[SNF Chiefs at Packers Game Thread]

2 minutes ago, NyQuil said:

Pacheco walked off and Kelce was back after one play.

And catches a pass on 3rd and 18. What's new.

[12/3 Around the NFL]

2 minutes ago, Buffalo619 said:

Next week will put us out of our misery. People hold false hope until it’s too late…

 

This is the Bills though.  It just seems too unlike the Bills to NOT give us any false hope.  Anything less than this coming down to the wire only to be disappointed in the worst way would surprise me and... maybe even be a relief.

[TNF: Seattle at Dallas]

30 minutes ago, Bermuda Triangle said:

Dallas defense with 2 4th down stops late in the 4th quarter.

 

must be nice.

Yep. And of course, that’s why Dak is better than Allen. 

[Sources say ZERO PERCENT chance McD is fired]

47 minutes ago, TheFunPolice said:

Most coaches are interchangeable aside from Reid and maybe Shanahan

 

We could always get one of the scrawny young nerds that isn't any good. Not every scrawny 30 year old who got coffee for McVay or Shanahan will be a great HC 

Your description rendered only one person in my mind:  
 

Mike McDaniel

 

Except he is good, and there is only one of him. 

[Sources say ZERO PERCENT chance McD is fired]

McDermott himself expressed concern over "wearing himself too thin" if he were to handle DC responsibilities along with HC, but he was given the job anyway.  

 

Perhaps not coincidentally, McDermott has made more mistakes in-game this season than any prior season.  Maybe he knows himself best and the best version of himself is not when he is being overwhelmed with additional responsibilities he is not used to.  From all reports, McDermott is a man of routine, and his routine has been very much thrown off this season.  I don't think he was ever able to adjust perhaps in the way some may have expected him to.  But again, the fact that he seemed to express doubt in himself ("don't want to wear myself too thin") should have been a red flag in itself.  But what do I know?

 

Do we give him any benefit of the doubt that perhaps with a proper DC, McDermott can be a better head coach again?   

[Most BILLSY thing we are about to do to end the season]

Just now, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

I think we are going to get our ass kicked by the chiefs. The season ended with the broncos game. Theres no scenario that I’m creating here. I’m playing out as the season is over and truthfully, been.

I do too. I actually had a good feeling going into the Eagles game, and turns out we should have won.  You can get to Hurts; he just has great system and talent around him.  Mahomes is not the same.  Last year, Von Miller was the reason we were able to succeed defensively.  This year, Von is a JAG (maybe being too generous).

 

 The teams that gave KC problems this season had something in common…. Top tier defenses. 

 

So yeah, I am with you.  And I’m not watching the damn game lol. Just going to check score afterwards and hope for the best. 
 

Everything around the Bills is going to be unbearably depressing at that point though. 

[Most BILLSY thing we are about to do to end the season]

1 minute ago, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

Everyone always says that like we’re going to beat these good teams but lose to a bad one…when was the last time we beat a good team?  The Billsy thing in reality is blast the bad teams and then come up with some insane way to blow a thrilling game to the teams that are a step up in competition. Play them right and find away to choke it away with horrible coaching.

But there is only 1 bad team left on our schedule, so there is no way for your scenario to play out (as far as most Billsy way that our season ends).

 

In this scenario if we still can’t beat good teams, then we are going to lose our next 2 games regardless, sitting at 6-8, with no hope in the first place.

 

Although  I guess there’s a Billsy scenario here where we lose to Chiefs and Cowboys, but win against Chargers and Pats, sitting at 8-8 and some how, some way, we end up with a path into the playoffs at 9-8 with a win against Miami, and Miami ends up having nothing to play for so they rest starters, and we still lose… aka the Bledsoe vs Steelers game all over again.  Or willie Parker game. Whatever you want to call it.

 

Yeah… maybe there is a Billsy way your scenario can play out after all. Hmm 

[Most BILLSY thing we are about to do to end the season]

25 minutes ago, Goin Breakdown said:

It's already pretty Billsy that the AFC is down and rip for the gaming yet we've also been part of the down. 
once we're back healthy strong and winning, so will KC, Cincy and whoever else is going to come up. 

And all very “KC” that they have dodged the misfortune other top AFC teams had to deal with this season (minus ravens, but they had Lamar injury last year instead)  and despite a mediocre offense this season, they conveniently field a top 5 defense that makes up for it, along with a conveniently easy schedule and of course, no injuries!  Nothing they can’t do without anyway. 

 

[Most BILLSY thing we are about to do to end the season]

Ok I’ve got it. Apologies if it’s been said before.

 

Bills win out , and look like the best team in the entire NFL in the process (considering who they had to beat) but do NOT make the playoffs at 11-6 due to tie breakers. 
 

for the record, I don’t think this will happen, at all, but man would it be Billsy.

[Joe Brady on the Allen/Davis Miscommunication]

1 hour ago, JÂy RÛßeÒ said:

So to Brady's quote "we knew this was coming".  This would have actually been a VERY GOOD use of a time out to ensure everyone was on the same page for this HUGE situation.  Seems like so many of our time outs are reactionary ("let's look at how they're gonna line up first"), silly ("Let's try to draw them Offside to get a first down") or wasted ("I'm gonna ice their kicker.  That's definitely gonna work").

But on a 3rd & 6 from their 22 in overtime where we potentially have 2 plays to get 6 yards, and we're sure what defense we're gonna see and which requires all pieces know how to react... 

 

Had the same thought man.  That's the GAME.  Defense is about to run an all-out blitz.  You're about to try to win the game with an option route after there has already been miscommunication on option routes during the game.  Why not call TO and make sure everyone is aligned before taking the most important snap of the game to that point??   I hate thinking about this play and would could have been, but can't help it.  It's always something or another.  SMH

[Most BILLSY thing we are about to do to end the season]

Was this thread inspired by our favorite Nick Wright by any chance?

 

he specifically stated on Monday that even though he gives the bills 0% chance to make the playoffs, “the most billsy thing would be if they beat the chiefs and cowboys, then lose to chargers”.  

[Joe Brady on the Allen/Davis Miscommunication]

The only thing I didn't like about it is knowing you have to make a decision on the fly in a Blitz zero situation, why did we rely on an option route in the first place?  I feel like we should have ran a play vs. blitz zero where all the routes are concrete.  Joe Brady is awesome, but that is one play call I find myself wondering about.

[Constipation. This one got stuck in my digestive tract.]

5 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

I’m sooo over this version of the Bills. These guys can’t hold a candle to the 90’s Teams. Back then you KNEW they’d find a way to win. Now you sit there KNOWING they’re going to ‘f’ it up. 

 

You know what's funny?  The ONE exception to this under McDermott was the 2019 Bills.  This is obviously the year before Allen took off as a player, but we made the playoffs because typically the defense was able to protect leads at the end of close games and even if we took a lead with ~5 minutes left, the defense would protect that lead the rest of the way.  At least a few of those games ended with the defense forcing turnovers.  As I recall, Tre White had at least a couple of those by himself.  

 

I can't really remember any close game trends one way or the other in 2020, but I do remember Allen coming back to beat the LA Rams after we blew a huge lead and had to re-claim it.  

 

But it seems like ever since 2021, we have had this bizarre trend of being among the NFL's best in point differential, yet being noticeably worse than other "elite" teams when it came to winning close contests.  In 2021 specifically, I remember at one point it felt like we were either blowing teams out or losing, hence the 7-6 record, in which only 1 of those games were lost by more than 1 TD (Colts).  Does that sound familiar?  

 

Anyway, when you see this happen repeatedly, and it's not because your offense is bad, you HAVE to point back to coaching at some point.  But in 2019, it did go the other way around.  I guess playmakers that forced turnovers was the difference that year.

[Constipation. This one got stuck in my digestive tract.]

32 minutes ago, kkim0904 said:

For me, It took one more day to digest than bonehead 12 man game.  However This one is not bad as wide right or KC 13 seconds.

for whatever reason I was able to move on from 12 men on the field sooner than this one.  Maybe it’s because of how much it felt like a giant missed opportunity (even though you could argue so was denver)…. But this one…. Was much more of a “waste”.  I think that’s it. Allen sucked against Denver.  But you know, if I’m trying to be positive here, it also brought a necessary good to the Bills in Dorsey being fired and Brady taking over.  Could be a similar deal with this Philly game (I.e. the game that ultimately gets McDermott fired).

 

although, selfishly, firing McDermott will be slightly bittersweet for me, since my son was born on the same day we hired McDermott (1/11/17) and ended the drought, and I always thought that was pretty cool 

[Constipation. This one got stuck in my digestive tract.]

3 minutes ago, JohnnyBuffalo said:

You bring up the point I have been thinking about….why is it that the Bills don’t seem to ever have the ball last in the close games?   Why can’t I remember a Bills nail biter where they won with time expiring?

 

Is it my age and horrible memory or does it just not happen all that much?   And if it doesn’t happen that often why the heck NOT?   Is that coaching and clock management?

 

These losses have all stuck with me longer than normal I think it’s the expectation that they were going to be good.   

It’s definitely bizarre and unusual that the same scenario has essentially played out 3x already this year.  Including the point differential (3).  And that we’ve lost all 3. 
 

A couple of “opposite” scenarios that come to mind was last year against Ravens and I think Miami game #2 ended this way as well.

 

we had the ball towards end of game in both of those games (definitely in the ravens game) but down by LESS THAN 3 POINTS, so therefore, once we got into chip shot FG range, we were able to bleed the clock and ensure our opponent never touches the ball again. 
 

That is a 100x better situation to be in and that situation COULD have happened yesterday as well, but due to a couple missed FGs and a defensive blunder to give up that 3rd and 15 TD, we ended up being down by 4, needing a touchdown, and in that situation you can’t really bleed the clock because you have to take the opportunities to score when you have them. 
 

 

[Constipation. This one got stuck in my digestive tract.]

19 minutes ago, BufBills83 said:

 

I'm interested in where you, as well as anyone else, think about wanting to keep riding the playoff train and hope we win out (maybe 4-1 will get there but I wouldn't want to risk that) versus just not giving up hope and what happens, happens.  I have a hard time with this, it’s  a fine line for me.  I am most times an optimist and think we can win any game, that we can make the playoffs, etc.  I check the playoff machine for scenarios and think they are possible.  But right now, I don't know if I should keep hope and watch the next couple games and see what happens, or just let it play out and not worry about it.

I know we can and will hang with the remaining teams on our schedule. Heck, we are capable of outplaying all of them too, like we outplayed Philly.

 

But the reason I am NOT optimistic personally is because - despite the offense back to playing it’s best ball of the year since Joe Brady took over - we still don’t know how to win close games, and there WILL be more close games! Even worse, We aren’t learning from the great learning opportunities we’ve had in these close losses. Instead, we double down on mistakes made before. It’s remarkable. 
 

its very hard to have faith in the Bills going 4-1 down the stretch knowing that will entail winning the types of games that we haven’t been able to win all season, but, my personal opinion may change if we beat KC, because that is a TOUGH team to beat when it goes down to the wire, and if we can do that, well, maybe they’ve turned the page.   I am just not counting on that to happen.  Not at all. 

[Constipation. This one got stuck in my digestive tract.]

6 minutes ago, MJS said:

I'm not really sure why so many fans are so bitter about this one. Josh Allen played well. We took perhaps the best team in the league to overtime. The defense collapsing wasn't fun to watch, but the Eagles are no joke. They are a really good team. And we took them down to the wire.

 

This one is easier for me to get past than, say, the Jets game where the team just made critical error after critical error, with Josh looking terrible and lost, against Zach Wilson. That one was far worse for me.

 

Or the Pats game? They have a terrible, terrible offense, and they have looked bad against everyone but us. That game sucks worse than this one.

 

I respect that perspective, but at a certain point, for me, it’s taking these teams all the way down to the wire, sometimes with impressive QB play all the way through, sometimes with just enough offense to take a lead with 1 more stop needed on defense, but we seem to ALWAYS end up on the losing end of these types of games, and that’s precisely why I am unable to appreciate it for the great game that it was; it’s because this same sh*t is happening over, and over, and over and we keep seeing the SAME ending.  

[Constipation. This one got stuck in my digestive tract.]

3 minutes ago, BufBills83 said:

Dude, I was thinking about making a thread about pretty much this exact topic.

 

This season has been probably the most difficult for me to cope with since I have been watching, which has been about 22 years (started when I was 18, I'm turning 40 in a week, haven't missed a game pretty much, come to this board basically daily).

 

The combination of the tough losses plus the expectations of the season has really gotten to me.  After the Eagles game, I got very angry and punched a wall.  I know this is not something that should happen and I should control my anger, but I couldn't let it go.  And now I'm thinking that the stress of how much I follow and care about the Bills is affecting my health.  I want to care about them very much and follow them, but there needs to be a limit.

 

Anyway, I agree, this game is a tough one, and it is compounded by the fact that it seems all of these "game of the year" types of games go against us.  It’s  stressful and there is no reward.  I have been debating if I want to watch the next couple games because I know that while we can make the playoffs by winning out, I don't want to give me hopes up just to lose to KC in horrific fashion and it be over.

I can relate bro. From start to finish. Personally, I’m not even going to watch the KC game. I’ll just feel better if I sit that one out. And then About 4 hours after kickoff, I’ll check my phone and hope for the very best. But right now, I do expect that watching a Bills-Chiefs game will cause me more anguish than joy, so I’m taking a seat for this one (and Von Miller should, too). 

[Constipation. This one got stuck in my digestive tract.]

3 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

You have to remember we have the QB, it helps keep everything in perspective 

I do remember that. And in fact whenever I have this particular problem, I try to look for the silver lining to move on from it. In this case, the silver lining is the fact that if the Bills do indeed miss the playoffs, McDermott has to be OUT. And if missing the playoffs was necessary for this to happen, then so be it. I’ll make that trade every single time. You know, I was still on the fence about McDermott before Sunday, but that game absolutely sealed the deal for me. I mean how could it not? 

[Constipation. This one got stuck in my digestive tract.]

2 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

Nope. I don't do this anymore. 

 

Been too many times after a bad loss I lose a week to a bad mood or constantly replaying it. After a few of those types of losses I noticed that the players themselves rarely let it bother them...why should I?

 

Even after this game we had the usual players slapping hands, dabbing up guys from the Eagles. Laughing and smiles. Good times. Then they go back to the locker room get told we'll get em next week and act heartbroken when they come out for the post game presser. Heck this time even Diggs was like "whatever, cool" right after the game.

 

Very cool. I hope to mature emotionally to this level. 
 

On a side note, regarding your comment on Diggs, didn’t see anything about him post-game.  Did he speak to the media? 

[Constipation. This one got stuck in my digestive tract.]

Usually, I am pretty good about having a “24 hour process” coming off bad Bills losses in which, by Tuesday morning, the game will still come to mind on and off, but I’ll be over it for the most part.

 

This time… I can’t get it out of my system; it’s stuck.  Stuck on flashing back to the absolutely ridiculous 59 yard field goal and missed connection to Gabe Davis in OT, specifically. Along with being SO SICK AND TIRED of being involved in “instant classic” games year after year, but being on the losing end of them EVERY TIME!!!  

 

I absolutely hate this part about being a sports fan. 
 

And I am just wondering how many of you are in the same boat?  Because we have gone through numerous BAD losses this season, but something about this one, despite being an NFC opponent, has got me so backed up with sh*t thoughts and I am unable to pass this brain stool. 

[Per Benjamin Allbright, McDermott's "seat is warm"]

I know another defensive head coach would not be a popular opinion around here...

 

But Lee Anarumo sounds really, really good to me.

 

And I think, if he was in Mcdermott's position this year alone, we have at least 3 more wins than we currently have.

 

Keep Brady at OC.

[Nothing Is Over!]

17 minutes ago, Pine Barrens Mafia said:

 

Barring a mahomes injury, i have no reason to believe the Bills aren't run out of that building.

 

 

It depends on how much their much-improved defense can limit our offense.   This is the first time Allen faces a KC defense that is actually good.

 

Because we can't depend on our defense to stop Mahomes, especially at the end of the game, if it comes to that (again).

 

Last year, this was the Von Miller game, to me.  He had 2 sacks and the pressure on Mahomes that caused the game-winning turnover for Bills.  

 

It's a shame we don't have that anymore.  Who is going to step up in Von's place?  

[Nothing Is Over!]

1 hour ago, EffKCChiefs said:

It seems similar to the TB game in 2021 where we lost the game in OT and caught our groove winning the last 4. Hopefully that’s the case this year but there is no margin for error. 

 

Yeah it feels similar but the remaining schedule this year vs. 2021 is a lot different.

[Simple reason the Bills will NOT win out or make playoffs]

18 minutes ago, margolbe said:

With this defense, you need a 3 score lead to feel comfortable going into the 4th quarter.  Unacceptable.

 

Agreed.  With this defense, and with this coaching.  Although there is definitely bad luck sprinkled into like every scenario as well.  I.e.  if AJ Brown had full control of the ball for a split second longer before it was knocked out of his hands, it's game over.   Some here would argue he actually had full control already.  I personally think it was the right call - granted, VERY borderline - so I boil it down to just... unlucky and as we always seem to say around here... "almost".  Smh.