Richard Noggin

Agreed. No way that was to Shavers, although of course we can see that Shavers was open and breaking outside along the back line almost exactly into the path of Allen's throw. But Allen's infield sidearm dart was definitely driven into Shakir's chest on purpose with his immediate defender's back turned. The proximity of two more defenders was not likely a prioritized part of 17's visual processing at that precise moment. Plus a throw to Shavers would have had a few degrees more loft and you'd be able to see the difference in Allen's eyes and maybe arm angle imo.

Fair if one cares about how others are perceiving the move, for sure. That's not my focus, though. I'm wondering how good Slay still is and how well he'd fit what the Bills do in the secondary. Howie Roseman has obviously made so many good moves overall, but bringing Slay BACK to Philly (home for his family) is a bit different than bringing him somewhere sight unseen in week 14. People are free to evaluate this how they please.

There is, and should be, some critical questioning of what a mostly-cooked, all-man coverage CB like Slay can really offer the Bills down the stretch, and why is that worth dumping a decent depth DB piece who plays STs? As to the bolded, we're doomed! Amen.

I think front of delts is heavily involved here as well, which could be intentional for rebuilding muscles surrounding where the tear occurred (without putting too much strain on actual repaired area)?

Was also there. Supremely disconcerting to see the road team come in better prepared for on-field conditions, among other things. That game was an inevitable reckoning...the obvious conclusion to such an oddly frustrating, exhausting season for the team collectively and individually, almost as if the specter of 13 seconds had caused a hangover typically felt by SB losers. And they still won 13 games. But Allen had 14 interceptions and 13 fumbles (of which HE recovered 5...not sure how many were in fact turnovers). Something changed right before halftime of that GB Halloween game. Most likely a concussion for Allen, on top of whatever else was going on for him off the field. The vibe was way off that season. Cinci was just the better team.

This is the kind of insider information I come here for the night before a home game. Nothing like a snow globe game. So much fun.

Love to see the hope here. Of course, I don't actually share it this week, against an opponent who just proves to be a bad matchup. Cinci runs it better lately than they get credit for, and we know of course how they throw it with Burrow back in the fold. Two-dimensional offenses like theirs have the ability to exploit McD's defense (and NFL defenses in general). Without a talented pass rush, it's really difficult to stop such teams.

I don't see a McD team with a healthy Josh Allen and James Cook going 2-3 to close out the season, but as you've noted, their inconsistency does not slam the door on that possibility. And the matchups against Cinci, New England, and Philly are all potentially dicey. We've been worse off at this point in previous years ('21 and '23) and still closed out the regular seasons strong (a McD team trait), one time fielding (in '21) the best consecutive passing offense performances in playoff history, I think? That 2021 team was offensive shite at this point in the season, and then lost again but at least woke up in the 2nd half of that 6th and final loss to Tampa. So there is precedent for the Bills and Allen to lock in from here out. In 2025, however, unrelenting, impactful injuries, and critical coaching and execution errors could be mitigating factors that finally disrupt the Bills' history of late season excellence.

50% agree. Yes, Allen is a horse who has always played through basically everything. However, lower body injuries especially are MUCH more impactful for skill players (compared to QBs) who need maximum movement ability to do their jobs well enough to actually help the team. A pulled hammy hurts a receiving target in ways that don't critically impact a tough QB's ability to be effective. Taste was off?

There are definitely chances this year of road teams logging wins. Honestly? I think the bolded is what I meant by "honest" for this exercise: just pick em on feel without regard for end result (bracket).

Using dumb ESPN's playoff simulator, I ran through the last five weeks of the season without thinking too much, just picking each game as objectively as I could. Here was the result (only took me a couple minutes): I hate it a lot, tbh. So many bad matchups for the Bills. In my simulation, for what it's worth, the Bills lose the next two and then win the last three. I really hope that isn't what actually transpires, but going 3-2 the rest of the way IS reasonable. Could also see arguments for going 4-1, which would have interesting ramifications. for the rest of the AFC. What bracket do YOU come up with after picking the last five weeks of the season? (I tried not to think about any future implications when picking. And I tried to apply an ugly level of objectivity.)

So no one (especially the OP) has worked out even one simulation of how the AFC bracket would progress for Buffalo's "playoff run" beginning with a road win against the Ravens? What are the other 2 matchups during the WC round? Any other road warrior upsets? (Which would mean Buffalo does NOT travel to the top seed for Divisional round.) Could all three WC teams win on the road, given the leaguewide parity? (Which would mean Buffalo hosts #6 AND THEN either travels to #1 or hosts #7 for the AFCCG.) How does the AFC seeding shake out after week 18?

Totally understand the way contact, and moreover cheap shots, bring out the apex competitor in Allen (and wish Brady embraced it the way Daboll seemed to, calling QB runs often enough to keep his QB on the hunt). HOWEVER, I have serious concerns about any team that doesn't come out and play every game, start to finish, with a focused urgency and/or rage. I know they're human beings, and mostly very rich and usually very sore/injured human beings at that, but WTF?! Players only have 17 (regular season, if they're lucky) opportunities each year to perform and prove their value to the team/league/posterity. Been a lot of sleepy first halves (especially on offense) this season innit

It would be silly to ignore the growing rift between Diggs and the coaching staff dating as far back as Dorsey, at least. And then of course the rift grew to freeze out Josh Allen as well. (Might even have been reciprocated, privately, at that point.) But yes, the Brady-led offense has had major issues consistently getting the ball to WRs who run routes past the line of scrimmage. Diggs, to his discredit, also failed to come through in the playoffs the last couple seasons he was in Buffalo, on an individual level. Moving on simply had to happen, unfortunately.

Only if it limits him in practice, I think?

Anyone else impressed with Bills players mostly keeping cool in the 1st half as Steelers were being dirty C U Next Tuesdays and the refs were pretending to be blind? Spencer Brown would have maybe been ejected lol. Epenesa got his dumb flag, but didn't Metcalf get his own on the next play or two? Bills players stayed pretty focused. Good on them.

SUPER curious if this hypothesis actually has merit. Is bad rushing defense correlated with increased games missed by defenders? Difficult to parse directly, seeing as decimated defensive units would likely have difficulty stopping the run (and/or the pass). Which came first kind of conundrum. But I'd still like to look into what the numbers say about your claim here... Why not stick with it repeatedly, for me, is illustrated each time Brady intentionally sticks with it enough times in a row that the Bills get stuffed for a no gain or negative result. Brady CHOOSES to inevitably squander a valuable 1st or 2nd down rather than leveraging the increased likelihood that the defense will be over-playing the run and hitting them with some kind of play-action pass or other such aggressive change of pace play call. You have Josh freaking Allen. Convert that running success into passing success, or at least try. Keep the mfers guessing. Washington outweighs Tre White by 119 pounds, actually. Washington's listed weight is laughable; he's even admitted recently what his actual weight is (311, right?).

The veteran #1 WR trade route is extremely expensive in both draft assets and cap space allotment, and somewhat rare/difficult to pull off. And they usually come with baggage. Think AJ Brown, Stefon Diggs, Tyreek Hill...who else? Remember that Allen was still on a rookie deal when Beane traded for Diggs, making it easier to fit him in immediately and long term. Of course, Diggs then had a career year playing with Allen, and the Bills went to the AFCCG for the first time in like 25 years. So the expense was darn near justified in year one alone. AJ Brown was a VERY similar situation for the Eagles, except they got to the SB (and then won it two years later). What are other examples of WR1s getting traded?

Pegula lacks the personal savvy AND the organizational structure/objectivity to have identified the obvious need to fire McD after 13 seconds or in each of the last two off-seasons when Ben Johnson was ostensibly available. To not hire someone with serious pedigree to oversee football operations in an executive capacity above McD and Beane is the height of Busch League incompetence. Instead, Pegula is the only person evaluating McBeane, which is insane if you've ever listened to anything Pegula has ever said about football. He's an impressionable imbecile about sports. He NEEDS C-Suite layers above his coaches and front office personnel, but lacks the wisdom or humility to admit it. He accepts mediocrity. Pegula's refusal to bring in football and hockey execs to oversee each operation and provide needed expertise independent of (and critical of) coaching and management is absolutely idiotic. Maybe Kim could have grown into that role (her interpersonal aptitude and general savvy is very underrated to this day), but failing to bring in pedigreed people at the top is just such a huge ongoing nightmare. Owners definitely have HUGE impacts on organizational success across the major sports leagues. Teams can have fleeting success without great ownership, but sustained success starts at the top. The Bills drought was deeply and obviously tied to ownership issues and the downstream impacts of those issues, and you can see the Sabres suffering now from that same condition. That would still be the result of the pre-snap solutions Allen is provided by his coaches. I think defenses know how to sometimes force Allen to check into disadvantageous or predictable audibles. It's not like he has the time at the line or the license to pick from ANY play in their arsenal. He isn't running Peyton Manning's Marchibroda offense, unfortunately. I think it's mostly true. But not completely Allen's fault. He's put in bad positions.

Sounds like McD tbh

Also, the repetitive/pared-down playbook of the Kelly Bills offense was much more vertical and aggressive in nature, so it put more strain on defenders. Like, even if Brady's mesh routes actually work and Allen has the time to wait for them, they're still semi-horizontal routes that don't exactly put safeties in conflict. Allen's arm should be firing lasers downfield on seam and boundary 9s and posts and flags and skinnies and the like...not just crossers and swings and screens and contested fades. Threaten defenses through the air while also slashing them on the ground. Add in mucho motion and play action and let's effing go.

Bernard had been playing through injuries (plural) this season prior to his obvious arm injury last game...and while that builds upon his growing history of unavailability, it also explains some of his lack of production when on the field. He's still making a bunch of solid reads, but seems to be having trouble turning most of those into impact plays. He obviously can't hold up physically to the rigors of an NFL season at MLB.

He was actually hurting the team by not tapping out sooner. At least one or two drives where he was obviously unable to use his right arm, as a RIGHT TACKLE, and Van Demark was available to step in, right? Pretty sure Dawkins was on the field. Not to mention how coaches didn't get him out of there after the first drive when he was hurt (unless RVD was being used and I'm misremembering?). How is that allowed to go on for so long?

To the bolded: you do realize that in 17 rushes (according to PFR it's 17 for 87...you have an extra 2 yard run listed), Cook gained 4 or more yards 10 times and more than 5 yards 8 times? And of the 7 unsuccessful runs, 4 went for 2 or 3 yards? So it wasn't really that bad AT ALL. 5.1 Y/A. It was more about not running Cook often enough in that game, if I'm recalling the postgame critiques accurately. Atlanta's pass rush/pressure packages is what was working most against the Bills, who should have run more often and/or simply better diagnosed and attacked some of the blitzes (tougher to do on the road and in a dome). The Patriots did effectively shut down Cook for 3.3 Y/A. No doubt. When that happens and the Bills fail to counter, I think play-calling and Allen's inconsistencies in diagnosing pre-snap looks (shared blame here with his coaches and what they're expecting and preparing for) are more to blame than the quality of the Bills OL personnel. Even above average blockers can look bad when repeatedly put in bad positions by predictable play calls, a lack of self-scouting, poor game planning, etc. And maybe Vrabel's boys up front just bullied our guys more than I'd like to admit...

Benching a 2nd round pick for repeatedly exhibiting bad football character does NOT reflect poorly on anyone but Keon Coleman. Sure, the very high day two pick appears to have been spent on an immature player who isn't taking his job seriously enough. But the draft is in the past. This is the present, and the kid needs a wakeup call and/or to simply step aside for guys who ARE putting in the work and seeing the results. Simple as that. I commend McD for holding Coleman accountable.