CincyBillsFan

How do you figure? The ball bounced off Beasley's hands/chest for the INT.

Next week is next week. The way NFL football goes we can absolutely win the game. The Bills might play better or they might play worse then they did today. Only time will tell. Maybe this is how we are going to keep winning games no matter who we play.

You have a point here and if Kalil catches that 54yard dime from Allen late in the 1st half the Bills would have likley gone up 24 - 9 going into the locker room.

I have a theory on this. The defense, in spite of mostly great stats, is playing as frustratingly inconsistently as the offense is. Holding the Dolphins to a couple of hundred yards and forcing a couple of FG's on short fields was a big plus but: * Giving up a 4th & 8 when the Bills led 17 -3. Make that stop and the Bills start rolling again with the ball at midfield. * Giving up a 3rd & 19 in the first half. * After playing lights out and getting a TO the D allows a 75 yard TD drive in the 4th quarter after the Bills had opened up a 10 point lead. * Giving up a 3rd & 10 late in the game when they had the Fish pinned deep in their pwn territory. This mirrors an offense that scored 34 points, gained over 400 yards and roared out to a 17 - 0 and then turned the ball over 3 times! A dropped pass that was an easy catch kept the Bills from taking a 24 - 9 lead at half. So like the defense the O's inconsistency combines great plays and series with head scratching screw-ups. In the end the Bills have won most of these games but it's damn frustrating to watch.

I didn't like those plays either. We were all screaming at the TV. Not sure if that was Allen being stubborn or Dorsey losing it. Maybe both. But in 2 of the Bills 3 possessions during that time they erased a 24 - 20 deficit and got ahead 34 - 24. And that was because Allen calmed down and started slicing and dicing the fish.

Bad weather, an at best average offensive line and a distinct lack of play making skill players is the problem not Allen. Sure the WINS are sloppy and heart stopping but we're 14 - 3 and in the divisional round of the playoffs. I don't get the nit picking criticism of Allen. The reason the game wasn't over at half was not because of Allen's play.

I thought Allen played very well. The fumble was on him but neither INT was. Romo was pretty clear that Brown failed to run the pattern he should have and the ball bounced off Beasley's chest. Bottom line was that Allen had over 350 yards passing and 3 TD's. And he played great late in the 3rd and 4th quarter when the game was on the line leading the Bills to 2 TD's.

I like McDermitt and want him to stay as the HC but there are times when I think he's Branden Staley with a better QB.

The biggest difference was that the Colts had a borderline HOF QB still playing well and the Bills were in only their 2nd playoff game with this current group of players.

That first half by Lawrence, playing at home against an average defense, was beyond terrible. Allen has never had a half that bad. All credit is due the guy for leading a great comeback but against the Bengals, Bills & Chiefs the game would be over at half if Lawrence throws 4 INT's.

I don't disagree. But that first half was so terrible, and at home against an average defense, that I wouldn't even consider putting Lawrence up there with Mahomes, Allen & Burrow. Could he get there? Yes but IMO he's not there yet.

Not quite. That comeback that Lawrence engineered was fantastic and he played great showing a lot of grit. But he did throw 4 INT's in the first half. You just can't forget that. I would say that Lawrence is CLOSE to being in that conversation but he's not there yet.

Herbert owns this loss as much as Staley. Up 24 - 0 late in the 2nd period and being gifted with the ball at the Jags 4 yard line courtesy of a fumbled punt all the Chargers could do was kick a FG after Herbert missed a wide open Keenan Allen for the TD. In the 2nd half all the Chargers could score was one FG and missed another. Herbert took no chances repeatedly checking down and taking what the defense wanted to give him and that contributed a great deal to this loss.

Gee, I wish Allen would take what the defense gives him on those big 3d down plays like Herbert does.

Purdy is playing very well. But if you look at how the 49's O is destructed and where their skill player talent lined up McCaffrey was the PERFECT addition. Makes me wonder how big of a lift CMAC would have given the Bills O. My guess is it would have been huge as teams tried to spy both Allen & CMAC.

I wonder if Lawrence will get the same level of derision from the sports media for his 3 INT's in one quarter that Allen got for his attempted lateral to Knox in his first playoff game?

That's what I thought to. There is no way that was defensive PI. He had his head turned to the ball and batted it down. The WR was grabbing the DB.

It's McCaffrey. His versatility - he's both an elite RB and receiver - may be playing the biggest role here.

SF is also helped by a diverse assortment of elite play makers at BOTH WR's, TE, FB and HB. This is a rare accumulation of talent.

McCaffrey plays a huge role as a decoy in these very clever play designs.

Good thing for the Bills then that it isn't going to be windy or very cold!

And for the first time in his career with the Bills at the end of the season Beasley is close to 100% physically. So even with the drop off in performance a fresh Beasley may actually contribute more to this playoff run then he did in previous playoff runs.

Tampa Bay was beating the Bengals 17 - 3 at halftime. We were beating BOTH the NY Jets and Vikings at halftime.

So you are blaming the dropped passes on Allen forcing throws! That makes no sense to me. In all my years of watching football I've never heard someone blame the QB for DROPPED passes before. What distinguishes an NFL QB from a college QB is the willingness and ability to throw the ball into tight spaces. If Allen wasn't as aggressive as he is, which leads to INT's, and focused his game on taking what the defense gave him rather then taking what he wanted the Bills would have been lucky to win 10 games - and that is the truth right there. As for Allen throwing INT's in the red zone in the playoffs let's wait and see what happens. What we do know for a fact is that through 6 playoff games Allen has yet to throw an INT ANYWHERE on the field.

Didn't the Bills lead the league in longest downfield completions and highest rate of 3rd and long conversions? That's pretty damn explosive. I think that the Bills were more explosive during the REGULAR season in 2022 then they were in 2021. You might be inflating last season's explosiveness by including the Bill's playoff performances from 2021/22. Allen & the O were very explosive in those two playoff games. Let's see how this season's playoffs go.