ShakAttack

I think this is the most nervous I have ever been on a Thursday morning. This feels different from the past KC-Buf playoff games because this time it feels like we HAVE to win. Dare I say… destiny? I mean there is no way the SAME TEAM can send us packing 4 of the past 5 seasons, right? Ugh!! I have never wanted something so badly for this team. Beating KC, to me, would be like winning a “mini Super Bowl”. Don’t get me wrong, I would be very upset if we beat KC only to lose in the SB, but to EXPERIENCE the joy of the Bills finally being able to overcome their greatest foe, and to be the team responsible for preventing the “3 peat” and then watch our Buffalo Bills featured throughout the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl… how could this season not go down as the most enjoyable in Allen’s career… win or lose (in the SB)? We just HAVE to get there!!!!!! LETS GO!!!

I knew the concussion protocol was bs. and I’m not complaining. This may be a once in a lifetime opportunity and should be approached as such. All hands on deck.

The only way you can say that with confidence is if you believe the concussion protocol is B.S. Is that your position? Not being critical here. In fact, if that's your belief, I might be right there with you. Allen trotting back onto the field moments after getting KO'd and briefly losing consciousness. If he was ANYONE ELSE on the Bills, he's not coming back onto the field that soon. And then, Ray Davis, another big time KO, but he's already practicing by Wednesday? Highly doubt this happens if it weren't the playoffs... I'm not 100% sure what to think, but based on what we've seen this season, yes, I believe there's some loophole at the very least. Honestly and selfishly, I hope there is too, because I need Benford to play. I absolutely cannot live with knowing this Chiefs team is responsible for ending our season in four of the past five seasons.......... IT CAN'T HAPPEN!!!!!! We have been through too much.. lol.

I get so OCD when the Bills have significant injuries that it's about the only thing I will check over and over (for updates) in the week leading up to the game. It drives me bonkers. In this particular case, with Benford, knowing that it happened on his final play and knowing that final play was an onside kick recovery makes it that much more agonizing. And in this particular year, the "SURPRISE INJURIES" that pop up after the game has been a royal pain in the arse on top of it all. So, I'm extremely anxious for tomorrow's injury report as far as Benford goes. Last week, Ray Davis was already practicing in a Limited capacity on Wednesday. I know that with concussion protocol, when a player is Limited by Thursday, it is typically a positive sign. BUT if he is a DNP tomorrow, I don't know what to make of that. You'd imagine, with what is at stake, whatever/whoever helped Davis advance through the protocol relatively fast should apply to Benford as well. YES, I realize it's concussion protocol and every case is (supposedly) treated differently, but let's be real, just going based on what we have SEEN this year: We all witnessed Josh Allen taking the field minutes after getting his lights knocked out, and as for Davis, boy... he got knocked out too! it's pretty clear that some-how, some-way these doctors are willing and able to make exceptions for important players and/or important stages of the season. And, that is why I'd expect Benford to show up as Limited in practice tomorrow, but I'll be genuinely concerned about his chances of playing if he's a DNP... This week's injury report cannot come soon enough. Ugh.

Pretty cool... Just wondering... was he a healthy scratch against the Ravens??? Codrington is really good, no doubt, but Shakir's punt return against the Broncos was special; the type of run back you only see from Shakir, and I am wondering if that upside and arguably greater home run potential is something the Bills decided to roll with despite Codrington being a full practice participant last week. Might be kind of like the Chiefs back in the day with Tyreek Hill. He wasn't their regular season punt returner, but come playoffs, you'd see him back there at times. IF this is what we are doing with Shakir over Codrington, I don't mind it at all. Unfortunately, since the Ravens had 0 punts, we didn't have the privilege of watching Shakir's ability as a returner again, but I'd be surprised if the Chiefs didn't punt to us at least once or twice; they don't present the same issues to our defense as the Ravens...

What I worried about all along with this game is we knew it was going to be a physical game with a lot of hard hitting, so whoever came out victorious was likely going to be more banged up than KC. If the Ravens won, they'd probably be worrying about Humphrey right now. Just sucks that it happened on the last possible play for him... the onside kick... ugh. Really hope he will be ok. Elam is one of the current Bills that has intercepted Mahomes (nice play too, as I recall) but we'd all much, much rather have Benford and his consistency in this game. Not to mention, he already missed last year's KC playoff game.

did he really? I must have missed it… personally, I’d just love to see him do that only for the receiver to drop the ball, or better yet, get picked off. Granted, the latter would be unlikely considering he only does it when his receiver is wide open in the end zone (like most of his td’s, come to think of it)

I hate that new follow-through / fade away / whatever you wanna call it that Lamar has been doing this season every time he “knows” he tossed a TD. It’s lame. This isn’t basketball.

what should happen: In an unprecedented turn of events during the 2024 NFL season, Lamar Jackson was awarded the MVP title amid widespread controversy. Though Jackson had an impressive season leading the Baltimore Ravens, many believed that Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills displayed an even more remarkable performance, consistently delivering clutch plays and shattering passing records. Recognizing this, Jackson made a stunning announcement at the award ceremony, graciously declining the MVP title and personally handing it over to Allen, whom he openly acknowledged as the more deserving candidate. In his speech, Jackson expressed his frustration with what he perceived as a recurring bias from the MVP voters towards him and the Ravens, urging them to uphold fairness and integrity in their evaluations. His noble decision resonated throughout the sports world, setting a new precedent for sportsmanship and humility. Jackson's actions not only highlighted his respect for Allen's achievements but also sparked a broader discussion on impartiality within the league's prestigious accolades.

Right? Seems like everyone is forgetting this. If you had told me before today that the 1st team AP and MVP would be 2 different players, I wouldn't have been surprised. Yes, it is true that most years the 1st team AP QB wins NFL MVP, but this year the "VALUE" part of the MVP seems to be getting more emphasis than it did in the past, and based on this, we have a situation where Lamar is probably the best fit for 1st team AP, while JA17 best fits the criteria/narrative we have been hearing THIS year for NFL MVP. This usually doesn't happen. Most of the time, the 1st team AP usually ends up being the "most valuable" anyway, so we don't have this debate. This year, we do. To me, nothing has changed. Allen should still be viewed as the favorite, unless the criteria for MVP has suddenly changed.

For the record, Adrian Peterson was the last 2nd team all-pro to win MVP (in 2012). EDIT- Appears I was incorrect here. ChatGPT / AI failed.

If AP is more of a statistically based award and MVP represents more the player’s value to his team, as we have been hearing, shouldn’t this come as no surprise? And shouldn’t that mean the vote for first team AP QB doesn’t necessarily reflect the vote for MVP?? This award is still supposed to represent value to team, and that’s where Allen should have the edge…

I have enjoyed WA and the Pacific Northwest here. Beautiful state. Very green, lots of trees, waterfalls, nature in general. However, the rainfall is as advertised, so it’s not for everyone. Personally, I don’t mind that. Also, where I live in WA, the threat of wildfires is nowhere near what it was when I lived in CA. In fact, there has not been one near me yet. They aren’t non-existent, but the frequency is much lower.

Born and raised in CA since 1984. Wildfires becoming something we had to deal with on a yearly basis is among the main reasons I left about 3.5 years ago for Washington state.

Cooper and Diggs couldn't be more different. I'll never forget Diggs huddled up with teammates trying to get them fired up and ready to go just minutes after Damar Hamlin collapsed in front of them. He was the only one on the entire team that seemed to be able to set it aside immediately. His teammates were just standing there, probably not even listening to him. And, for the record, I am definitely not implying this was a "good" quality in Diggs. On the contrary, I think Diggs' intensity was exhausting and eventually toxic. That said, there has also been some epic performances over the years from players that lost a family member, played the next day and just balled out. But Cooper comes off in interviews as a sensitive dude imo, so I am intrigued to see how this will impact him, assuming he suits up for the playoffs.

I’m not freaked out, but McDermott’s comment didn’t make me feel any better that’s for sure.

#1 on the good list for me is "No injuries"

Can't wait to hear from the first person that says "But Lamar only had 1 more loss than Josh Allen!" Smh

Miami's defense is sneaky good though. If Huntley plays as well as he did last week, I'd actually take Miami to win. Problem is, Huntley usually looks a lot worse than that. We'll see.... REALLY wish these games were earlier in the day though.

Drafted 2 years after Cooper yet nearly 2 years older than him. I'd like to keep Mack around, and not just because of his personality. At his age though, maybe 1 more year? He will be 32 y/o next season.

One more comment regarding the comparison between 2024 Bills Defense and 2022 Chiefs Defense. While it is true neither defense was stellar during the respective regular seasons, I'll point this out: As I recall, the 2022 playoffs is when the Chiefs D really turned the corner. In the playoffs, they were a much better defense under Spags than they were during the regular season. They ended up carrying this momentum into the 2023 season, when defense emerged as the strength of their team, which is also true for most of this year's regular season. In contrast, we all know about the history of our Bills playoff defense, which is quite the opposite of the 2022 Chiefs D. Despite the greater quality of opposing offenses, KC defense was noticeably BETTER in the playoffs. Will the 2024 Bills defense finally flip the switch when the playoffs begin? Or will they continue the disappointing trend from years past? We are about to find out... A good example of Chiefs D turning the corner in the 2022 playoffs is their AFCCCG win over the Bengals. Make no mistake, DEFENSE (especially Chris Jones) is the #1 reason they closed out and won that game, NOT Mahomes. Thanks to the Chiefs D, it was tough sledding for Burrow ALL GAME. He had to earn everything; there were no easy buckets unlike 1 week prior vs. the Bills defense. The Bengals actually possessed the ball at the end of the 4th quarter and, as I recall, they were one first down conversion away from getting into game winning FG range and being able to likely milk the clock all the way down to the FG attempt, BUT Chris Jones sacked Burrow on 3rd down, and that was essentially the ball game. Just one week earlier we watched the Bengals march up and down the field on us every time they possessed the ball. Mixon was getting 5+ yards a pop, Burrow was finding wide open receivers every time he dropped back (and we had no pass rush). It was just "pick your poison". We could not stop anything they chose to do. I mean, despite what the regular season stats told us, KC's defense was far superior to ours, and this year, we can't expect Allen to get us to the super bowl on 3 shoot out wins. At some point our D is going to need to step up if this is going to be the year...

Nice comparison, but just one thing I'd like to point out is that the 22 Chiefs had a MUCH easier path to the Super Bowl than we will have. Bye > Jags > Bengals I REALLY hope we don't see Cinci in the Wild Card round because if we do, that may as well be the toughest path to the SB I've ever seen for any team during Josh Allen's career. I mean... Cinci > Ravens > Chiefs... it's like having to win an AFCCG 3 times in a row!

This may seem petty, since our offense exploded this season, but ever since we signed KJ Hamler, I was really excited for him to have a role in the Bills offense (or as a returner). A few years ago, this kid was drafted in the same round as Keon Coleman. He was an exciting, talented prospect compared to Hollywood Brown coming out of college, and his "problem" in the NFL was not performance related; it was the fact he has been extremely unlucky with injuries to start his career. This year there have been no injuries to Hamler, but it seems his only opportunity came in the form of a snap in which he played out of position at RUNNING BACK due to an injury, and I'd argue that he delivered the most exciting play of the Bills pre-season in that moment: a 20ish yard SPRINT to the end zone that came up just short. Look, we knew he had 4.27 speed already, but I did not know he had that IMMEDIATE acceleration! That is a rare combo. Obviously, it's not going to be in Buffalo, but I hope Hamler lands somewhere next season with an OC that is willing and able to carve out a role for him. I understand Keon Coleman is a big play threat, and his 19+ YPC is very impressive (especially when you put it next to Xavier Worthy's 11 😆) but Hamler could have brought a different dimension to this offense. In the off chance we elevate him for Sunday's game, I hope that we actually give the kid a chance to show out...

About as healthy as the Chiefs for a change. Only thing is, I’d argue it benefits them even more because in the past couple weeks they get players back that missed all or most of the regular season (I.e. Hollywood Brown and Jaylen Watson). And Hollywood is pretty much a bonus for them at this point. The narrative that the Chiefs don’t have a lot of talent at the WR position is overrated at this point, even without Rice.

I think it's the fact that "week to week" was merely mentioned is what is throwing everyone off. If McDermott came out and said "it's more day to day" and nothing else, none of us would be sweating his availability. He did say, "more day to day than week to week", to your point, but again, the mere fact that a week-to-week injury was implied is the reason everyone is scared, including myself.. lol