finn

Cosell and Simms have been saying the same thing for two years now, and they're right: The Bills aren't talented enough on offense. It would be more obvious with a less talented quarterback. That's why I'm worried about Beane's comment that he thinks Diggs is still a number one wideout. He's not, or at least you can't count on that. Let him be a Beasley-type possession receiver, the third option after a big-time player and Shakir. But you need that one superstar, not some lame Sherfield or Harty type. Star player plus Diggs, Shakir, and Kincaid, with Cook and Ty Johnson and solid backups everywhere. Then you'd see results. How much would it cost to trade up to a sure-fire wide receiver in the draft?

We'll be looking back at this year and marveling that Allen took this offense this far throwing to Diggs and Davis as his top two receivers. This might have been a different season if Shakir and Kincaid had been the featured receivers all along, with Diggs relegated to a Beasley-type role and Davis restricted to blocking and the occasional target. I mean, wake up, Brady! Shakir led the league in catch rate--with an impressive YPC and YAC, too. Did Brady and McDermott think he was too young and inexperienced? Didn't smell good enough in the locker room? What do Diggs and Miller have in common? Both are paid north of $25 million a year. Is THAT why the team kept playing them in the face of glaring evidence that both are profoundly ineffective?

Good point. Jones' push might have affected the throw to Diggs, too, especially since it would have been over Jones' head. Posters are assuming it was a gimme vs. a difficult throw. Again, even a touchdown there might not have won the game. If the Bills had won, it would have been a (accurate) story of Allen overcoming an injured defense and an AWOL Diggs and mastering a top defense with discipline. He couldn't have played better. On the other side, the (accurate) narrative would have been Mahomes couldn't even beat a badly depleted defense. Instead, we're going to get seven months of Mahomes the godhead and Allen the eternal bridesmaid.

Yet another reason to appreciate Allen's performance. He had Shakir and Kincaid, and that's it, except for checkdowns. Two receivers, one the number three or four receiver, the other a rookie tight end. And he still put the team in a position to win by making plays again and again. Meanwhile, Mahomes missed to passes in the end zone (chokes) and was playing pitch and catch against a deplorable defense. Whose performance was more admirable?

The Bills need to get younger and cheaper, which means draft picks, lots of them. It's not easy to unload expensive veterans, and you're still carrying part of the cap hit, but it might be the best option. Most controversially, I think it might be time to move on from Diggs while he still has trade value. So little production from so many targets, you don't want someone like that on your team, especially earning, what? $26 million? A second-round pick and what cap savings a trade will bring might be the best option. If you hit on the draft pick AND have say $9 million, that's a win win. Let some other team take the risk of having him on their roster. Same with Von Miller. Releasing him means taking a huge cap hit, but, like Diggs, he's taking up snaps out there that could go to someone more productive. Factor in what savings you can get by letting him go, it might be the best move. Maybe you can get a fourth-round pick for him. Same with White, sorry to say. No draft compensation, probably, but take the hit and what savings you can. These three moves mean a lot of dead money. But none of these players is worth investing in any longer. The team has to move on and use the savings on better players.

Beane made a big bet on four players: Allen, Miller, Diggs, White. To be fair to him, he couldn't foresee the injuries or the precipitous decline of Diggs. If all of the players he provided, Milano, Benford, Rapp, Bernard, even Gabe included, were on the field Sunday, the Bills would have won in a walk. He did his job, especially with the Douglas coup. Only the Miller signing and reliance on Gabe Davis were major mistakes.

But if the defense had been healthy, it would likely have stopped more drives, and the Bills could have won in a walk. Even with Gabe out and Diggs, Harty, and Sherfield useless, Allen was amazing. If only he could catch the beautiful passes he threw--and kick and punt, too. And coach. We need more Allens!

I was about to point out how sad that is, but who knows? Maybe these two are budding superstars. As you say, they're certainly the best two receivers on the team, young as they are, better than their much higher paid teammates.

I thought he did a good job overall. Should have adjusted when the Chiefs stacked the box (or appeared to) in the fourth quarter. My only other criticism is that he kept going to Diggs instead of Shakir. One dropped passes, didn't get open, fumbled, and dropped passes, and the other caught everything, ran well after the catch, and was clutch. Brady should have recognized the changing of the guard even before the game. All those targets to Diggs were wasted. The guy is washed. I wonder if they could have done better if they had ignored Diggs and focused on Shakir, Kincaid, and Cook.

Agree. Plus, if Allen had connected on that TD throw, not one person--I mean that literally, like even some weird fan in his basement in Peoria--would think, "Wow, he took a real risk there. Definitely should have thrown to Diggs on the crosser. What a bad decision maker!" The fact is, Allen played pretty much any quarterback in history could have played, given what he had to work with. He was patient, accurate, smart, resourceful, and he used all his gifts, just like in the 13-second game. The team around him just wasn't good enough, again. Did anyone else shine besides Shakir?

The skewed narratives have already begun. NFL.com says Allen was "far from perfect" in the game and "misfired several times downfield" when the game was on the line. The writer emphasizes his longest completion was 15 yards and implies it was his fault. No mention of the receiver drops, the choke play of Diggs, the fact that he played his heart out, leading the team in rushing, patiently taking what the defense gave him, hitting clutch pass after clutch pass, and driving the Bills into field goal range to tie the game. All we're going to hear this offseason is how Allen can't win the big one, that he's a turnover machine, and the Chiefs own him. Going to be a long time until September.

Between Diggs and Miller, that's more than a $40 million investment. Both were non-factors in the biggest game of the year. Or net negatives since they kept more effective players on the bench.

I came to post the same. Diggs is nothing more than a very expensive possession receiver at this point. Shakir may be special, but he should be a terrific third receiver at least. Set at TE. So you need at least one big-time receiver. In hindsight, Beane's failure to sign Hopkins sank the season. You had the best QB in the league and , outside of Shakir and Kincaid, you made him throw to bunch of street free agents and washed-up chokers.

Diggs choked. Bass choked. Sherfield choked.

That's so depressing.

Will you forget Diggs!

Need another one of them long drives resulting in a TD.

Brady needs to adjust. The swing passes and runs up the middle are no longer working. Slants, reverses...anything but the same thing.

The pass rush hasn't gotten remotely close to Mahomes all game.

Exactly. You have one player on this team who is a champion. ONE. Go for fourth down if you want, but give it to Damar Hamlin with the game on the line?

McDermott.

A ten point game.

And....that's the game.

Please, not another incredible game by Allen wasted by a lame defensive effort. That would be just wrong.

I don't think it's Mahomes or even this offense. Any team could drive on this defense, with their injuries and the way they're playing. I don't think I've ever seen a worse defensive effort in all these years watching football. I mean, this is epic. They're not only scoring every drive, they're scoring quickly every drive. The only silver lining are the two field goals, which happened before Reid adjusted to McDermott's duct-tape defense.