Richard Noggin

100% agree, but the point I was responding to was about the emotional peak of a big win against a divisional foe that gets a team into the playoffs.

I sure am brilliant. My point stands, however.

Read the post and/or do the tournament math: the Bills CANNOT host Miami in the divisional round. Miami would be the lowest seed, and therefore would automatically travel to the top seed, Baltimore. I prefer KC, to be honest. Finally get them on the road, in Orchard Park, in front of fans. They've never done it successfully in the playoffs during Mahomes' career (which is just maddening).

So...has the "Shame on us" in the topic title been explained yet? Asking for myself.

Agreed in large part here. As for the bolded, Lawrence was all kinds of banged up, to be fair. Which, awesomely, also highlights OUR QB's most underrated quality: the dude just keeps playing no matter what injuries (often to his throwing arm) he's battling. His toughness, availability, guts, and accountability are ELITE. We've watched other QBs with the same injuries absolutely wilt (recall Allen wearing that effing LB shoulder brace and never missing a game and still gutting out a winning season, whereas 2017's #1 overall pick, Baker Mayfield, suffered the exact same injury and could NOT play the position effectively thereafter (despite trying his best - gutsy guy)). If Allen played baseball he probably would have gotten Tommy John surgery last season and missed 12-18 months. Or then again, maybe he wouldn't have?

REALLY happy to read the bolded. Except for a couple instances of zero-blitzes this season that cost us valuable games.

While I agree that McDermott's treasured "resiliency" is admirable, the Brady/Belichick and Mahomes/Reid on-field products were/are (for the most part) much more disciplined and better-executed. No way were they overcoming so many self-inflicted setbacks. I love the way McDermott's teams, highlighted this season (and 2021 specifically), have performed under adversity and caught their strides when it matters most. However, I HATE the way McDermott's teams, highlighted this season, have performed as favorites and faltered when it seemingly doesn't matter much early and midseason. The admirable character this team has shown is in part a direct response to the regrettable yips they've also shown.

Plus, look at that "clapping" BS he's doing with his hands. His fundamentals have been so erratic with the most foundational part of his job: catching the football. I recall Jerry Rice declaring (in some rando interview or media piece or something) that there are only two ("proper") ways to catch a pass: thumbs together or pinkies together. That's it. Davis often points his fingers of both hands directly AT the incoming ball like a weirdo, or points his hands in opposite directions like an RB taking a handoff, or whatever other nonsense he comes up with on the fly. It's bizarre.

I'm already angry about it. I'm on the Bills side, and I just know I'll be looking across the field at those dumb yellow rags spinning in the stands behind the Steelers bench. They'll be in the stadium early, as visitors always are, so it will seem even worse while the teams are warming up. I'll probably even have to hear the word, "Yinze" at some point. Gross.

No.

Weird topic title. Worked on me, I guess.

Hugely different defensive coach with respect to scheme and tactics. Polar opposite of McD in almost every way.

The Steelers are also coming off a big (divisional) win, no?

Dean Spanos is indeed a nightmare. Headstrong guy like Harbaugh could have difficulty ignoring that.

He admittedly looks like an awesome teammate out there. His guys really do love him.

We didn't see a HUGE overthrow of Diggs after he effing OWNED Ramsey and was running FREE? Or several completely ignored short/outlet routes (Kincaid in the left flat on that doomed 4th and short, for example)? We definitely saw "amped up" Allen early in the game, and it cost the Bills a bunch of points.

Once Allen gained control of himself (his cheeks were VERY flushed from kickoff until into the 2nd quarter - and likewise his passes/decisions were erratic/problematic for the first 25ish minutes of gameplay) by the end of the 2nd quarter, I was weirdly confident the Bills would win as long as the coaches recognized that they had Elite Playoff Josh in the 2nd half. Abandoning the run was actually VITAL to winning IMHO (once Allen had settled down). There MUST be a way to help Allen be less geeked and amped and impatient early on. He needs a QB draw on the first play or something like that to ensure he gets the nerves hit right out of him. I've heard that he doesn't like to eat on gameday because he's prone to puking, and HECK if he doesn't seem like a dude whose blood sugar is not well managed when he's making bizarre mistakes out there. Adrenaline management is still an issue for him, which is bonkers.

Gotta root for Chiefs so they FINALLY have to play a road playoff game in WNY (assuming Bills take care of Pitt as they should). If Dolphins win, the Bills would host either the Browns or the Texans, and I honestly don't love either matchup as much as the Chiefs on the road, finally. Those two teams are more dynamic than the Chiefs this season. More dangerous. Separately, as a season ticket holder, I'm bracing for Bills fans selling mucho tickets to Steelers fans, and then to a lesser extent doing so again the following week (Texans fans not so much, but Chiefs and Browns fans will absolutely be looking to show up). That Cowboys game featured more opposing fans than I've ever seen in OP in McD era (Bills shut them up quickly, thankfully), and I'm afraid Steelers fans travel even better. Bengals fans, for reference, were VERY noticeable in OP for last year's Wildcard round. Their chanting of "TEE!" after any/every play Higgins made was especially disconcerting. Bills fans are definitely open for business, and the home field advantage suffers greatly because of it.

Whatever we might guess about that first endzone INT play, it cannot be denied that Miami ran an all-out Cover-0 blitz, and in that circumstance Davis SHOULD make himself immediately available to his QB, rather than blindly running a deep-ish endzone post route. If he just stops and turns (sensing obvious pressure), the ball would have been on him. Allen could have looked left quicker as he retreated, but either way his WR to that side wasn't speeding up/adjusting his availability.

Sherfield can throw blocks, too. And maybe he won't miss an all-out, zero blitz where his QB needs him to adjust and open-up early.

It was obvious when JA17 finally settled down (end of 1st half)...and from then on I was pulling for passing play calls because the beast had finally awoken. But the 1st quarter and most of the 2nd quarter were ugly. It's so easy to gauge where Allen's at during a game. When he's ON...my goodness, he's the best QB anyone has ever watched. But when he's OFF...yeah, it's not great.

Gotta be distant EVERY week, duh

I want to show this sentence to the founding fathers.

Great find. Fascinating read. Not sure every conclusion the author draws is entirely knowable, but still an awesome, if not subjective, glimpse behind the curtain.