FilthyBeast

Nope because as crappy as the Jaguars have played in recent weeks, all they have to do is win this game to lock up the AFCS and secure the #4 seed and home playoff game. And they probably have a better shot with Beathard playing again since Laurence is still banged up. If the Bills get help the better option, and more probable IMO is the Steelers losing on the road to the Ravens backups.

For better or worse, the Chiefs/Mahomes are the new Patriots/Brady even though I still hate the Mahomes/Brady comparisons at least at this stage of Mahomes career. But I've said all along, I want no part of the Chiefs again in the playoffs because we all know how it ended the last time they faced eachother in a postseason rematch despite the Bills winning the regular season matchup. Chiefs offense clearly not the same this year but that defense is bar far the best in the NFL and certainly good enough to carry them to another championship this year.

The only obvious answer is coaching, because no other excuse flies at this point especially with everything we heard last year (Blizzard, Hamlin, injuries, Tops shooting, Kim Pegula, etc) that allegedly was the reason they 'ran out of gas' and were dominated by the Bengals in the divisional round. This is why I give pause to the idea that even if the Bills beat Miami on SNF and secure the #2 seed they'll magically turn on the proverbial switch and it won't just be a repeat of last year in that they likely struggle to beat whoever the #7 seed is at home, then suffer another blowout loss at home in the divisional. Coaching matters in terms of building real momentum and 2020 is the only time this team was truly rolling heading into the postseason but even then it was a struggle to win at home against the #7 Colts and washed up Phillip Rivers in the opening round. Then a dominant defensive effort against the Ravens in a game Lamar left early with injury, then a lopsided loss in the only AFCCG appearance by McD/Allen in a game essentially over at halftime despite early momentum in the first quarter. Bottom line it's now or never for this regime to deliver especially given the pending roster reset and overhaul in the coming months.

I tend to agree with this, outside of the dominant performance against the Cowboys I'm not seeing where the Bills offensive line matches the metrics that say they are among the best in the league. Because if that's the case they would have looked much better against 2 of the best defensive lines in the NFL in recent weeks (chiefs/patriots). And this is another major concern heading into the playoffs considering they are going to face similar front sevens every week should they make it there and advance.

You'll know the league is fixed if the Chiefs get to a superbowl (and win it) again this year. The reason I say this is because there's a lot of chatter that the NFL was going out of there way to give the illusion of 'screwing the chiefs' going back the Eagles game when they came out of their bye week. We also know about the infamous Koney Offside call against the Bills and a very questionable non pass interference call the week before in Green Bay. But now that the playoffs are here I would watch closely regarding crucial calls swinging back in the chiefs favor because I just don't see any scenario in which the NFL doesn't want the Chiefs and Mahomes in the AFCCG again at minimum, especially a Ravens/Chiefs one. So if the Bills were to face the Chiefs again in the playoffs, likely the WC or divisional round, I honestly dread what the officiating would look like in that one.

I think in this day and age it's all about elite QB play especially if you look at the last 5 SB winners (Chiefs x 2, Bucs, Rams, Patriots...Mahomes and Brady accounting for 4 of those). But they certainly didn't do it alone, all those teams were complimented by strong defense and ST play in most cases. Relevant to the Bills though, I just don't see a scenario where this team can get to (and win) a SB without JA17 resembling the guy we saw in the 2021 playoffs...or something close to it anyway.

It's truly hard to gauge this team right now, if anything because of how wildly inconsistent JA17 and the offense have been all year. The ST unit is also a major liability on a week to week basis. On one had you can say this team could one be and done if they get to the playoffs, on the other you can say they can get to the Superbowl and possibly win it. I guess what truly concerns me is it seems like they are on the same type of trajectory as last year. And even if they win against a reeling, injury riddled Dolphins team on Sunday night I could see a carbon copy repeat of last year's playoffs (i.e. barely win wildcard game, then get handled easily in divisional round and lose by 2+ scores). If there was one positive sign to hold on it's the defense, because aside from the 2nd half of the Eagles game they have truly come together since MNF Broncos debacle and making key plays when needed especially at the end of the game. But even with a true semblance of a rushing attack make no mistake about it, this team is only going as far JA17 takes them which is why we need to see some resemblance of 2021 playoff JA17 starting this week in Miami.

They'll be a lot of options out there. Would take a hard look at Jimmy G once the Raiders dump him especially given his success in San Fran running a structured passing game/run heavy offense which seems like the Bills are trying so hard to be this year.

I still don't get this Browns hype. Yes they are a quality team that has been decimated by injury and earned a spot in the tourney but this Flacco stuff is a bit nonsensical and there's zero chance that a guy who was out of the league and semi retired up until a month ago is leading a team to 3 straight road wins in the playoffs, especially when you take a deeper dive into who the Browns have played since he's been there and his overall numbers (he's turned the ball over a ton). With that said, it would certainly be catastrophic for the Bills to make it all the way to the AFCCG and host one there since the 1993 season only to lose to a team/QB with the aforementioned circumstances. Regarding the NFC side, I will say that I won't be shocked by the Lions pick and they were the sexy dark horse type of SB pick by a lot of pundits even before the season started. I've felt all along that the 49ers/Purdy are frauds and think they may be one and done, let alone get bounced in the NFCCG.

I already acknowledged this, but again consider the Jags beat the Titans a more probable outcome than the Ravens/Steelers. In fact the Jaguars might be better off right now without Lawrence if he's hurt, at least that was the case last week.

I'm sure you're surprised to hear this...but I agree 100% with everything you just said...especially what version of the Bills (and most importantly JA17) shows up.

Fournette was a big part of Brady's superbowl run with the Bucs a few years ago and he's proven to be a major weapon in both the running and passing game. His blocking is also no worse than Murray. I just can't fathom that he's not a massive upgrade over Murray at this point, who to his credit had some juice early in the season but has shown his age so to speak the last few months. Actually reminds a lot of the Frank Gore situation who this same head coach insisted on sticking with until the bitter end when he was here despite Singletary being the better option as a rookie.

It's not going to be easy Teef...the anxiety and tension should be off the charts for all Bills fans right now. Yes the Dolphins are reeling and certainly didn't look like a superbowl contender against the Ravens...but the main point is the Bills are not very good on the road this year where the Dolphins have been near flawless at home with their only loss coming in that weird Titans MNF game that they blew a 2 score lead in the final minutes. A true 50/50 toss up type of game if I've ever seen one and if they let Tua and that offense get going early and build a lead I don't think the Bills win especially if keeps playing the way he has in recent weeks.

Sorry forgot about that one, but I think the Jags winning that game is a bigger lock than the Steelers against the Ravens backups but who really knows. Either way just hope it doesn't come down to the Bills having to win the game, because even if they lose they'll at least have a chance as a wildcard, albeit in a situation where the McD/Allen combo has never won a game (on the road).

At this point it should be a no brainer than Sherfield is inactive the rest of the year and Murray in released and replaced with Fournette. But if history has shown us anything it probably won't happen, especially in the case of Murray because he's a 'leader' and they don't want to 'disrupt the lockerroom'.

If the Steelers win against the Ravens backups, yes it very much does guarantee the Bills miss the playoffs if they don't win in Miami.

For me any real discussion about McDummy still comes back to how this team has performed on the road this year: @ NYJ - Loss, in overtime despite Aaron Rogers going down with season ending injury on first drive. (non playoff team) @ WFT - Win, best overall win/performance on road but Allen and offense was not great as defense carried them (non playoff team) * Jaguars - Loss, I know this was technically a 'home game' but we all know what happened between the big injuries and really getting dominated from start to finish @NE - Loss, against Mac Jones and a team that then went on to lose 5 straight after this. (non playoff team) @ CIN - Loss, against a team that was starting to get hot before Burrows season ending injury. (non playoff team) @ PHI - Loss, Probably Allen's best game of the year and he certainly hasn't been anywhere close to it since. Eagles have since loss every game they've played other than the Giants. (playoff team) @ KC - Win, but probably would have lost if not for the infamous Toney Offside call on a play that would have taken the lead for the Chiefs in final minute of game. Also important to note the Bills were 1-5 away from Buffalo up until this point. (playoff team) @ LAC - Win, but barely against a QB with less than 5 career starts and interim head coach that has never even held a DC or OC position in the NFL. (non playoff team) @ MIA - TBD (playoff team) My point here is that regardless of the outcome on Sunday night, there's very little here to indicate this team is going to win a playoff game, especially on the road where Allen/McD have never done that.

Here's another thought to ponder, regardless your stance on McD....this team may never have a better chance to get to/win a superbowl in the coming years when you consider how wide open things are right now especially in the AFC as a whole. Yes the Ravens look like a prohibitive favorite right now, but we've seen how different Lamar looks in the playoffs...after all even McD and a lot of this current roster already beat him there, albeit at home. Chiefs defense is elite and more than good enough to carry them right now but you'll never see Mahomes and that offense look like this again. Veach will fix that in a major way in the offseason. And at least the Bills get them in Buffalo finally should that materialize later this month. Other than those 2 teams I don't see anyone else that could possibly be in the way especially since I'm not a believer in the Browns/Flacco either despite beating up on some bad teams as of late. The anxiety and tension among the Bills fanbase is going to be at an all time high leading up to Sunday Night, and will only grow exponentially should this team get into the playoffs again....to say it's now or never is an understatement.

I'll say this about McD and Allen, I do not envy their situations and the pressure they will be facing if this does in fact end up being a 'win and in' game for the #2 seed/division or lose and miss the playoffs altogether scenario. Forget about wide right, music city miracle, 13 seconds, etc....this would be the new show stopper in Buffalo sports history for the season to end in that fashion especially against a hated division rival. With that said, there's zero excuse for this offense to not be ready and/or struggle against Miami's defense considering their current situation but this team never fails to find new lows to sink too unfortunately...

Hope so, but we all know nothing is ever easy with this team and if they let Miami get confidence and momentum early (i.e. take a 10+ point lead) then I think the Bills lose. But if this team is truly the contender they fancy themselves they will come out and dash Miami's hopes early and force Tua and that offense to play from behind like the first meeting.

It's not so much the passing offense, as it is the offense as a whole. This team simply does not know who they want to be....a finesse passing attack, uptempto, power running, physical smash mouth, etc....a very poor frankenstein creation of all these which is why Dorsey was fired after 10 games and why Brady will also be looking for a new job soon if things don't change quickly.

Against the Jets/Eagles/Chiefs/Cowboys sure, but I think the Brady effect has lost it's luster and this team is pretty much the same one we saw the first 10 games of the year now, at least on offense. And if it's Brady's decision to insist on keep playing guys like Sherfield and (especially) Murray then he has no business being the OC here next year. I think this team needs to get back to basics so to speak real fast against the fish and make Diggs a primary focal point of the passing offense or this season won't go on much longer even if this team makes the playoffs.

Very concerned about this matchup, even more so than the Patriots since it's a road game and the Dolphins are going to be motivated to not only bounce back from an embarrassing outing in Baltimore, but end the Bills season if that's on the table pending the results of the earlier games on Sat/Sun. If the same team we've seen against the Chargers and Patriots shows up Miami will win and likely win big.

I'm sure all of this has probably been covered ad nauseam, but I'm also back to square one with 'McDummy' after these last few weeks. It just seems like every time they play one of these 'regular season superbowl' games they simply can't sustain that level of play on a weekly basis like a true elite contender does (see Baltimore Ravens) and if that's not a direct reflection of coaching not sure what is. You simply can't crush a team like Dallas then proceed to play back to back clunkers that go down to the wire against backup QB's and teams jockeying for top 5 draft picks. And while many optimists will say things like 'This team has won 4 straight', 'not every game is going to be a blowout', etc. etc....I just can't feel confident in a team that barely beat the likes of the Chargers and Patriots, especially the latter considering it was a home game and the defense managed 4 turnovers...yet the game still essentially came down to the final drive and final minutes of the game. Right now I'm 50/50 on whether or not they even beat the Dolphins/make playoffs, but even if they do it's going to be another quick exit with this coach especially with Josh Allen continuing to be a headcase and not play up to the standards of even an average NFL starting QB for the most part. At the end of the day this team just thinks they ' just need to show up' most weeks and that's because of the locker room and culture that McDummy has created.

I was referencing on the road in the playoffs where the McD/Allen combo is in fact winless. And there's nothing I've seen (especially the last 2 games) that indicates this team is going to win a road playoff game anytime soon and not sure it's a slam dunk they win in Miami either in a potential elimination game depending on results of other games leading up to Sunday Night. Not sure if you wrote this before or after the Patriots game, regardless my gut instinct was right as it was another ugly game this team could've and should've loss eerily similar to when this team was sitting at 5-5 before the OC change. At this point I'm not expecting much but another early exit if they make it to the playoffs.