CincyBillsFan

I get that this is the NFL and there is no such thing as "name your score" but this is a great match up for the Bills for the simple reason that McD's D eats up inexperienced, young QB's. Spenser Rattler is the kind of QB that the Bills frustrate into 3 & outs and TO's. Both of which are deadly when facing the Bills O. The game may be closer then some think it should be as McD and company continue to pace themselves but it's hard to see the Saints actually springing the upset here.

It was one weird game. Here are the details. Bottom line is Kelly had one of his worst games and the two teams were pretty close in record. Oh and this was the height of the "bickering Bills". https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198912100buf.htm

Yep, he and Kirk Cousins are forming an investment company after they retire.

Those first 3 games were very important. First, you got a huge tie breaker over the team that looked to be the Bills main competitor for Home Field advantage and then you beat back to back division foes. Going 3 - 0 in these early games will matter big time at the end of the season.

Goff's limitations on full display on that last play.

You mean the piss poor downfield passing game that beat the Ravens in the 4th quarter? Looked potent to me. Last year we saw a similar offense for most of the season but at LA & Detroit circumstances turned the games into shootouts with Allen throwing the ball downfield and we exploded. I have no reason to think the same won't be true this season, especially after what we saw in the Ravens game.

The Bills D imposed their will on the Jets offense last week. But by surrendering 370 yards and 31 points the Finns did not impose their will on the Bills O last night.

To be clear it wasn't that we "couldn't throw more then 5 yards up field" it was that we choose not do so. Big difference. In fact the only "deep" pass was a perfectly thrown 20 yarder to Coleman that was flagged for interference after the DB pinned his arm down.

You are correct, at the MOMENT this is not a championship caliber D. And going further the continued trend of allowing teams to convert 3rd & long and keep the O on the bench is a critical flaw in the Bills overall strategic thinking. But all that matters is the Bills D is better in the last quarter of the season and in the playoffs. By that criteria I don't know if what I'm seeing matters or not. Calling what the Bills are doing on offense a "Trent Edwards is our QB philosophy" is flat out wrong IMO. We are seeing what I suspect is the next hot "new" thing that will dominate offensive football the next 5 years. The Chiefs are doing it, ditto for the Eagles and the Rams. Bills fans will always put up with winning. My emotions IN THE GAME are meaningless after the game ends. Last year I was elated DURING the game at LA when the offense was spectacular going up and down the field. But when the clock hit zero and we lost it sucked. I thought the Bills were going to hammer a Miami team that was already heading for the busses last night. But watching the Dolphins from the start I could see this was their Super Bowl. This was their season on the line. I'm glad we got the win because style points are meaningless in the NFL unless the transient opinions of blowhard talking heads matters to you.

First, against the Chiefs the offense has "gotten it done" whether it was a circus with Allen throwing deep ball haymakers like 2021 or grinding it out like the last 2 seasons. In ALL 3 games the D cost us the win. Second, I don't "enjoy" this offense. I find it frustrating because as a fan I live in the moment with the game I'm watching. Last night I was yelling at the TV that Brady was to conservative after they ran the ball on 2nd & 8 at the Dolphins 14 yard line before missing the FG. I thought the Bills should have attacked the new DB's right from the get go. But after the in-game emotions calm down I can see how this offense works and what they're trying to do. And for the record this offense has so far been very successful by every metric you can measure - points, yards, no TO's, productive at key moments in the game and TOP to name just 5.

Allen is way more then a "game manager" in this offense. Case in point on one of the TD drives Dawkins held putting the Bills in a 1st & 20. If Allen were just a game manager the drive would have been over and a couple of plays later the Bills punt. Instead, on 1st down Allen runs for 19 yards creating a 2nd & 1 from a 1st & 20. The threat of Allen, downfield & with his legs, makes D's play this offense differently. A game manager doesn't present that level of threat and is more easily controlled by defenses.

Allen was very accurate tonight. How many passes did he miss that weren't throwaways? 1 by my count. Within the game plan Allen was masterful and again the Dolphins robbed the O of at least 2 extra possessions because the D allowed them to go on 3 LONG, time consuming drives. The 3 Miami TD's chewed up over18 minutes. McD simply won't accept giving up big plays but IMO if the Finns had scored those 3 TD's on big plays and used up only 9 minutes the Bills likely get 2 more possessions and add at least 1 TD to the final score.

I agree to a point. We don't have that WR that makes the deep shot a high probability play. But I also think they're fanatically devoted to their plan.

The Bills have scored TD's on each of their opening drives in the last 3 games. And had the D got off the filed on either the 3rd & 12 or 3rd & 10 late in the 2nd quarter the Bills likely would have scored points before the half giving them the desired double dip.

We are watching a deliberate offensive strategy play out. It is similar to last season where it was successful and after 3 games this season we're 3 - 0 averaging 34 PPG. I live in Cincinnati and saw a much more explosive offense not make the playoffs the last 2 seasons. I'll take Brady ball any day of the week.

You are not going to score on every possession. Even if the Finns hadn't roughed the punter the Bills would have or should have scored on 5/8 possession which is still good. The problem is that the Bills O should be getting at least 10 total possessions a game and it is on the D that they didn't tonight. But yea, I agree that they got a little cute sticking to their offensive game plan when Miami injuries in the secondary should have been exploited. Still I so no issues with the passing game and am fully confident that when needed it can explode on call.

Bingo. If you sat down with McD over a beer and he was totally honest he would tell you that everything went according to plan tonight with the exception that the D allowed to many 3rd & long conversions. What we're seeing is by design and it started last season and so far the Bills are 16 - 4 in the regular season and 2 - 1 in the playoffs doing things this way.

Disagree. You can't ignore the 3 TD passes or the 25 yards in rushing that came at critical moments. Not counting the kneel down at the end of the half, the Bills scored (or should have with a missed 39 yard FG) on 6 of 8 possessions. IMO the Bills may have the best and most balanced O in football as it seems even better then it was last season and it was top 3 then. The problem with the Bills is NOT the passing game it remains the same as last season - their defense struggles to get off the field at key moments in the game and it allows to many 3rd & long to be converted.

As an aside Allen was masterful tonight. 22 of 28 for 213 yards and 3 TDs and a QB rating of 134. There is no problem with the passing attack or the offense in general. They are remarkably balanced and it will be tough for any D to hold them to less then 30 points. The problem remains what it was last season - the inability of the defense to get off the field at critical moments of the game and the continual giving up 1st downs on 3rd and long.

When needed the passing game has been quite effective - in the 4th quarter to beat the Ravens and tonight when we converted that 3rd & 5 to basically seal the win. As others are saying this is an intentional effort by the Bills to not become over reliant on an explosive passing game that thrives in September but can disappear in November/December.

I agree. We're watching a scripted game plan by the Bills. Make that 39 yard FG and get off the field late in the 2nd quarter on 3rd & 12 or 3rd & 10 and the O likely gets points before the end of the half. Net, game over after the Bills score at the start of the 3rd. It didn't go that way but in the end we still won by 10. The Bills are doubling down on what they did last season.

A win is a win. I was hoping for a little less 2nd half stress but the Bills pursuit of home field advantage remains in good shape. I can't help but think this entire team is being driven by analytics with the offense having a governor installed that limits it's explosiveness but also eliminates TO's and wins TOP. Now let's get healthy over the next 10 days and take it to NO at the Ralph.

Does it make you feel better that the Ravens & Bengals are wasting their future HOF QB's to?

They are wasting the prime years of Allen. What a freaking shame.

Couple of big differences including: * a Bills team that was in some disarray at the time. Remember that bad bad loss in London to the Jags the week before they barely beat the Giants. In fact the Bills would lose 4 of 6 games with their only wins being close ones over the Giants & Bucs at home. * DaBold had special insight on Allen and the Bills offense. * The Giants are not a rival game nor were they even a conference game. Tonight the Bills are playing against a rival division team.