newcam2012

Incorrect. Home field advantage is usually 2.5 to 3 points advantage. I think the line should be Bengals -4.

I'm not sure. I suppose it depends on who is available. It's really beyond my level of expertise. Others here probably can answer this question. I just know as a fan the McD era has run it's course. I think the Bills miss the playoffs if they lose this game. Of course on paper that's not true. Being 5-4 with their schedule and their AFC losses makes it an extremely difficult task. If course, we fans won't give up hope. Realistically, it's a pretty big dagger in the playoffs hopes.

You are entitled to your opinion. I vastly disagree with your take. I feel that you are settling for goodness but not greatness. That's not my mentality. As a fan with an elite QB, I want the Bills to at least win an AFC championship game, make a SB appearance, and win the SB. I don't think this is an unrealistic goal. The Bills have failed to do the above repeatedly. I cannot accept the KC rational as an excuse. That's just unacceptable as a fan. As time passes it becomes more clear that McD isn't the guy to led this team past KC or Cincinnati. In fact teams like the Jags, Balt, and Miami may have overtaken the Bills. At the very least the gap has drastically closed. Not sure how any Bills fans can see it any other way. No doubt Bills football has been much better to watch. The playoff run has been great. However, I suggest that this shouldn't clout your judgement on McD and the goal of the team. The goal for years now hasn't been just make the playoffs. I strongly disagree that it isn't McD fault. He absolutely blew the best chance the team had to make a SB appearance in 13 seconds. How you discredit that and can't see that is baffling. Then the following year his team was unprepared to play the Bengals. Despite all the circumstances it's the coaches responsibility to have his team ready. It's the coaches responsibility to have a great game plan. It's the coaches responsibility to make solid in game adjustments. We saw none of this. Zero! Zilch! Nada! How you discredit, dismiss, and fail to see this is baffling. This fan is tired of watching a head coach squander opportunities to advance this team to a SB. It's clear as day this coach has repeatedly failed. This year is shaping up to be even a bigger failure because a playoff birth is in serious doubt. I suspect you will defend McD and say something like McD has been great. Look at the six years of playoff appearances. Sure beats the past. That falls very short here... It's time for change and we will see why on Sunday night.

Well said. I agree with your response. I'd be surprised if McD zone defense can stop the Bengals from scoring a minimum of 30 points. I'd be shocked if Dorsey can outmaneuver all the wrinkles of Lou's defense. The Bills have always focused on beating the Chiefs. The roster is built accordingly. They have had good success vs them in the regular season. Poor success in the playoffs when it really counts. Typical of a McD team. The Bengals offense is just too much for the Bills. The Bills zone defense cannot stop the west coast offense led by an elite Burrow QB. Add in that Mixon an average runner and poor running team usually has a very nice game vs Buffalo. This team isn't built to beat Cinci. Couple all of this with no Jones, Tre, Milano, Knox, and a crippled Von. Bengals 41 Bills 24 Bills playoffs hopes take a big hit and McD and Dorsey becomes more exposed. We fans can only hope Pegula watched what the the Raiders owner just did.

Oh it counts but nothing counts more than playoff wins, super bowl appearances, and Lombardi Trophies. In case you've been living underground McD has pretty sucked in the above. A whooping 44% win percentage in the playoffs, one AFC championship game which he lost, and ZERO super bowl appearances. I'm tired of the "reductive trope" of fans accepting good to great regular season victories with very little afterwards.

It's pretty easy to cherry pick some regular season wins over a six year period of time. The statement wasn't meant to be taken literally. More of a general statement and thesis especially in the post season. I think the consensus around the football world is McD can't get it done. Similar to the Chargers always blowing it.

I think you don't see that because Josh doesn't play defense. No need to elaborate here because we all saw the game.

I can appreciate your train of thought here. However, I read your post twice just to make sure I'm interpreting it correctly. It's pretty striking how you just kind of gloss over the Burrow injury as just another injury.

Can one "fall in a hole" and be overly optimistic?

Since when has a McD defense come through in a big game? Lately, the coach has had the team less ready then ready. I don't see you as the bad guy. Lastly, I think the Bengals are a very tough match up for the Bills. Burrow shredded the Bills zone defense last year. They have an excellent WR core. The Bills pass rush is often negated by Burrow's quick passing. Lou A blew up the Bills pass protection last year. He called several blitzes that the Bills couldn't stop. This looks to be a long day for Spencer Brown. The home crowd will make things difficult for the Bills. Will the Bills suffer any kind of PTSD going back to Cinci? A lot has to go right for the Bills to win. It's possible but the path seems pretty narrow.

I don't see a likely path where the Bills D is successful vs the Bengals. The Bills offense better be excellent or it's going to be a long day.

Rumor was teams were only willing to give up a 7th round draft pick for him. The Bills were asking for a 6th and no one was interested.

We got their 5th in exchange. It's a tad bit expensive but the Bills absolutely fill a need. I like the pick up but I get what you are saying too.

A 5th round pick sounds about right.

Very well said! I couldn't agree more especially with the one Lombardi Trophy.

Curious to hear what defensive game plan the Bills defense comes up with to stop the Bengals. I would like to hear some thoughts because I'm having difficulty seeing it. Allen I see is the game(s) they played last year and it was a disaster. Now, the Bills go to their home with devastating injuries in that side of the ball. Dorsey better have a game plan for that Bengal defense. He better be able to make good in Gabe adjustments. Lou A will mix it up and try to confuse the Bills. He's going to use exotic blitzes and come after Allen.

17 can't do it all by himself. Personally, I don't think he's in a funk either. For the most part he's played well. If guys like Kincaid and Shakir continue to play well then the Bills have a nice shot at making a good run. The defense really needs the Vin of the past. Hopefully, that will come at the right time. If so, he makes the defense so much better. The injuries are pretty devastating though The coaching needs to be better. That I'm not so confident in. This week should tell us a lot about the team. A loss likely puts them in a dogfight just to make the playoffs. A win puts them in solid position to win the division and it a WC spot. Big implications.

The poor tackling has been an issue for years. Joe Marino does a great job tracking this. It's a fairly common theme.

The Lions are a better all around team than the Bills. Allen obviously is better than Geoff and the Lion's secondary is weak. However, they have fantastic balance on offense. Their defensive front is very good. Their coaches are superior to Buffalo's. In short, the Lions are an up coming team on the rise. Still don't think this is the year they win it all. The Bills are likely on the decline. Still a very good team but it's stuck in 3rd gear. The car needs to be sold or at least refurbished. After the Bills likely disappointing season I suspect many fans eyes will be more open minded. I hope fans don't give the regime a pass and blame injuries and or bad luck.

AFC - Cinci. Burrow is elite. Big time weapons. Experienced team. NFC - Philly. They are just too good. Biggest surprises Bills miss the playoffs. Dolphins play in the AFC championship game.

Agree. I think we both know how this is likely going to play out. Just feels like the Bills organization will spin it's wheels with McD for a few more years. The spinning started a couple of years ago and I have a headache. This is starting to feel like another disappointing end to a season. Only this time, I think it comes much earlier than expected. If Ben Johnson can make Geoff look this good imagine what he could do with Allen. If he can make David Montgomery look like an all pro imagine how good the Bills running game could be. Instead, the Bills are staying the course with a defensive coach who continues to fall short and lack offensive weapons, creativity, and explosiveness. I'll continue to bang the drum for change because I firmly believe that's the best chance to bring a Lombardi to Buffalo.

I think you are addressing the wrong issues here. Most of the info you provided is pretty useless. I think it's imperative to look at the Bills vs Bengals match up. When i do that objectively I don't like the Bills chances.

I mean the pick up can't hurt. Really nothing to lose here.

Agree 100%. I was so glad he took over the defense because now he can't hide. I'm starting to think the fan base is seeing that McD isn't untouchable. Soon they might see he's only slightly above average and can do better.

Great post. Clear as day this regime is failing to take full advantage of their elite QB. For years, they have failed to solidify an above average oline, have a merry go round of WRs 3/4/5 that haven't produced, failed to establish an effective and consistent run game, lacks explosive weapons and speed, and hired an unknown rookie OC that was and is learning on the job as the team was is focused to make a SB run. The defensive minded coach has taken over the defensive duties. Can't help to think the offensive side of the ball is being somewhat neglected by him. It's by default almost. The Bills offense has failed to take off to the next level. It mostly a failure of the Bills regime. Many fail to see this because Allen and his eliteness puts up numbers. Thus, the offensive stats looks very good.