CincyBillsFan

The Ravens were a stacked team with 9 Pro Bowlers and with expectations of making it to the AFC championship game at a minimum. Many considered Baltimore to have the best roster in the NFL. The Bills were a team that was rebuilding having let go of a number of their best players and with only 2 pro bowlers. Expectations for the Bills was generally low with a lot of the national experts predicting they would finish behind both the Dolphins & Jets and not make the playoffs.

You're being way to gracious. Unless King Henry was included I doubt a single NFL exec takes Jackson over Allen today. This is incomplete. If you reversed the stats and the underlining situations in Baltimore & Buffalo remained the same then Allen would have been a unanimous MVP pick.

Hollins is the most intriguing. As the season wore on he kept on making big plays without to many drops. In the playoffs he put up decent numbers. It's possible that with another training camp in which he's clearly the #3/4 receiver he may actually develop into a very good WR. Cooper is also interesting in that one wonders what a full off season/training camp might do to better integrate him into the O. Ditto for a healthy Samuel and of course Shakir is the definition of a steady eddy. So yea I could live with staying pat on O and throwing all the FA money and a good number of draft picks against the D. I would use one of the 2nd or one of the 4th round picks to take a speed burner at WR though.

The NFL has a significant officiating problem but like Nero fiddling as Rome burned, Goodell and the Billionaire Boys Club are focusing on playing all over world. Where next - Antarctica? Fix the refs then play a game at Timbuktu.

Funny how several posters repeatedly bring up the fact that Allen had a poor 1st series leading to a 3 & out against KC. My response has been "big deal" the Bills punted the Chiefs back to their 10 yard line so what's the problem? Get a 3 & out and the Bills have the ball back near midfield - all is good. But of course that didn't happen as the Bills D gave up a 9 play 90 yard TD drive without ever getting KC into a 3rd down! So to all of you who think the D isn't the biggest problem for the Bills in the playoffs consider this stat: In ALL three of the Bills playoff games this year, two of which were at home, the D allowed the opponent to score a TD on their opening possession. That has been, is, and will be the problem in the future if they can't fix the defense.

This just doesn't pass my eye test. The defense has been horrible in most of these playoff games. The fact that the last 2 Bills losses to the Chiefs in the playoffs came down to the O not delivering at the very end of the game ignores the fact that the D in those games created a constant demand on the offense that proved unsustainable. That the Offense and by extension Allen must almost be perfect to beat the Chiefs is a fundamental problem of the Bills D. Which is exasperated by the Bills coaching being defensive minded and the franchise over the last 6 years putting more resources against the defense then the offense.

The defense didn't allow KC to score a TD but they did give up a FG. The necessary stop would have been to force a punt. Can you be more specific about what Allen needs to "learn" to have a "legendary"drive? But yea it triggers me when people throw out that Allen needs to improve and play better for the Bills to advance to a Super Bowl when even the most casual football fan can see what the Bills playoff problem is - the DEFENSE. This thread correctly calls out the Defensive issues but you seem to have some special knowledge that shifts the cause to Allen. Allen playing even better and improving in the off season will not catapult the Bills into the Super Bowl in the face of two immutable facts: * The defense must play significantly better. * Other players must rise up and play their best football to compliment Allen.

Either I expressed myself poorly or you didn't read my reply properly. I never said that a defense has to stop the opponent from scoring on all but two drives. I agree that this would be an insanely high expectation. What I said was: "No one was asking the Bills D to stop Reid/Mahomes "completely" but how about they stop them from scoring points more then twice in a game?" My point was that it is reasonable to expect a playoff caliber defense to stop the opponent from scoring on more then 2 drives per game. In the KC game the Chiefs had 8 total drives (excluding the kneel downs at the end of the half and at the end of the game). They scored on 5 of those 8 drives including 4 TD's. The Bills D only stopped them twice as the 3rd "stop" was an unforced fumble loss by the Chiefs as they were heading in for another TD. All I'm saying is that holding the Chiefs on one more drive that didn't end in points likely wins the game for the Bills. That would still mean that the KC scores on 4 of 8 drives. Hardly unreasonable.

As I recall Montana needed a Bengal DB to drop an easy INT in the end zone to finish off that drive. All the drives you mention required MORE then the QB making great plays. No one was asking the Bills D to stop Reid/Mahomes "completely" but how about they stop them from scoring points more then twice in a game? Oh and I don't give the D any credit for the fumble recovery as that was UNFORCED.

As others have noted e need two elite, impact players: * One guy for the D so that once or twice a game we can depend on them causing something bad to happen to the opponents offense at a critical moment in the game. * One guy on the O who alongside Allen can create synergistic opportunities for truly game changing, impactful plays on offense.

Great points. As you advance deeper into the playoffs the chances of getting the types of QB's & offenses that the McD D shines against get slimmer and slimmer.It's so damn obvious it begs the question as to why we even argue about it.

Judas Priest, Allen threw a poor ball on 1st down, so what. Do you expect every pass to be great? The pass to Kincaid was a very catchable ball by NFL standards. Sure it wasn't an easy catch but most NFL catches are not easy. When you people talk about these magical elite QB led game winning drives it's usually not about receivers getting wide open for easy throw and catch plays. It's about QB's making amazing throws under pressure and receivers making spectacular catches or runs after the catch. That is how these legends are made. Allen simply can't do it by himself. Others have to rise to the occasion and in the playoffs they haven't. Do you know who was the ONLY Bills skill player who raised his play in a playoff game and shined alongside Allen? Gabe Davis in the 13 second game. His 200 plus yards & 4 TD receiving was the only player in the Allen playoff years to put up ELITE stats alongside Allens. What is Eli Manning without those spectacular catches? What is Mahomes in the 13 second game without Hill taking a 5 yard crosser 65 yards to the house with his blazing speed or Kelsey making great, contested catch after great contested catch? Or how about Kelly if Thomas & Reed were not on the field?

Look at what you're saying here - it was a big win for the D that they held KC to a chip shot FG AFTER the Bills had tied the game in the 4th quarter. I'll tell you what a "win" for the D would have been, force a KC punt to give the Bills the ball back with the score tied. That you would even consider holding the Chiefs to a FG instead of a TD a "win" is just proof of how low you have set the bar for the Bills D. And as far as Allen's big moment, well there is nothing Allen can do if those around him don't also rise to the occasion: * First off, the coaches decided not to have the Bills most dangerous offensive skill player (not named Allen) on the field for that last drive. * Second, the Bills dropped the pass that would have converted the 1st down and likely seen Allen lead the Bills to a remarkable last possession win. So if the one person who has stepped up on offense is not on the field and a TE can't make a 4th down catch that most NFL receivers make is Allen's fault then we'll just have to agree to disagree here.

Allen has shown the ability to get better each and every year he's been in the NFL. This season his remarkable reduction in TO's was the reason the Bills exceeded expectations. In the last 2 playoff losses to the Chiefs the Bills had the ball inside 3 minutes trailing the Chiefs by a FG. Last season the Bills missed a relatively easy FG and this season they dropped a pass that would have converted a 4th down. Sorry but this is not saying "it's everything else" it's pointing out the simple fact that outside of Allen no one appears to step up in these close playoff losses. Sure, Allen can play even better but is that a reasonable expectation? In the last two playoff losses to the Chiefs the failure of anyone else to really step up has cost the Bills those games. Clearly the #1 factor has been the poor play of the defense in both games. The #2 factor IMO has been the failure of the coaches and other players not named Allen to step up and make an outsized impact.

All this talk about Allen playing better against KC reminds me of that old bible verse: “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” The "beam" is the Bills D while the mote is any deficiency in Allen's play.

No matter how great the "unicorn" is he can't hit a FG or catch a pass.

That's impressive for Mahomes. And while my math may be wrong, isn't 25 points per game considerably less then 33 points per game? Or to put it differently how many Super Bowls would the Bills have made if you take 8 points off the Chiefs score in the Bills last 3 playoff losses to KC?

That is NOT a critical error by a QB. Critical errors resulting from what you describe as Allen's shortcomings on that play would have been: * Taking a sack * Throwing an INT * Throwing to a receiver well behind the line to gain. * Throwing a pass that was not catchable. Instead Allen threw a very catchable pass beyond the line to gain. Calling that a "critical Allen mistake" is ridiculous on its face. Allen was bad on his first drive. On his second drive he was solid leading the Bills to a FG. He was outstanding on that last drive before of the half to make it a one score game. But in no reasonable way could you call Allen's first drive "devastatingly awful". That is pure hyperbole. Nothing devastating happened on that first drive. You know like a pick 6 or lost fumble in the Bills Red Zone. The O went three and out and then punted the Chiefs to their own 10 yard line. Hardly a devastating outcome.

I disagree: * They may game plan against what the Bills do on offense with a shifty, fast RB like Cook but they do not game plan against Cook the player in the way they do against CMC, Barcley & Henry. * Prime Diggs was borderline elite in 2020 & 2021. Not so much the last 3 seasons. * A "safety combo" by definition is NOT an elite player. Sure Hyde/Poyner were a strength of the Bills D and opponents had to take the pair into consideration when gamer planning. But, neither was the type of elite player that could routinely change the course of a game.

How was it a critical QB error when he made the throw to the guy who was open for the 1st down?

Allen is the only guy on the Bills that opponents game plan against. To me that's the definition of an elite player.

It wasn't a critical error. He didn't recognize Spags sneaky blitz but was still able to get the pass off and put it on the hands of his TE at the KC 35.

Yep and it's a hard pill to swallow. Allen stands alone as a game changer that opponents prioritize their game plan against. Dawkins is close. Teams probably move their best pass rusher around to avoid him. Cook is a very good RB but he's not elite. Do you think any team has their primary defensive game plan aimed at him in the way teams focus on CMC, King Henry & Barclay? The answer is no. The Bills have a lot of good & very good players. And the young ones could move into the elite ranks over the next couple of years. But at their core the Bills are a one man show. Think about KC. When you play the Chiefs you must stop Mahomes, Kelsey and Jones. The difference between having three elite players on the team versus one is more then the 3 points we typically lose to KC by. That's a testimony to just how good Allen is and how much of an opponents game plane he takes up. Bass was very impressive from 50+ yards. If he keeps that up and has is consistent with his extra points and under 50 yard FG's he has a real chance to move into the elite ranks of kickers.

Why? He played a very good game and was not the reason the Bills lost. In fact Allen's play likely kept the Bills in the game and in position for a walk off win. Any other QB and the Bills probably lose that game by 2 scores. The need for some posters to criticize Allen whenever he doesn't play a perfect game is insane and I'm suspicious of their motivation. The Bills Super Bowl window is open only as long as Allen continues to play at the level he's playing. If over the next 5 years Allen doesn't get any better he will not be the reason the Bills don't win a Super Bowl. The NFL is not the NBA where an elite generational talent can will his team to a championship. Football is the ultimate team game involving dozens of players. If only one of those players is consistently great in the playoffs, and I would argue that only Allen has met this criteria, the Bills will not a win a championship. The fact that the Bill's have gotten as far as they have is amazing and probably the limit of where a single player can take them.

And Mahomes had a bad fumble likely costing the Chiefs a TD so what's your point? NO player is perfect for an entire game. When any reasonable person looks at this last Bills/Chiefs game Allen's play is way down the list of things that needed to be better in order for the Bills to win.