LeGOATski Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 (edited) The Bills bounce back in an important game before the bye week. Let’s take a look at the conference as a whole. AFC Standings The Chiefs are knocked off their pedestal in a week highlighted by a number of important in-conference contests. Playoff Contenders: The top 6 teams. The cream of the crop. Pats Chiefs Ravens Texans Bills Colts It was nice to see the Chiefs get beaten, but technically it would’ve been better for the Bills if the Colts lost. They’re the wildcard competition. Mahomes looked injured after one play and I bet that was pretty scary for Chiefs nation. This team is so deep with talent, that I bet they’d be okay. Not as good, but still a winner. Matt Moore is a decent back-up QB. Who the heck is Pringle?? The Chiefs are just manufacturing WRs. I’d still give the Chiefs the edge over the Pats. In consecutive weeks the Pats have looked just okay. Brady threw another stupid INT in the red zone (we’d all be hassling Josh Allen for such a pass). The Redskins were in this game for a little while. As always, the refs were on the Pats’ side and did everything they could to stifle the Redskins’ momentum in the 2nd quarter. Donald Penn was getting up in the ref’s grill after each penalty. That was great. I wonder if Brady tweeted the refs during this game about calling too many penalties…? Amazing tale of two halves for the Texans against the Falcons. The score was 17-16 Falcons at halftime and ended up being 53-32 Texans. Watson showed some great poise in this game. On one play he scrambles around the pocket, fumbles the ball, picks it up, and then runs for the first down. When the Texans play like this they’re as good as any team in the league. I’d give them the edge over any team not named the Chiefs right now. The Ravens don’t look as good as they did the first 3 weeks. Tough loss to the Chiefs, bad loss to the Browns, and then barely squeaking by the Steelers, who were playing their 3rd string QB for the last 1.5 quarters. The Steelers were positioned to win, but a fortunate turnover in OT won it for the Ravens. I’d give the edge to the Bills over the Ravens. If they played right now, I feel confident that the Bills could control the ball and win. The Steelers game is looking like it will be a tough one again. The Bills defense showed once again why they could be considered the best in the league. I think they could’ve shut out the Titans if it weren’t for Allen’s interception. They didn’t need to worry about any FGs, apparently. It was interesting to see Oliver go down with a fake injury on the Titans’ last drive. I can’t remember the last time I saw a Bills defender do that. Anyway, the Bills are 2nd in total yards, 2nd in yards per play, 4th in 3rd down percentage, 3rd in points per game, 2nd in QB rating. All great stats. Only 15th in sacks. On that note, it was great to see Jordan Phillips dominate. That D-line rotation is monstrous. Tremaine Edmunds is amazing in pass defense. He reads the QB well, gets into passing lanes, and disrupts the ball. On the Titans’ first drive he saved a first down with a big hit on Walker that almost caused a fumble. He later saved a first down by knocking the ball out of Humphries’ hands. Then late in the game, he almost had a pick 6. Reminiscent of his late game deflection against Brady. I think he’s gonna get one of these pick sixes soon. He smells it like a shark smells blood in the water. This was a good game by Allen, to bounce back after a tough game and a concussion against the Pats. All he really needed to do was manage the offense and not turn the ball over. I don’t remember seeing any spectacular throws, but he was accurate and efficient. The Bills offense once again outgained their opponents and that makes 6 consecutive games with over 300 yards total offense, closing in on the record of 36 set by the Vikings of the early 2000s. Duke Williams was by far the most interesting storyline of this game. The Titans were known as a tough defense in the red zone, so this was the perfect time to bring in a big possession receiver. Sure enough, the Bills were able to capitalize in the red zone, but it was mostly due to superb play-calling by Daboll. I really like how Duke rounds out this receiving corps, led by John Brown. Did you guys see Brown screaming at McKenzie after he was called for 12 men in the huddle? I’m not sure if that was an overreaction or a sign of good leadership. Only the players could tell you. It’s good to see players policing themselves, though. You want to see them strive for excellence as a unit on every play. So, the Bills are 4-1 at the bye week. After this they have 6 consecutive weeks where they could be considered the favorite before facing Dallas in week 13. They can only lose 2 out of those 6 games in order to remain in good shape before the tough part of the schedule. As long as they maintain their intensity each week and play smart football, they should be okay. This is a coaching staff we can trust. The Colts remind me of the 2017 Bills. They don’t have tons of talent, don’t have their franchise QB, but they’re well coached and have the right attitude. On paper, they look like one of the worst teams in the league, who definitely shouldn’t be competitive with the Chiefs. They have TY Hilton and some decent OLs on offense. They have Justin Houston and….who else on defense? Rock Ya-Sin is a rookie with a cool name. This is why football is the best sport, though. It’s the most team-oriented sport and the Colts exemplify that. I’d really like to see them get the other wildcard spot. They have a decent stretch of games coming up against the Texans, Broncos, Steelers, and Dolphins. I know we shouldn’t do it, but I have to take some time to whine about the refs. The crew that called the Colts/Chiefs game is the same one that called the Bills/Pats game. They called TY Hilton for offensive PI on a pick play when Hilton was within 1 yard and also did not initiate any contact. The defender put his hands on Hilton and initiated the contact! Yet, this same crew doesn’t call the Pats TE for intentionally altering his route to pick off the Bills CB. Ugh…..some officiating crews just don’t use any common sense. Okay, rant over. The Raiders pushed themselves to a winning record with a nice victory over the Bears. They got lucky playing Chase Daniel. Still a decent wildcard contender that we can’t sleep on. Meanwhile, the Titans and Chargers suffered tough in-conference losses. The Jaguars and Browns lost to NFC teams. None of those teams look particularly strong. Are we starting to see the AFC diverge into more distinct groups of winners and losers? Time will tell. That’s all. Thanks for reading. Edited October 8, 2019 by LeGOATski 5 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SydneyBillsFan Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Across a number of sites NFL power rankings, they currently have the Bills as low as 12th and as high as 8th. They appear to have us as the 3rd or 4th ranked team in the AFC. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddyjj Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 2 minutes ago, SydneyBillsFan said: Across a number of sites NFL power rankings, they currently have the Bills as low as 12th and as high as 8th. They appear to have us as the 3rd or 4th ranked team in the AFC. Sounds about right. Get to 6-2 or 7-1 by mid season and they will be top 3 in AFC for sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r00tabaga Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 (edited) It's a pretty cut-and-dry 6 for me. After looking at that list starting from the bottom up I was like, yuck! Ravens barely lost to Ravens? Edited October 8, 2019 by r00tabaga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 (edited) https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/10/08/nfl-power-rankings-week-saints-move-up-no-chiefs-fall/ 8. Buffalo Bills (4-1) | Last Week’s Rank: 12 The Bills rebounded from the loss to the Patriots to win at Tennessee. They perhaps were a bit fortunate, given the four missed field goals by the Titans. But being lucky is part of being good in the NFL, and the Bills continue to make the case that they’re for real. https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/49ers/nfl-power-rankings-2019-where-49ers-raiders-stand-entering-week-6 7. Buffalo (4-1) Last week’s rank: 10 The milestones keep coming for Frank Gore. He and Emmitt Smith are the only running backs in league history with 200 career starts. https://www.usatoday.com/sports/nfl/rankings/ 11 Buffalo Bills 3-1 1 10 / 25 Should have won over some naysayers after hanging tough against Pats. But they'll be hard-pressed to survive if Josh Allen misses much time. Edited October 8, 2019 by SlimShady'sGhost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bring it Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 I voted the Titans as #6 team! They have a pretty decent team. Good D and don’t make a lot of mistakes on offense. They could be a hard out in the playoffs! They need a kicker!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondo in seattle Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 (edited) 49 out of 50 voters thus far have put the Bills in the Top 6. Who's the one traitor??? Here's what I think is interesting. The Bills are pretty much who we - the wildly intelligent fans of Buffalo - thought they would be. The D was very good last year and it is very good again this year as we expected. With massive changes to the lineup, the O is improved but still not elite. Josh Allen has taken some steps forward in his 2nd year but is still not Jim Kelly. Despite this season unfolding more-or-less the way an informed fan would expect it to unfold, the Bills are shooting up the national power rankings. In fact, the Bills are not getting better as the season progresses - the national media folks are simply catching up to the new reality. At the beginning of the 2019 campaign - when they were placing the Bills in the bottom 5 or 10 - they were wrong about the Bills. As we all knew. Edited October 8, 2019 by hondo in seattle 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProcessYaDigg Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Picking the 6th team was actually tough for me. I think the top 5 are locks; Pats, Bills, Chiefs, Ravens, and Texans. I picked the Colts as my #6 (mainly cuz of Frank Reich), but I wouldn't sleep on the Raiders. Josh Jacobs is becoming one of the best backs in this league. A good ground game can open a ton of opportunities in the passing game. As Jacobs heats up, I think that offense will too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddie's Dead Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 It's either Pats* or Cheats. Fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wppete Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 The Texans are sneaky scary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigK14094 Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 All these top teams are one QB injury away from middle of the pack. Its a long season, lets see what happens. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, hondo in seattle said: 49 out of 50 voters thus far have put the Bills in the Top 6. Who's the one traitor??? LOL I wanted to post that earlier when I first saw the poll results ESPN https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27788319/week-6-nfl-power-rankings-1-32-poll-plus-every-team-top-fantasy-surprise 10. Buffalo Bills (4-1) Week 5 ranking: 12 Surprise fantasy player: Frank Gore, RB We probably shouldn't be surprised at this point, but Gore continues to produce in his 15th season. In the three games Devin Singletary has missed with a hamstring injury, Gore has averaged 81.7 rushing yards and 5.4 yards per carry. That being said, his touches likely will decrease once Singletary returns, so Gore isn't likely to hit the 1,066 rushing yards that he is on pace for. -- Marcel Louis-Jacques 1 spot above the Ravens!!! Edited October 8, 2019 by SlimShady'sGhost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumpsuit Jim Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 The Jets had a HUGE and SPLASHY off season. Why aren’t they an option? oh yah. it’s because they suck. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCBills Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 19 minutes ago, wppete said: The Texans are sneaky scary. We'll find out a lot about them over their upcoming difficult schedule. Chiefs Colts Raiders Jags Ravens Colts Pats Titans 2x in the final 3 weeks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatdrought Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Top five for me are easy: Pats Chiefs Bills Texans Colts After that it's kind of a toss up for me between the Raiders and the Ravens. - I can't tell if I trust Lamar less, or Gruden less... That being said, the AFC west imploded at just the right time for the Raiders. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inthebuff Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 1. Pats 2. Chiefs 3. Bills 4. Texans 5. Colts 6. Titans My personal take on these kinds of power rankings is which team can beat another at a neutral site. So, the Pats could beat every team in the AFC; the Chiefs would best every team but the Patsl; the Bills would defeat every team, except the Chiefs and Pats, and so on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stank_Nasty Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 I think the colts might be arguably the most complete team in the AFC when healthy. They are 2 missed overtime vinatieri kicks in week one from being a strong 4-1.... imagine that team with Luck this year. geez. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Who Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 4 hours ago, LeGOATski said: I know we shouldn’t do it, but I have to take some time to whine about the refs. The crew that called the Colts/Chiefs game is the same one that called the Bills/Pats game. They called TY Hilton for offensive PI on a pick play when Hilton was within 1 yard and also did not initiate any contact. The defender put his hands on Hilton and initiated the contact! Yet, this same crew doesn’t call the Pats TE for intentionally altering his route to pick off the Bills CB. Ugh…..some officiating crews just don’t use any common sense. Okay, rant over. What they lack in common cents, they make up for in krafty dollars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeGOATski Posted October 8, 2019 Author Share Posted October 8, 2019 5 hours ago, r00tabaga said: Ravens barely lost to Ravens? Haha, well.....in a way, yes? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeGOATski Posted October 8, 2019 Author Share Posted October 8, 2019 2 hours ago, Stank_Nasty said: I think the colts might be arguably the most complete team in the AFC when healthy. They are 2 missed overtime vinatieri kicks in week one from being a strong 4-1.... imagine that team with Luck this year. geez. I don't think anyone's putting the Colts in the discussion for most complete team, talent-wise. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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