuck with me, and I hope it sticks with the team as well. Because, you know, these are the things that separate KC from the rest. And if we want to beat KC, we need to be on their level mentally, as well.

I said the "new" injuries, so that did not include Milano, or Tre white. And the context of the word "small" was that they were not "season ending" injuries like Milano or White, for instance. The point was that we would likely have guys like Rasul Douglas, Bernard, and Gabe Davis ready to go by the Ravens game and/or Super Bowl, so they were coming back (in Douglas' case, I mean back to form). Edit.. also left out Benford and Rapp. Those guys would have been back by Ravens and/or SB as well. Hence "relatively small" injuries (compared to the injuries from Week 4-5).

Something else I left out. When it is all said and done, I am willing to bet that nobody would have been as close to beating KC in these playoffs as we were. If that doesn’t scream “missed opportunity” (injuries or not) I don’t know what to say. Despite the injuries, we were on a roll. And most of the “new” injuries were small anyway, would have probably had them back by Baltimore, and definitely by the Super Bowl.

You know, I used to think that way, but I am not so sure. The problem with that logic is that it assumes we beat Cincy in the next game, a team that we have since learned that we seem to match up against worse than any other team in the NFL. This year, Cincy was not even in the playoffs. Therefore, if we beat KC, which we were in great position to do at home, I like our chances more vs Baltimore than I would the 2021 Bengals tbh. And I will also add that this year’s KC offense was 9th in Yards per game and 15th in Points per game (compared to FIRST in both categories last year, yes even without Tyreek). They were at their worst on offense, which adds to the missed opportunity in my opinion. Next year, they have nowhere to go but up on offense. Hopefully their defense will not be as good, at least.

well, I guess it depends on how you look at it. I am not thinking about the FG. I think about the missed opportunities before that. Specifically, the 2nd and 9, and where that drive was going until that play.

Yeah, I know, a couple weeks have passed, but that's partially the point. "13 seconds" probably took me a full month to get over, particularly with Allen playing the perfect game, but still coming up short, etc. This year, I thought I had digested the game after only a couple days; I thought it hurt exponentially less The difference is, with this year's loss to KC, even though I did not obsess over it the way I did in 2021, when I did think about it, it would hurt more... and more... and more... as time went on. That's because as time passed, it became more evident that this was an even greater missed opportunity than 2021. We were at home against KC. There was no Cincy in the playoffs. We got uncharacteristic breaks during the game. The Hardman fumble was something that never happened for the Bills. We were in the best position to do exactly what you'd think we would want to do after spending two years waiting to have this opportunity again(!!!) We were doing precisely what we must have learned from "13 seconds" which is kill the clock and give Mahomes as little time as possible if/when he ever does get the ball again. 8 minutes remaining when we start the drive at our own 25, and before you know it, had it down to 2 minutes left at the KC 26. Diggs is running by himself wide open for an easy catch that would almost certainly continue this pace, but Shakir is open in the end zone too, and that's the decision Allen would make in that moment. Writing that out is painful. Ugh. Anyway, it's old news, right? Yeah, and that's the point. As it becomes increasingly clear that we missed an even bigger opportunity, thinking back on this game is associated with an increasingly sh*t feeling as well. And then, once the Ravens lost with apparently the "same old Lamar" it was very clear to me. This should have been the year of the "Berman Special" (SF vs Buffalo). It's a strange feeling, because, unlike 2021, it is not something I necessarily dwell on, but when it does come up and I flash back to the dreadful 2nd and 9 play, I want to go punch a wall. It's also a strange feeling because, also unlike 2021, I am already looking forward to the next season with anticipation and excitement (in 2021, I wasn't ready yet, and I was turned off by all the hype and expectations for the Bills going into the year; I did not think it would help us at all). Anyway, the real question is where does Allen go from here? How did Allen take this loss in comparison with years past? Does this add more fuel to the fire (like we all hope) so he works his ass off wanting a Super Bowl more than ever? Or does this have some cumulative effect where it becomes exhausting after a while, after telling himself, "We are going to get better from this" over and over, only to find himself right back to where he started at the end of the day? I get the impression that Diggs feels something like this. And I really hope Allen never gets to that point, because we need him to be as hungry as ever. Side note...let's get him that young dynamic WR in 2024. Anticipation of a "rebooted" young offense is what has me amped up already for 2024 (something I did not feel nearly as much after 2021). Basically...from my "fan" perspective, I now know this year has made me want it even more because it ultimately hurts more and also served as a reminder that our playoff window is always open, unlike last season where we got smacked around for four quarters and went into the off-season looking like a broken team which had people not only betting on the window being closed, but predicting the 2023 Bills would miss the playoffs altogether. I just hope the Bills feel the same. And I hope they use that feeling to drive them next season. The loss to Cincy seemed to have an unhealthy residual effect on the team, but I hope this latest loss to KC just pisses everyone off.

Babich...Frazier...seems Dolphins are more obsessed with us than we are with KC.

So that means in addition to our team clearly being cursed, if KC loses after being the Bills (again) it will mean the Bills curse any team that beats us? I love it. Keep this trend going. The fact that KC beat us 3 of the past 4 years but won the SB in 0 of those seasons would be awesome, to me.

So who gets the blame for that 2nd and 9 play though? Brady? The Bills drive that started with 8 mins left was nearly a masterpiece. They had used 6 minutes of clock by the time they got down to the Chiefs 27(!) despite not having an effective run game. We get there by chipping away, 5-10 yards at a time. Then suddenly, it is 2nd and 9, with just under 2 minutes left to play, surely we want to burn a little more clock; there is no need to rush things yet, and the play call renders Diggs WIDE OPEN running across the middle of the field, but Allen chose another option. So... if Allen makes that throw, we are potentially saying what a great final drive Brady had drawn up, right? Play calls? Or execution? It's always a delicate issue.

Yes they did. I am just saying, technically, the game was there to be won at the end. And we lost it over something so stupid. Something that we were doing correctly all game long. It just seems so Bills to me. And if we make that play I am referring to on offense, then maybe it is KC fans talking about how their defense let them down. And nobody is even talking about it here.

I don't necessarily believe McDermott is the problem, and I don't believe firing him is a solution. That is because: A) With the Buffalo Bills it will always be one thing or another B) You can do a lot worse than McDermott. In fact, odds are, you probably will. That's what happens to your brain when you have followed this team since "Wide Right". Is that insanity? Technically, if we are just talking about this year's Chiefs-Bills game, the Bills were in position to win, and the throw to Diggs on 2nd and 9 was there to be made (and yes that would have been a much better choice than the TD shot to Shakir that would have left Mahomes with too much time on the clock, etc). The play that was drawn up in OT was also there to be made against Philly. Fortunately, it did not end up costing us the season, but talk about being on thin ice. Somehow in games like this against good teams the offense is always humming until it's put up or shut up time, and then something goes wrong, and it usually seems like execution issues more-so than play calling to me. But are we about to blame Josh Allen for it? Of course not. We can't. And I'm not. But why didn't he take the easy underneath throw to Diggs on 2nd and 9, when he was essentially making correct decisions like that all game long??????? What happened in that moment?? Why did we flip the script? That wasn't Mcdermott... that wasn't Joe Brady... that was - unfortunately - execution. It just drives me absolutely crazy (Speaking of insanity).

We did get a lot of luck to stay in that game, but ultimately, KC lucked out when Allen decided to not throw an easy completion to a wide open Diggs that they didn’t cover. And that’s really all that matters in the end.

And that is exactly why I am so amazed that KC constantly has luck on their side in the biggest moments. I.e. the Chiefs were “lucky” that we did not throw the wide open underneath short pass to Diggs who had at least a first down on 2nd and 9 from the 25. Who knows what happens from there?

I agree with this, and I imagine we would have got some guys back if we beat KC. This is a tough one for me. Yes, we were badly injured, etc, but we found a way to play well again, and down the stretch we were able to beat 3 teams that ended up in the playoffs. So, while I did believe Ravens would most likely beat whoever they ended up playing in the AFCCG, I also believe that Allen would have found a way to produce against that defense and it may have been close.

No, but most people would have said the same thing about KC… Hopefully Ravens are dominant in the AFCCG. i know this game is all about matchups, but if the Ravens D shuts down Mahomes and does what we were unable to do (decent chance) then I’ll feel at least a little better because there will be a part of me that believes this Ravens team was on another level this season if that happens.

Will be 40 in August. Decent chance I’m older than you? Shrug. Either way, far from being a child. Kinda wish I was. That would make things easier.

Amazingly enough, this time, the Cook TD drop did not cost us 6. He has dropped 3 tds this year and this is the first time we ended up with 6 anyway. But we still lost

I don't disagree. I just think, the day/night immediately following a season ending loss, I can't get to that point so soon, but to each their own. Give me about a month... then I'll be all about the off-season and the future.