Avisan

That is not how probability works.

We did it vs. the Broncos and they completed a prayer ball. Cue the "McDermott is clueless!1!!1" cries, etc. Y'all are exceptionally outcome-based when it comes to determining what is and is not a good call.

It's really difficult to orchestrate assignments and coverage exchanges in realtime

This is literally the only reasonable bar for success. Demanding a championship or bust is perhaps understandable on an emotional level for any given low-information fan, but that is not a reasonable way to run a successful NFL organization. It isn't as though the rabid masses would give the Bills a free pass if they did, in fact, do a major shakeup and still didn't win make the Superbowl. They would be furious that the Bills had not conjured up a championship out of the ether and demand more heads roll. How could they fail, when blowing up a successful, functional organization was such an obvious and easy move to make? The league's history is littered with great QBs who never won a Superbowl. The sense of entitlement it takes to presume that a great QB will get there year-after-year unless the coaching is terrible is beyond absurd.

There is far less room for error in big play offenses, what amount to variance swings will just wreck you sometimes.

Honestly this is just idiocy Dink and dunk against the Cover 2 shell is what sets up the big shots you want to see, and it worked all night

Allen took that timeout, you could literally see him call for it on the broadcast.

It worked. If we stuck to that plan, we likely put up 31 points on an exceptional Chiefs D despite no field position help. Brady was ruthless with the dink and dunk. Sometimes that is what the defense is giving you.

Yeah no, I was mentally begging him the entire time to take the Diggs crosser, it's the right call there. If you take the endzone strike there, it's gotta be perfect. It's a tough throw, despite our QB being good enough to make it look easy most of the time. Still thrilled to have him as our QB. We were very close to pulling it off. Just couldn't quite come up with all of the plays when we needed them.

That's the whole point of getting the TD with < 1 min on the clock and no KC timeouts. That is MUCH harder to pull off than 13 seconds.

He almost did. Then it was abandoned after the two-minute warning. If Allen learned how to dink and dunk, and then punish defenses for dropping out of the Cover 2 shell to stop it he's be more or less unstoppable. He was nearly unstoppable THIS game despite receiver drops, low overall yards/attempt, etc. 31 points on this Chiefs D despite no help in the field position department would have been an absurd feat.

You didn't answer the question. Did Brady not have a killer instinct because he killed you 6-7 yards at a time?

Number one priority is to tie or go ahead with no time left on the clock for the Chiefs. A decade ago this was commonly and thoroughly understood, and I'm frankly confused at why so many posters here aren't getting it.

This is nonsense. Did Brady not have a killer instinct because he killed you 6-7 yards at a time?

The Cover 2 shell came back into vogue because the current top QBs won't punish you for it. The methodical ball control offense WORKS. It wrecks the Cover 2 shell. Slowly, but surely. It worked all game. We screwed ourselves on the final drive by gunning for the endzone instead. If we had kept with that offense, we likely win the game. Putting up 31 on that Chiefs D would have been an amazing feat, and that ball control offense would have done it. We watched the Patriots pull it off year after year in that exact fashion, much to our despair.

Yeah, I don't get the fear narrative. It isn't about fear; it's about delivering the mortal wound. Getting the TD with 1:55 left, 2 TOs for KC, and 4-down territory all drive isn't mortal. Not when your defense is barely able to be fielded. The mortal wound is grinding down the clock and getting the TD at the end. Brady and Manning take the underneath there. They take the high percentage passes that they know WILL lead to the endzone at the end, or at worst set up a chip shot field goal with minimal time left. Brady and Manning felt inevitable. They would grind it down the field and break you, and all you could do was watch. We spent two decades under Brady's heel, we all should KNOW what that looks like. Allen went for the lower-probability, survivable strike instead and didn't connect. Still beyond thankful we have him. It's okay to acknowledge what he lacks compared to the true greats, though. < 1 minute to go and both timeouts spent. We were on track to do it.

They did, though. Offense floundered (twice!) with the Chiefs up by 3. Defense got the Offense the ball back without further points. Offense had the chance to put it away at the end due to those stops. Our back seven was made out of duct tape, spit, and wishes. They did enough.

Yeah, he needed more help from his skill players. Given the circumstances, he needed that flawless finishing drive. He didn't deliver it. Brady and Manning in their prime deliver it. Allen goes for the big play. Allen is nearly impossible to defend when he's in the zone, and I'm beyond thankful the Bills have him. That doesn't change that he had the opportunity to seal the game and didn't deliver. He is far from alone in that from this game. But he's on the couch with the rest of us, now.

Defense got the stops we needed to win the game. Offense couldn't execute when it counted in the last two minutes. The plays were there to be made, and the players didn't make them. I was stressed on the final drive, as were we all, but the strategy was sound. It almost worked. It SHOULD have worked. Take Diggs underneath on 2nd and 9, choke KC to death with no time left on the clock for the reprisal TD. It was his best option, and I wish Allen had taken it. If you take the 30-yard shot there, it needs to be perfect. He just needed to get the ball in the neighborhood of Diggs, and that's a first down with the clock still running. Brady understood this. Manning understood this. The old guard has commented on the current crop of QBs looking for the big highlight plays and not taking what's there for them to take. It continues to hold true. I don't blame the loss on Allen. He played a hell of a game. There were plenty of things that could have gone differently to make the last few minutes of the game play out differently. That was his moment to keep slowly driving the dagger in, though, and he went for the quick strike that would leave Patrick Mahomes 1:55 on the clock with 2 TOs and 4-down territory the whole way down the field. Brady or Manning take Diggs on the crosser, there. I wish Allen could do the same.

I swear y'all are just TRYING to be miserable at this point All these injuries and the Bills are still the better team on paper. Not by much, but still better oversll. Will be an interesting game.

And those fans are ALSO idiots.

The premise here is that half the board was calling for McDermott to get fired mid-season so we could try to bring in an elite coach like Tomlin, McDaniel, Sirianni, etc. There were posts upon posts of how the Bills just paled in comparison to top-tier organizations like the Eagles and how we could never hope to truly compete with them. And here we are, onto the divisional round, and every TBD darling save for the 49ers are home on their couch.

Allen's arm talent is ABSURD. I don't understand how he gets the velocity he does on some of his throws.

Yikes. They literally discussed this play on the live broadcast, it's not like this is some subtle find. It was a quick-paced sequence and Miami was out of TOs, it wasn't easy to catch at game speed

Rooting for the Colts here, I do not want to encounter the Texans in the playoffs.