Reeeeelaaaaaax. We're 5-3

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Bottom line...its over.

 

Ive seen this crap wayyyyy too many years.

 

They fooled me one last time this season. I was all in. Buying the hype and not letting new faces be held accountable for all past failures.

 

Getting blown out, on NATIONAL TV, against the freakin New Jersey JETS, that says it all.

 

Vegas has us over or under 6 wins this season. I think we win tops 2 more and finish at the worst possible record a team could finish...7-9.

 

Literally the SOS. Drafting too high to get an elite player and not winning enough games to be a contender.

 

No. Mans. Land.

Yuppppppp

[auburnbillsbacker]

I don't think the Bills will lay over and die like years past but I do think this game will keep them out of the playoffs. My prediction is they finish 9-7.

[uticaclub]

No way we aren't 5-7 going into the Colts game. We need at least 3 turnovers to be competitive

[BuffaloMatt]

 

New Orleans

@LA Chargers

@Kansas City

New England

Indianapolis

Miami

@New England

@Miami

Have to win 4 at home and one on the road. Not an easy task. I get the feeling that they will look back at this game and regret the loss.

 

Circa 2011 (6-10 after 5-2 start)

Edited November 3, 2017 by BuffaloMatt

[oldmanfan]

Ik the Jets arent bad, but a playoff team doesnt lose that game. It was pathetic. Couldnt get a thing going. Mediocrity is one thing I am sick of!!! Grinds my gears lol

Playoffs teams lose games like this all the time. The Steelers got clobbered by the Bears as an example.

 

Terrible performance last night. But McD has changed the mindset at 1 Bills Drive. Look for them to come out firing next weekend.

[CDogg20]

Playoffs teams lose games like this all the time. The Steelers got clobbered by the Bears as an example.

 

Terrible performance last night. But McD has changed the mindset at 1 Bills Drive. Look for them to come out firing next weekend.

I hope so man, I really do but the Steelers only lost by 6, we got blowed the f out.

[Wayne Arnold]

Bills had a worse week than Kevin Spacey.

[smuvtalker]

They'll defend their own dirt. Gets them 4 more wins. And beat the Fish in Miami.

 

The process took a bit of a hit last night, but if the process works they'll come out and take down the Saints next week.

Our 4 home games are vs the Saints, Pats, Colts and Dolphins. I would love to share your optimism but after watching last night's debacle, I'm not ready to declare all 4 of those home games victories. Honestly speaking, the ONLY one right now I would chalk up as a guaranteed W is the Colts. The Saints offense is starting to run on all 4 cylinders, the Pats are the Pats, and we can only hope the Dolphins without Ajayi will pose less of a threat than last year.

 

I'm sorry but last night's loss has me feelin pretty down about the rest of the season. It never seems to fail with this team, McDermott now included. The Bills play well, string together some impressive victories, win some games they shouldn't, and people start buying in. National media even starts giving the Bills props, [insert coach name here] starts getting chatter for early Coach of the Year, then comes the talk of "hey these Bills are different". Up comes the ONE primetime game on their schedule, where the Bills have the chance to show the world they are for real, and what do they do? Come out and sh*t the bed, in the absolute worst way, leaving everyone saying the three words I hate hearing, but have no argument against, "same old Bills". This loss hurts.

[Samwell Tarly]

Reserving judgement until after Saints game. Good teams do lose bad games every year. Not to mention I believed they would finish 5 and 11 before the season, so they are better than some of us believed. Playoffs? I hope so, but need to see more. If they start losing home games, I'll throw in the towel.

[dpberr]

It was an egg. Entire team from coach down to the random people on the sidelines all looked tired and disinterested.

[Bills Fan of St Augustine]

 

Losing to the Bengals and Jets will be the reason it's 18 years.

well that and the other 6-7 losses

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

We can only afford 3 more losses...Likly will be KC and NE 2x....that means we have no room for error in any of the other games which is asking alot from this team.

That's right. They need to replicate the first half of the season. Win out at home a get 1 road win.

[Bills Fan of St Augustine]

Our 4 home games are vs the Saints, Pats, Colts and Dolphins. I would love to share your optimism but after watching last night's debacle, I'm not ready to declare all 4 of those home games victories. Honestly speaking, the ONLY one right now I would chalk up as a guaranteed W is the Colts. The Saints offense is starting to run on all 4 cylinders, the Pats are the Pats, and we can only hope the Dolphins without Ajayi will pose less of a threat than last year.

 

I'm sorry but last night's loss has me feelin pretty down about the rest of the season. It never seems to fail with this team, McDermott now included. The Bills play well, string together some impressive victories, win some games they shouldn't, and people start buying in. National media even starts giving the Bills props, [insert coach name here] starts getting chatter for early Coach of the Year, then comes the talk of "hey these Bills are different". Up comes the ONE primetime game on their schedule, where the Bills have the chance to show the world they are for real, and what do they do? Come out and sh*t the bed, in the absolute worst way, leaving everyone saying the three words I hate hearing, but have no argument against, "same old Bills". This loss hurts.

well stated - same old Bills, Last night took all the air out of my football for sure... At least everyone will lay off Zay for a while...

Edited November 3, 2017 by Bills Fan of Maryland

[L.EvansHands]

It was an egg. Entire team from coach down to the random people on the sidelines all looked tired and disinterested.

Are you talking about that old dude over McD's left shoulder who looked like he was watching a B rated horror film? If so, I saw him too ha.

[oldmanfan]

Our 4 home games are vs the Saints, Pats, Colts and Dolphins. I would love to share your optimism but after watching last night's debacle, I'm not ready to declare all 4 of those home games victories. Honestly speaking, the ONLY one right now I would chalk up as a guaranteed W is the Colts. The Saints offense is starting to run on all 4 cylinders, the Pats are the Pats, and we can only hope the Dolphins without Ajayi will pose less of a threat than last year.

 

I'm sorry but last night's loss has me feelin pretty down about the rest of the season. It never seems to fail with this team, McDermott now included. The Bills play well, string together some impressive victories, win some games they shouldn't, and people start buying in. National media even starts giving the Bills props, [insert coach name here] starts getting chatter for early Coach of the Year, then comes the talk of "hey these Bills are different". Up comes the ONE primetime game on their schedule, where the Bills have the chance to show the world they are for real, and what do they do? Come out and sh*t the bed, in the absolute worst way, leaving everyone saying the three words I hate hearing, but have no argument against, "same old Bills". This loss hurts.

Till last night they were 5-2, right? And in the two losses one more caught pass here or there and they win those. Last night was bad, the entire team from coaching staff to players had a bad day.

 

So you would take one bad game as the norm, vs. 7 games where they either won or were right there at the end? Why?

[Jasovon]

Just a comedy of errors. I'm not worried we have time to get back on track

[JPP]

 

Losing to the Bengals and Jets will be the reason it's 18 years.

well in all fairness at the time we played the bengles they actually played a very good high volume game......at least Tyrod got like 285 yards..29-40 and 2 TD's.....the 300 yard per game people can look at this as a positive..lol

Bills had a worse week than Kevin Spacey.

LOL.....that was mean

[billsfan89]

Great teams don't miss opportunities to get fat against lesser opponents. That being said it was a road Thursday Night game against a not so bad team and the team is 5-3. Fluky things happen in the NFL esp on Thursday's. Next weeks game is huge but they have a long time to prepare. Hopefully they can get back to playing the way they need to. Also Benjamin coming and a possible return from injury for Charles Clay lends hope that the offense could get some much needed reinforcements at the skill positions.

[Canadian Bills Fan]

The problem is this was a team we should have beaten last night and not only did we fall short, we failed miserably

 

 

 

CBF

[Call_Of_Ktulu]

Those two young safties the Jets have are the real deal, and their CB's are solid. The Jets have the makings of a top 5 defense and Taylor didn't challenge them once. Super safe throws even when we were down big. We will need offense to win these next few games, everybody get ready for the big rip.

[The Frankish Reich]

Pretty sure there's been a R-E-L-A-X post around this time for at least the last 3 or 4 years ....

[smuvtalker]

Till last night they were 5-2, right? And in the two losses one more caught pass here or there and they win those. Last night was bad, the entire team from coaching staff to players had a bad day.

 

So you would take one bad game as the norm, vs. 7 games where they either won or were right there at the end? Why?

I agree with you, that in the two losses to the Panthers and Bengals, the Bills were in it til the very end, and very well could've come away with W's. While I was pleased with the five victories, one thing that discouraged me was that we were having +3, +4 takeaways but still barely winning. But since we were winning I didn't complain.

 

But while last night's loss was only one loss, it's just the way that it went down. Again, this is a scenario that we Bills fans have been faced with SO many times during this 17 year drought that you'd have to have JUST recently become a fan of the team, or lived under a rock and been oblivious to the team's struggles.

 

Last night was by far the biggest game of the season to date for this team. Throw out the fact it was a division game. Throw out the fact it was a conference game. It was the biggest game of the season because, like many previous years, the Bills were overachieving, had a rookie or new head coach, had put together a winning record, and to me personally, were finally starting to get the attention AND respect of the national media. McDermott was being discussed as a potential coach of the year candidate, players were buying into his "Trust the Process" mantra, and with a win last night, our playoff chances would've shot up to 80%. And like too many seasons before, when the Bills had a chance to show everyone that they were for real, and that everyone's belief in them being different from Bills teams of the past was merited, what do they do? They come out flat, uninspired, undisciplined, and play the worst 60 minutes of football they have all year. And once again have everyone saying, "Same Old Bills ".

 

And you are correct, it was just one game. 5-3 is not a bad record, and I do believe McDermott has this team playing decent football, and am by no means throwing in the towel on this season. But yesterday's loss just fell into all too familiar territory, and has me not wanting to see any highlights on TV, and not wanting to hear any commentary or analysts opinions. I'm hoping McD can right the ship, and the Bills can bounce back and take care of a surging, red hot Saints team next Sunday at New Era....but Drew Brees will be the best quarterback this team has faced all season, and last night they made McCown look like an all-pro.

 

I wish I could say I'm still optimistic about the rest of the season, but the playoffs seem SO much further out of reach today than they did yesterday.

[T-Bomb]

Pretty sure there's been a R-E-L-A-X post around this time for at least the last 3 or 4 years ....

 

It goes back more than 3-4 years...

[The Frankish Reich]

 

It goes back more than 3-4 years...

You're right. R-E-L-A-X-A-T-I-O-N experts around here have worked their transcendental magic on many occasions.

 

Here's one after Game 1 last year (relaxation ill advised in retrospect): https://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/188332-r-e-l-a-x-its-one-game/?hl=r-e-l-a-x

 

And one from mid-November 2015 (relaxation definitely not in order; Pats game coming up): https://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/182921-in-preparation-for-mnf-we-need-to-r-e-l-a-x/?hl=r-e-l-a-x

 

Oh, and this November 9, 2014 classic exercise in relaxation (we went on to lose to the Dolphins): https://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/174042-r-e-l-a-x/?hl=r-e-l-a-x

 

And from December 2014 (that time, believe it or not, relaxation was just what the doctor ordered, as we went on to beat the Packers; of course, we went on to lose to the sorry 2-11 Raiders the next week and get effectively eliminated, so maybe we shouldn't have relaxed by the fire with a single malt after all): https://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/174042-r-e-l-a-x/?hl=r-e-l-a-x

 

I may have to start a T-E-N-S-E U-P thread.

Edited November 3, 2017 by The Frankish Reich

[row_33]

Pretty sure there's been a R-E-L-A-X post around this time for at least the last 3 or 4 years ....

 

43 years actually.

[BuffaloMatt]

Nine more days of this sh*t.

[ShakAttack]

Our 4 home games are vs the Saints, Pats, Colts and Dolphins. I would love to share your optimism but after watching last night's debacle, I'm not ready to declare all 4 of those home games victories. Honestly speaking, the ONLY one right now I would chalk up as a guaranteed W is the Colts. The Saints offense is starting to run on all 4 cylinders, the Pats are the Pats, and we can only hope the Dolphins without Ajayi will pose less of a threat than last year.

 

I'm sorry but last night's loss has me feelin pretty down about the rest of the season. It never seems to fail with this team, McDermott now included. The Bills play well, string together some impressive victories, win some games they shouldn't, and people start buying in. National media even starts giving the Bills props, [insert coach name here] starts getting chatter for early Coach of the Year, then comes the talk of "hey these Bills are different". Up comes the ONE primetime game on their schedule, where the Bills have the chance to show the world they are for real, and what do they do? Come out and sh*t the bed, in the absolute worst way, leaving everyone saying the three words I hate hearing, but have no argument against, "same old Bills". This loss hurts.

 

This. How many times have we been through this since 2008? It has become a sick joke. When we started to get props from the media during both Rex years and now this year I'm conditioned to think "NO! Please don't start that!" because just as soon as we start getting props and respect... is when the Bills fall apart. It NEVER fails. I was even telling my friend how 90% of the pre-game talk on NFL network was about the Bills, as if the Jets did not exist and were not the home team.

 

Now we are back to where we are every other season at this point. It's going to start with "relax - we're still 5-3" and soon we are going to see the playoff scenario threads with all the homers buying in each week until we are mathmatically eliminated and once again, somewhere between 7-9 and 8-8 when it's all said and done.

 

Until the Bills finally break this trend, I have no reason to believe any different.

 

Sad thing is, this team did feel a bit different, really did.. and they ALMOST had me thinking playoffs were a real possibility. I did not think that way when we were at 4-2 last season or the season before that, but it did seem like this was a Bills team that was finding ways to win, instead of ways to lose, and not beating themselves the ways we are used to seeing them beat themselves.

 

...and then Thursday night football happened. Hopefully it was just that, Thursday night football.... but I doubt it... it's probably the beginning of our usual collapse after playing jets at 5-2

[NickelCity]

3-5 looks like a real possibility going forward. Hope to god I'm wrong. I think the next two are essential if we want to make playoffs.

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

Every year people say relax about anything thats getting a negative reaction. What reason has this team ever given anyone to stay calm? Or to earn the benifit of the doubt? They havent made the playoffs in 18 years. Nobody should ever be told to relax when it comes to this team. Doubt is always warranted. Until they actually Finnish a season and make the playoffs, we all have the right to be down.

[Steptide]

Every year people say relax about anything thats getting a negative reaction. What reason has this team ever given anyone to stay calm? Or to earn the benifit of the doubt? They havent made the playoffs in 18 years. Nobody should ever be told to relax when it comes to this team. Doubt is always warranted. Until they actually Finnish a season and make the playoffs, we all have the right to be down.

Because I think what we saw last night was somewhat of a fluke. It's not the bills team we've seen all year. Jordan Matthew's, nick oleary and tyrod all fumbled. That alone is crazy. Now add all the penaltys, sacks, lack of run game and so on. It just wasn't the bills night.

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

Because I think what we saw last night was somewhat of a fluke. It's not the bills team we've seen all year. Jordan Matthew's, nick oleary and tyrod all fumbled. That alone is crazy. Now add all the penaltys, sacks, lack of run game and so on. It just wasn't the bills night.

The thing that concerned me the most is the jets ran it down our throats. If we cant stop the run we are going to be jn trouble. I dont think its a fluke at all and I dont see us getting to more then 8 wins now. I certainly dont see playoffs now.

[skibum]

(5-3) x 2 = 10-6

[ShakAttack]

(5-3) x 2 = 10-6

 

Jets

Panthers

Broncos

Falcons

Bengals

Bucs

Raiders

Jets

 

or

 

Saints

Chargers

Chiefs

Pats

Colts

Dolphins

Pats

Dolphins

 

There are 4 teams in the second half of our schedule playing better football right now than anyone we played in the first part of our schedule. Had to think a little about Panthers, but they've been more inconsistent over the past 4-5 wks than Saints, KC and NE.

 

So I don't know if that formula is supposed to imply this will be easy, but if 5-3 wasn't surprising enough in the first half, it's going to take an even bigger surprise to do it again in the second half.

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

We will have a rough time getting 3 more wins. Last night was pretty much the whole season IMO

[Klaista2k]

I'm just gonna be straight up honest and admit were not going to the playoffs this year.

Playoff teams don't get man handled against the NY Jets. 

Sorry to say it but playoffs aren't happening this year folks.

[JM57]

11 hours ago, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

We will have a rough time getting 3 more wins. Last night was pretty much the whole season IMO

This is a garbage attitude IMO. They have played 8 games. In the 8th, they looked considerably worse than they did in the previous 7, but a lot of the mistakes they made are coachable. 

It seems that a lot of the poor tackling was due to trying to force turnovers. The fix? When you return to practice, you preach the first guy wrapping up and all subsequent guys go for the strip. 

IMO Humber had a very bad game, at least early, and was caught jumping inside on outside runs multiple times. That's fixable, or they could just put Milano back in.

On the offensive side, Dennison made some huge mistakes early in the 3rd, continuing to run big formations against a stacked box. When he finally spread it out with a 3WR set, they started moving the ball, but that drive unfortunately ended with the O'Leary fumble. Self-scouting. Play Tyrod in shotgun more to alleviate the poor OL play.

Additonally on offense, you have  Benjamin being integrated (I think we see his role slowly grow week to week for the next 8 games as he learns the offense and develops rapport with Tyrod) AND you get Tyrod's security blanket, Big Play Charles Clay, back too. Those are two receivers that HAVE to be respected or they WILL beat you. The Jets were able to stack the box because they weren't in any way scared of Zay Jones, Jordan Matthews and Andre Holmes.

Things can and will change. They have already evolved as the season went on to implement the power run game and unbalanced formations that they excelled at the last two seasons. Don't give up yet. I believe this coach is obsessed with winning and will be mad as hell about a beat down like Thursday night. He will demand his coaches to fix everything that can be fixed from that game.

[McBean]

On 11/3/2017 at 8:06 AM, smuvtalker said:

I agree with you, that in the two losses to the Panthers and Bengals, the Bills were in it til the very end, and very well could've come away with W's. While I was pleased with the five victories, one thing that discouraged me was that we were having +3, +4 takeaways but still barely winning. But since we were winning I didn't complain.

 

But while last night's loss was only one loss, it's just the way that it went down. Again, this is a scenario that we Bills fans have been faced with SO many times during this 17 year drought that you'd have to have JUST recently become a fan of the team, or lived under a rock and been oblivious to the team's struggles.

 

Last night was by far the biggest game of the season to date for this team. Throw out the fact it was a division game. Throw out the fact it was a conference game. It was the biggest game of the season because, like many previous years, the Bills were overachieving, had a rookie or new head coach, had put together a winning record, and to me personally, were finally starting to get the attention AND respect of the national media. McDermott was being discussed as a potential coach of the year candidate, players were buying into his "Trust the Process" mantra, and with a win last night, our playoff chances would've shot up to 80%. And like too many seasons before, when the Bills had a chance to show everyone that they were for real, and that everyone's belief in them being different from Bills teams of the past was merited, what do they do? They come out flat, uninspired, undisciplined, and play the worst 60 minutes of football they have all year. And once again have everyone saying, "Same Old Bills ".

 

And you are correct, it was just one game. 5-3 is not a bad record, and I do believe McDermott has this team playing decent football, and am by no means throwing in the towel on this season. But yesterday's loss just fell into all too familiar territory, and has me not wanting to see any highlights on TV, and not wanting to hear any commentary or analysts opinions. I'm hoping McD can right the ship, and the Bills can bounce back and take care of a surging, red hot Saints team next Sunday at New Era....but Drew Brees will be the best quarterback this team has faced all season, and last night they made McCown look like an all-pro.

 

I wish I could say I'm still optimistic about the rest of the season, but the playoffs seem SO much further out of reach today than they did yesterday.

Fantastic post and my exact thoughts.

 

This one hurt just as bad as the Tommy Maddox 04’ loss at home.

[Steptide]

It's funny how expectations flip on a dime. Nobody and I mean nobody thought this team would be 5-2 before the season. So now we're 5-3 and all of a sudden we're the same old bills. Yes this was an ugly loss and being 6-2 just sounds so sweet. But what if we win next week? What's the difference if we beat the jets but lost to the saints or vice versa? All I'm saying is that we have 8 games left. Who knows if we're a playoff team. But are you not encouraged by where this team is heading? 

[DaBillsFanSince1973]

[26CornerBlitz]