Four plays that made the difference

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

3 hours ago, Xwnyer said:

Many mistakes and poor execution but there are 4 plays that absolutely had an impact on the outcome of this game.  

 

First is 3 and 2 and we try the cute flee flicker that a great defensive play stopped credit to Steelers but maybe playnactionor a run may have yielded better resukts

 

4 and 1 and WTF was that play call?  The motion by the receiver pulled the DB into a position to make the play versus putting them out of position.  How many times have we seen Brady pick up that yard with a straight dive.   

 

the defensive holding on white on the INT all I saw on replay was a brush of the jersey 

 

The Pi on Wallace sure he didn't turn his head but he reply never made contact with the guy.

 

  Think you might want to visit the eye doctor.

 

Completely agree on the 1st two.  Holding on the Int could go either way.

Edited September 13, 2021 by Ed_Formerly_of_Roch

[Bangarang]

3 hours ago, Beast said:

How about Allen missing a wide open Sanders for a long TD?

Came here to say exactly this. Allen’s deep ball is still very questionable 

[Einstein's Dog]

One play that annoyed me was the lack of the Offside call at the end of the third quarter.  Josh caught the guy in the neutral zone and had the ball snapped.  Started the fourth 2nd and 10, instead of 1st and 5.

[Freddie's Dead]

4 hours ago, MAJBobby said:

Let me add one. Air mailing Sanders on a walk in TD already up 10-0. 

 

I think you meant Sanders's gutless unwillingness to lay out for a sightly overthrown ball 

[CincyBillsFan]

1 hour ago, klos63 said:

The DB stripped the ball. Great defensive play, not a drop. If we're talking about the same play.

Sure it was a great play by the Steeler DB but when you get two hands on the ball you can't let the DB strip it.  Earlier in the game White made just as good a play on the ball but the Steeler receiver didn't drop the ball.  That would have been a huge catch at that point in the game.

 

 

[ganesh]

The hurried 1st down incomplete pass right before end of 3rd quarter.  That cost us a down which in turn became the fateful 4th down play at the beginning of the 4th quarter.

[TampaBillsJunkie]

4 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

You're not even going to mention the blocked punt for a TD?

 

 

Right. That play alone decided the game.

[LABILLBACKER]

Here's my top 4

1. Blocked Punt

2. Sanders overthrow 

3. Not trusting Bass on 4th

4. Daboll playcalling on hallucinogens. 

[TrainHornHater1]

Why did that punt take 5 minutes to get off.  Whoever that new punter is set up like there was no rush coming.  Don't have time to take 5 steps. 

[Protocal69]

5 hours ago, Steptide said:

I agree on the white interception. That was a bs call. Could've potentially changed the game. Who knows 

No Tre White did hold him out of his break BUT by the time Ben made the throw and the receiver got to his spot it was not PI

On that punt block Tyler Matakevich let Steelers defender #28 Miles Killebrew  clean through with a rip move and I have no idea who Jaquan Johnson was trying to block and also let #28 in a 2nd line of defense

[Milanos Milano]

Allen is without a doubt one of the best QBs in the league. Bad QB performance or not, the OC needs to recognize what is and what isn’t working with in game adjustments. Daboll rarely does. If you see Josh is under duress, call some screens or designed rollouts. It’s inexcusable on Daboll’s part and he infuriates me more than anyone during this game. I honestly hope we replace him. 

[Albany,n.y.]

5 hours ago, Xwnyer said:

4 and 1 and WTF was that play call?  The motion by the receiver pulled the DB into a position to make the play versus putting them out of position.  How many times have we seen Brady pick up that yard with a straight dive.   

 

Years ago on the WGR postgame show with The Coach Chuck Dickerson, a caller termed a phrase that The Coach adopted "4th and stupid"  That's the 1st thing I thought on that play-4th and stupid!

[BringMetheHeadofLeonLett]

I know Singletary had a couple nice runs on the drive, but sticking with the run with a full 10 yards for a hugely needed TD down 20-10 was absolutely asinine.  Of all the stupid crap we pulled today, I think that pissed me off the most this game. 

[DrPJax]

4 minutes ago, IronMaidenBills said:

Allen is without a doubt one of the best QBs in the league. Bad QB performance or not, the OC needs to recognize what is and what isn’t working with in game adjustments. Daboll rarely does. If you see Josh is under duress, call some screens or designed rollouts. It’s inexcusable on Daboll’s part and he infuriates me more than anyone during this game. I honestly hope we replace him. 

How about with time running down , even tho he finally called some runs and motor had some success since Pitt was playing soft prevent then, Daboll decides to never call ONE PLAY WITH ANYONE IN THE ENDZONE OR ANY PASSES TO THE ENDZONE.  HE  called runs and short passes that kept the clock running.  It was either stupidity, stubbornness, or lack of awareness.  It was another classic Daboll moment.   For all his good design of the o at times , it’s hard to ignore his inability to design or use any run game and it’s hard to ignore his inability to adjust during games ( like the kc games) and it’s hard to ignore those cute moments like that 4 th down play like today that turned the momentum around.  Maybe we are seeing why he still isn’t a head coach: maybe those in the field see trends we may ignore as fans.  Hope he turns things around because this crap today was exactly how we got beaten last year by KC twice and Tennessee as well.   

[Milanos Milano]

5 minutes ago, DrPJax said:

How about with time running down , even tho he finally called some runs and motor had some success since Pitt was playing soft prevent then, Daboll decides to never call ONE PLAY WITH ANYONE IN THE ENDZONE OR ANY PASSES TO THE ENDZONE.  HE  called runs and short passes that kept the clock running.  It was either stupidity, stubbornness, or lack of awareness.  It was another classic Daboll moment.   For all his good design of the o at times , it’s hard to ignore his inability to design or use any run game and it’s hard to ignore his inability to adjust during games ( like the kc games) and it’s hard to ignore those cute moments like that 4 th down play like today that turned the momentum around.  Maybe we are seeing why he still isn’t a head coach: maybe those in the field see trends we may ignore as fans.  Hope he turns things around because this crap today was exactly how we got beaten last year by KC twice and Tennessee as well.   

It’s Daboll, he is the weakest link along with 2CB. Look what McVay does with Stafford, look what Shanahan does with Garoppolo. Imagine if they had Allen to work with. 

[Big Turk]

6 hours ago, The Firebaugh Kid said:

That was the biggest play of the game.

 

Yeah that was like the dagger

[Governor]

3 hours ago, Freddie's Dead said:

 

I think you meant Sanders's gutless unwillingness to lay out for a sightly overthrown ball 

He was already running full speed. There’s no way he could’ve dived to catch that ball.

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

3 hours ago, IronMaidenBills said:

Allen is without a doubt one of the best QBs in the league. Bad QB performance or not, the OC needs to recognize what is and what isn’t working with in game adjustments. Daboll rarely does. If you see Josh is under duress, call some screens or designed rollouts. It’s inexcusable on Daboll’s part and he infuriates me more than anyone during this game. I honestly hope we replace him. 

I cant say a qb rollout wouldn't have worked but does anyone really have any confidence that we could execute an effective screen pass that game.  It relies on a ton of blocking and it's not like the steelers were running any man blitzes. 

[Dr.Mantis_Toboggan]

The miss to Sanders, there is no excuse, he is literally getting paid a quarter billion $$$ to THROW a football, the margin for error is slim to none.  Mahomes, Rodgers, Brady, Brees, those guys (in their primes) are now the standard Josh should and will be held too.  I think Josh must be a little in his head right now- The extension, the expectations, the preseason MVP hype, fans back in the stands.  I expect he will find his way sooner rather than later.

 

As off as Josh was today, Daboll's gameplan did 17 no favors.  It's almost as if Daboll's pride won't let him move past the AFC Title game, as he called basically the same exact offense and abandoned any kind of legitimate rushing attack. Just arrogance and pride getting in the way of common sense. No reason not to run the ball when they are consistently daring you with extra DBs on the field. 

 

Piss poor performances all around on offense- Daboll, Allen, OL execution/holding penalities, Drops... just bad. 

 

The team needs to take a note from Ted Lasso, all be goldfish...then squish the fish.

[buffalostu2]

18 hours ago, MAJBobby said:

Let me add one. Air mailing Sanders on a walk in TD already up 10-0. 

Ill add one more.  As the Steelers were moving in to kick their final field goal. they were at our 40.  I think it was 3rd and 5, Claypool lines up in the slot on the left of the OL and Taron Johnson is over him.  They run crossers and Hyde mistakenly follows Tre De and his guy from deep left of the D across to his right where the other safety was.   Triple coverage on Tre De's guy while Taron is left one on one with their stud WR and it is an easy first down.

 

Bad play by a good player but that one really hurt 

[BuffaloBill]

19 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

You're not even going to mention the blocked punt for a TD?

 

 

 

That had no impact on the game outcome…. None whatsoever….. 

[Kelly the Dog]

18 hours ago, CincyBillsFan said:

I disagree.  Allen was good but not great today.  He accounted for 314 of Buffalo's 371 yards.  The o-line was terrible and that had a big impact on Allen and the passing game.  How many holds - 5 or 6?

 

As for big plays that we didn't make I'll throw out these two:

 

1) After the Bills fell behind 13 - 10 Allen threw a great pass that Sanders dropped.  That was a 35 yard gain we missed out on.

 

2) On 3rd & 3 on the drive we had that bizarre 4th down ply the Bills handed the ball to Brida and the blocking was pretty good.  He only gained 2 yards though. Most NFL RB's would have gained a 1st down on the run. We missed Moss on that play.

 

 

 

 

One could argue that the Sanders drop was the biggest play, or one of the biggest, considering it’s probably at least 3 points AND there is no blocked punt for the TD the other way. 
 

Granted, Josh missing Sanders was a huge one as well. 

[dave mcbride]

1 hour ago, Kelly the Dog said:

One could argue that the Sanders drop was the biggest play, or one of the biggest, considering it’s probably at least 3 points AND there is no blocked punt for the TD the other way. 
 

Granted, Josh missing Sanders was a huge one as well. 

Sanders didn't "drop" that. Allen was late on his throw and set him up to get stripped. Sanders raised his hand 10 yards into the route, signaling he was open, and Allen waited too long before delivering, hitting him just as he entered a window with two defenders. The moment it hit has hands, the defender was right there in perfect position to strip it. That ball had to be delivered sooner. You know what they say about "throwing your receivers open"? That was a case of "throwing your receivers into covered." 

Edited September 13, 2021 by dave mcbride

[Kelly the Dog]

11 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

Sanders didn't "drop" that. Allen was late on his throw and set him up to get stripped. Sanders raised his hand 10 yards into the route, signaling he was open, and Allen waited too long before delivering, hitting him just as he entered a window with two defenders. The moment it hit has hands, the defender was right there in perfect position to strip it. That ball had to be delivered sooner. You know what they say about "throwing your receivers open"? That was a case of "throwing your receivers into covered." 

He needs to catch that. It’s why he was brought here. The ball was a little late but IMO he catches the ball and it’s not stripped. 

[dave mcbride]

4 minutes ago, Kelly the Dog said:

He needs to catch that. It’s why he was brought here. The ball was a little late but IMO he catches the ball and it’s not stripped. 

Honestly, I hate that "he needs to catch it" line. The QB set up the receiver to fail, plain and simple. Watch it again -- the DB is in perfect position to swat it hard and downward immediately after it arrives. That's an extremely difficult for any receiver to make. Don't get me wrong, I love Allen, and that was to be fair an accurate throw. But he has to recognize the coverage and where the WR is going to end up. He just played poorly yesterday; he'll play better in the future. 

[SCBills]

22 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

Sanders didn't "drop" that. Allen was late on his throw and set him up to get stripped. Sanders raised his hand 10 yards into the route, signaling he was open, and Allen waited too long before delivering, hitting him just as he entered a window with two defenders. The moment it hit has hands, the defender was right there in perfect position to strip it. That ball had to be delivered sooner. You know what they say about "throwing your receivers open"? That was a case of "throwing your receivers into covered." 

 

HARD NO.

 

WR's need to make that play.

 

Claypool, Juju and Johnson all made tougher catches in the second half. 

[Big Gun]

The White int non int changed the game and Buff never recovered from it whereas Pitt took off after it.

[dave mcbride]

4 minutes ago, SCBills said:

 

HARD NO.

 

WR's need to make that play.

 

Claypool, Juju and Johnson all made tougher catches in the second half. 

I totally disagree. That was a significantly tougher catch than the ones you list given that the defender was primed, ready, and most importantly able to actually ATTACK the ball with a striking downward motion; it's not like he was off his feet and tangled up with a receiver on a jump ball. On none of the plays you mention were the Bills defenders in a position to violently attack it. It amazes me that people think that's an easily makeable play.

Edited September 13, 2021 by dave mcbride

[SCBills]

9 minutes ago, Big Gun said:

The White int non int changed the game and Buff never recovered from it whereas Pitt took off after it.

 

We were up 10-6, early in the 4th quarter, when we decided to run the worst 4th and short play ever created.  

 

Instead of converting on a qb sneak (or any other normal play), and having 1st down on the edge of FG range, PIT took over around midfield.  

 

If Allen doesn't throw the ball into the turf when Beasley had a screen set up in front of him, that drive likely ends up in points. 

 

*Point being, that play was way too early to say it changed the game.  Our offense squandered multiple opportunities to take back control of the game.   This isn't even counting Sanders drop/pbu on the seam route. 

[Coach55]

37 minutes ago, Big Gun said:

The White int non int changed the game and Buff never recovered from it whereas Pitt took off after it.

This play single handedly changed the entire game.  I never blame the refs, but this was BS on so many levels.  First, there was no defensive holding, but what was also not called on this play was Jerry Hughes clearly getting held on what should have been a sack (I have watched this play so many times - it is text book holding).  IMO, had the Bills had the takeaway, the ball at midfield and the momentum of TD drive at the end of the half, we would have marched down the field and scored.  It would have taken the life out of Pittsburgh and game would have been over.  

[dave mcbride]

1 hour ago, Kelly the Dog said:

He needs to catch that. It’s why he was brought here. The ball was a little late but IMO he catches the ball and it’s not stripped. 

Dog, this pass HAS to be thrown sooner. It should be hitting him in the hands as he gets past the sticks. As I said, throwing him into covered: 

 

[Straight Hucklebuck]

22 hours ago, CEN-CAL17 said:

4th & 8, 30 yard pass vs letting Bass kick a 53 yard FG. Bass can kick 60 yards. Give him that chance.

I thought the same thing. 

 

Its the whole reason you drafted Bass and let Hauschka go. 

 

Because with Hauschka you're limited to 42 yard Field Goals. 

 

[Kelly the Dog]

13 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

Dog, this pass HAS to be thrown sooner. It should be hitting him in the hands as he gets past the sticks. As I said, throwing him into covered: 

 

Easy catch. He catches it clean the tomahawk doesn’t work

[dave mcbride]

Just now, Kelly the Dog said:

Easy catch. He catches it clean the tomahawk doesn’t work

Oh man. I feel like I'm talking to a brick wall. There is a huge hole in the zone early on. That's where you hit him. There's a reason he waved his hand. You adjust to what the zone presents to you, and Allen, who is a great player, did not in this instance. Instead, he waited to make the longer throw, into a defended zone. But go ahead, blame the receiver rather than analyzing the decision making.  

[ngbills]

2 minutes ago, Kelly the Dog said:

Easy catch. He catches it clean the tomahawk doesn’t work

Should have caught it. Should have thrown a second sooner. Either way play should have been made. 

[Kelly the Dog]

5 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

Oh man. I feel like I'm talking to a brick wall. There is a huge hole in the zone early on. That's where you hit him. There's a reason he waved his hand. You adjust to what the zone presents to you, and Allen, who is a great player, did not in this instance. Instead, he waited to make the longer throw, into a defended zone. But go ahead, blame the receiver rather than analyzing the decision making.  

That may be true but that is not the play that happened. The play that actually happened was an easily caught ball. Right in his hands. Split second to secure it before hit.

[dave mcbride]

16 minutes ago, Kelly the Dog said:

That may be true but that is not the play that happened. The play that actually happened was an easily caught ball. Right in his hands. Split second to secure it before hit.

If you really want to get into the nitty gritty, it wasn't well placed either. Allen put it in a spot -- slightly outside and behind -- where the defender had a very easy opportunity to make a play rather than throwing it to the inside and further ahead where it becomes significantly harder to defend for that player. Of course, he may have been absolutely blown up by the other DB if that happened, but that just tells you that he threw it too late because it was double coverage by that point after being wide open a few yards earlier. But I know you -- you still probably blame Sammy for not making a finger-tip circus catch on Tyrod's high throw vs. NE in 2015 (yes, I remember that argument). You are a receiver blamer!

  

Edited September 13, 2021 by dave mcbride

[mannc]

10 hours ago, Coach55 said:

This play single handedly changed the entire game.  I never blame the refs, but this was BS on so many levels.  First, there was no defensive holding, but what was also not called on this play was Jerry Hughes clearly getting held on what should have been a sack (I have watched this play so many times - it is text book holding).  IMO, had the Bills had the takeaway, the ball at midfield and the momentum of TD drive at the end of the half, we would have marched down the field and scored.  It would have taken the life out of Pittsburgh and game would have been over.  

I thought the same thing about the hold on Hughes.  Where did you find the replay?  I couldn’t find it…