Bruffalo

Thanks for that. I don't have a subscription so I can't see anything besides the headline, but it's good to know that I'm not the only one seeing a trend there!

It matches what I looked up when I looked at each Bills/Hochuli game individually. I haven't taken the time to look at other referee groups and Allen's win percentages but I'll bet the Hochuli crew is a huge outlier.

Just to further my point: In the games Hochuli has been the referee for the Bills, he's called: -11 penalties in 2025 in 1 game. -11 penalties in 2023 in 1 game. (Philly Game) -5 in the divisional round of the playoffs in 2023 -6 penalties in 2022. This is the only game we won. -10 in 2018 opener. -13 in 2018 against Miami. The Bills average penalties per game between 2018-2025 is about 5.5-6.5. So we're seeing something way off the norm. It's anomalous for sure.

Allen is 1-5 when Hochuli is officiating. A 16% winrate when a certain referee is running your game seems suspect. Especially when you have a league wide win rate of just about 70%. Not a single holding call on the Patriots all night. Just throwing that out there. Definitely not the only reason we lost, but a contributing factor when you look at all the ticky tack penalties that easily could have gone uncalled. EDIT: I just realized that the 6-0 part about the Patriots is incorrect. They're 6-3. Still a damning juxtaposition considering they have been garbage for the last 4 seasons.

He was. Not shocking at all, honestly.

Just another fun wrinkle to think about: -Allen is 1-6 when Hochuli's crew is officiating. -In the same timeframe, the Patriots are 6-0. So Allen has a 16% winrate with that crew, but a 70% winrate overall. The Patriots have been dogwater since 2020, but have a 100% winrate when he's the ref. Not the only reason we lost, but definitely a contributing factor.

I think it's possible, maybe even over 50%, but it won't be because of McDermott's defensive mind.

Yeah, the turnovers and the penalties are the biggest contributing factors to the loss. No doubt there. There wasn't a single recorded pass breakup by a DB the entire game though. I asked this before, and I have no idea what the answer is: Has a team ever won a game without a pass defended from the secondary? The D-Line was actually getting a healthy amount of pressure on Maye, but once the play went out of structure the DBs were basically no where to be found. It's like the secondary scheme and the D-Line are out of sync.

No Bills DB is credited with a pass break up the entire game. Has there ever been a team that won without a single defended pass?

That's a lot easier said than done. Also a little bit reductionist.

Yeah that's what we need: more interceptions.

I'm not doing anything at CB if Hairston is on track to be healthy. Let Dorian Strong and Mad Max figure it out as the season goes on and demote Tre White. I'll take athleticism over mental processing any day at CB2. I'd be trading Ray Davis for a ham sandwich. In WR I'd be looking for a bottom feeder NFC team that's looking to sell. Chris Olave comes to mind instantly but I'm sure there are others.

The penalties killing any and all offensive rhythm over and over again I think are the main reason why the Bills floundered in the first half. This isn't a popular opinion here, but the offense is mostly fine, and they're punching above their weight considering the investment. Joe Brady is going to end up a head coach in the next two years, I'd put money on it. People are complaining about the offense because they subconsciously know the defense isn't going to stop anything unless there's an incredible individual effort. Making the offense need to be perfect isn't sustainable. The defense is the problem and so much of it has to be with scheme. The secondary is never close to anyone. They can't play out of structure at all. If we don't get pressure with the front 4, it's always a completion because we never actually cover anyone, just sections of zone that we're obviously too slow or can't process quick enough to attack the ball. I refuse to believe that all of the corners we have are just not athletic enough to actually cover WRs.

The offense is humming without any true #1 WR or investment in skill position players. Besides the O-Line, Cook, and Allen, Brady doesn't have a whole lot to work with right now. McD and the defense is flailing despite years of high investment. It's inexcusable. Our 2nd and 3rd round defensive picks aren't doing anything. The scheme doesn't help or hide the warts. If we don't get pressure every single play with 4 it's just an easy completion. There wasn't anyone within 3 yards of Diggs all night, and a lot of that is the stupid scheme.

I'd assume the Bills have some affiliation with a bank like M&T (like the Sabres do), so they probably couldn't get the jersey for contractual reasons.

I'm expecting one of these types of games.

That is one ugly uniform combo they've got him in though.

Bills 31 Patriots 21 Pats get a garbage time TD to make it look closer than it really was. Cook continues the streak of 100+ scrimmage yards and a TD.

If Jackson misses the next 2-3 games and they lose all then that'll be a hard hole to get out from. I don't think that'll happen though.

100% I got some guesses as to why, but let's not go down that road on a football forum.

A lot of yall have been out of school for too long to recognize that this kind of lecture is what good teaching is all about. This is probably an undergrad class that's not filled with Econ majors. He's taking an abstract concept and putting in terms that a lot of students will have had real world experience with, trying to watch their favorite team. That kind of teaching sticks in your head a lot better than just dryly reading out of a textbook.

Man, if I heard "I love you" as many times growing up as Josh has said it during a single game my childhood would have felt way different.

Sounds like Cheektowaga has a new favorite player.

Dude's a huge jerk and abuser who happens to also be a good football player. Never actively rooting for anyone to be hurt but it's pretty hard to be empathic with a guy with an abhorrent past/values.

He's right in a macro sense but wrong in the micro. Yes, good teams are often getting the benefit of the doubt when it comes to penalties. I think it's kind of silly to argue otherwise. No, that's not why they're calling PI on you Sauce, it's because of your reputation as a serial offender for PI (both called and uncalled). Refs know your reputation, and scrutinize you more.