ShakAttack

We know Allen has essentially played one less game than other MVP candidates due to sitting early in blowout wins, but here's another thing to consider... Initially, I had some concern over Allen being "prisoner of the moment" next week after only playing one snap / series against the Pats while Lamar gets an additional 4 quarters to tee off on the lowly Browns, who will probably have DTR starting again, which means they won't have any offensive production. We are looking at another 3-4 TDs+ for Lamar Jackson, and it will be fresh in everyone's mind, at the expense of Josh Allen... Or will it be? I think this may actually benefit Allen and his case for MVP because in addition to the argument that I've heard this past week that Allen played a lot less snaps this season due to the number of blowout wins we had, we should also start to hear about Lamar playing an additional game in Week 18. As a result, when those stat snapshots are shown, a logical reaction would be "Yeah, well, Lamar has played 1... arguably even 2 additional games than Josh Allen this season" so of course there is going to a significant statistical disparity! And I believe this helps Allen because, let's be honest here, Lamar would most likely be pretty well ahead of Allen in some of these stat categories even if they did play the same # of games, but now, we something to downplay / discredit one of the biggest arguments in favor of Lamar, especially when considering WHY Allen is going to end up with 2 games less worth of snaps than Lamar: It's because the Bills have been BETTER than the Ravens this year! This is why Allen has been able to take a seat on the bench early in the 4th quarter in a handful of games this season and it is why he is likely sitting out next week, aside from taking the first snap to keep his consecutive start streak going. All of this has been earned despite having an equally unreliable defense and significantly less talent on the roster. I also understand that MVP is not as much of a statistical award as Offensive Player of the Year (thankfully) and it is more based on a player's value to his team, which is a huge reason that Allen is the favorite right now, but as we've seen over the past few weeks with the vast amount of statistical comparisons being posted online, a lot of people still unfortunately look at MVP from this perspective, but now, since there will be a clear and significant difference in playing time, I am hoping the stats will not hold as much weight. Anyway, we will see how it pans out, but my point is, there's a chance that less playing time gives Allen more of an advantage than disadvantage here, but it ultimately depends on the narrative(s) that emerge after Week 18.

well that quickly went from 3 possibilities (for keeping the bengals out) to 2. i fully expect us to be counting on the broncos to beat chiefs at the end of the day, and god forbid chiefs ever lose when we want them to.

Why? I still don't think they will get in, but it would have been VERY nice to have that threat out of the way and done. Even though you'd think at least ONE of the following should happen, it's very difficult to trust any of the 3 teams we are counting on: 1. Denver over KC in Week 18 = Bengals are out 2. Indy beats Giants and Jaguars = Bengals are out 3. Dolphins beat Browns and Jets = Bengals are out All 3 look like they should happen on paper, but once again, I do not trust the Broncos, Colts or Dolphins one bit. There is no reliability or consistency with any of these 3 teams.,

Now that this game is over, let’s see how much the Ravens are willing to pad Lamar’s stats some more… I certainly would not put it past them to get him as many TDs as they possibly can here. After all, in each of Lamar’s 4+ TD performances this season, he has had several TDs scored after the game was essentially over. in contrast, in Allen’s game vs LA and Detroit, each and every TD was a necessity. That in itself should make it more impressive to anyone with a vote.

I really hope the path to the Super Bowl is not Bengals > Ravens > Chiefs. imagine being the #2 seed and having the toughest road to the SB in the NFL. fortunately, Bengals still need a lot to happen, but I just don’t really trust the teams that can keep them out of the playoffs. Ugh.

The fact that many of us had this exact initial thought speaks to how traumatized this fan base is

Replace 30+ with Allen maintains or improves his odds for MVP. Granted, scoring 30+ would probably help there.

if Ingram sucks today, I hope McDermott is pressed hard about it in the post game. He deserves every bit of the criticism. Obviously, I hope I’m completely wrong, but as of right now it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense

This time of the year when “everyone is banged up” there is a certain appeal to starting fresh, high ceiling backups. I will be ticked off if we trot out Ingram instead. Was kinda irritated McDermott brought up Ingram’s pick six (from like week 3) when talking about him earlier this week. That int was as easy as catching a routine fly ball in the outfield.

He also had some nice PBU's in the Miami playoff game a couple years ago. And his one start this season - I think it was against Miami - he had a fumble recovery AND a forced fumble that unfortunately didn't count. He's just one of those guys that seems to have a knack for taking the ball away, kinda like Rasul Douglas prior to this season. But turnovers aside, my fundamental point was that he should be starting over Jamarcus Ingram without question. And if there is a chance that we have anything in this guy, now is the time to find out.

I would have to go back and look, but I’m pretty sure I remember at least a couple that were great plays on the ball. in contrast, Jamarcus Ingram’s pick six was TRULY an “anyone can do it” type of play. Heck, if a DT was in his spot, even he would have been able to run up on that air ball lobbed by Tua and secure it.

That all depends on if we give him the chance in the first place. But I'm pulling for this to happen. Think most of us are. Rasul was an incredible acquisition last season, but he's over the hill and has not looked very good this season. Meanwhile, Elam may very well be in his prime... To be completely honest, I have actually been hoping for something to happen that would give Elam a chance to start this season, and I am glad that "something" happened to Douglas rather than Benford. But once again, the fact that we have to even consider the possibility of Ingram starting over Elam is infuriating. Elam was a 1st round investment. Here we are, in December, there is NO BETTER TIME THAN NOW to see what we have in this guy!!! This IS the chance to see if he should be part of the long term plan. It's right there, on a silver platter. If McDermott botches this one too.... I don't even know what to say. We already know Ingram's ceiling. Elam, on the other hand, could be something special. Yes, we have seen him struggle at times, but we're going up against the Lions. They are not going to have a problem moving the ball on us. Which means we will likely need to be playing for turnovers on defense and Elam gives you the best chance at that, better than any other DB on this roster.

There are 2 decisions that should be no brainers right now that you won’t see McDermott do: 1. Pull Milano for Dorian Williams (at least this week) 2. Start Elam over Ingram (maybe we do this one, but won’t be surprised if McD goes 0 for 2) EDIT- Assuming Rasul is out

In a game like yesterday, a turnover can change everything. If a team is going to run & pass all over us anyway, give me the CB that has made multiple red zone ints in big games despite a very limited # of starts in his career. Many of us expect the Lions game to be similar. Elam needs to be starting over Ingram in this game. This shouldn't even be up for debate and I hate that it is.

It’s because of whoever posted this on Facebook last week:

I agree. He made at least 2 ridiculous catches and it is not a coincidence that the one time we forced a Rams punt was after making a stop on the only 3rd down in which Nacua was not in the game. I was praying that he’d stay sidelined.

I don’t know… sometimes it takes the bills 2 consecutive losses before they flip the switch. Good news is, that usually happens once a year, and it already happened this year. We will see.

If there is going to be a silver lining today, it will be the Chiefs losing. If not, we may have lost the #1 seed today, so I can't really think of any silver linings.

Pretty sure a game only qualifies as "game of the year" when there is a ton of scoring. Which is why these "game of the year" typically involves Allen with some herculian effort to keep the Bills in the game while the defense has one of its annual meltdowns under Sean McDermott.

It also probably cost us Allen's "MVP moment" for this season........ and possibly the #1 seed. Funny thing is, as far as the MVP goes, his chances had to have improved today, despite the L

I am nearly positive that the Bills with Mcdermott & Allen have lost every "game of the year" type of game they've played in... lol And the messed up part is in at least a couple of those games it is pretty much Allen's best game of the year too

We could be in for another 2 game losing streak unless something changes fast. Detroit is like an uber version of LA in many ways...

I can think of one non-health related reason the #1 seed seems more important this season: In years past, we had a CLEAR advantage over the teams we faced in the Wild Card round. In every case, these teams were on a lower level than most of the other playoff teams. This season is different. As of right now, the teams we could potentially face in the Wild Card round actually concern me a bit. There are going to be a lot of great defenses in this year's playoffs, and that in itself can keep games close, and once a game goes down to the wire, anything goes. Not having to deal with that at all and play one less game seems like a major advantage in the AFC this season, more than in the past.

Really isn't. In fact, 37% seems low after what I witnessed when I was at SoFi last year for Bills @ Chargers. Seemed a lot more like 63% Bills fans and 37% Charger fans (at best). And nearly 100% of fans that were in the stadium prior to kickoff were Bills fans. Charger fans showed up later.

I'm not sure why we never give KJ Hamler a shot. He's a former 2nd round pick that flashed at the beginning of his career when healthy, had injury issues that kept him out for a while, but now he's healthy, and we still keep him out. That one always frustrates me because he fills the "need for speed" void, but we never give him a shot. I have a feeling he is going to be the next Isaiah Hodgins or MVS that starts popping up on the highlight reels as soon as he gets his chance with another team. I guess it's a good thing that we keep winning anyway, but I'd love to see a legitimate burner that could chase down an Allen deep ball (how many teams have we seen Allen deep balls that were just barely out of the receiver's reach?)