Week 17 Gameday Bills vs Falcons Postgame Thread -PLAYOFFS!

[Logic]

I thought the offensive staff did a good job of utilizing both McKenzie and Beasley today. McKenzie was mostly pre-snap eye candy for the defense, but at least he was on the field. Beasley made some clutch catches in zone and for first downs.

 

The more puzzling one to me was that just a week after he was SO GOOD at being patient and hitting his checkdowns, Hero Ball Josh made his return today. He’s GOT TO play smarter if they have any hope of going on a playoff run.

[co_springs_billsfan]

Any discussion on the 2nd int?  Seemed like the shove on Beasely should have been illegal contact.  Or am I missing something on that play?

[Low Positive]

We didn’t make the playoffs for 18 straight years. Any day when we we clinch a playoff spot is a good day. Could the Bills have played better? Of course. But this year is not the start of another drought so it’s all good in my opinion.

[Buffalo Bills Fan]

2 minutes ago, Logic said:

I thought the offensive staff did a good job of utilizing both McKenzie and Beasley today. McKenzie was mostly pre-snap eye candy for the defense, but at least he was on the field. Beasley made some clutch catches in zone and for first downs.

 

The more puzzling one to me was that just a week after he was SO GOOD at being patient and hitting his checkdowns, Hero Ball Josh made his return today. He’s GOT TO play smarter if they have any hope of going on a playoff run.

 

Agree

[stevewin]

4 hours ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

Am I the only one who thought Josh played a great game? Two tipped ball picks are what they are. The overthrow pick was not good. But he was also throwing some darts, and converting a lot of 3rd and longs. 
 

Weirdly enough, even with a bad passer rating, he was throwing the ball well, IMO. 

Even the 'overthrow' it looked like Beasley got held then gave up on the play which made it look much worse - if he runs the route to completion I think he would have gotten his hands on it.  Sanchez would not stop about the ball that was tipped by the EZ b/c of all the defenders in the area, but I'm willing to bet if it isn't tipped it's a laser threaded through for a TD and we'd be talking about what an amazing throw - he did an unbelievable job keeping the play alive, esp escaping the last defender bearing down on him

Edited January 3, 2022 by stevewin

[LABILLBACKER]

1 minute ago, co_springs_billsfan said:

Any discussion on the 2nd int?  Seemed like the shove on Beasely should have been illegal contact.  Or am I missing something on that play?

Beasley certainly didn't look to upset or animated over the play. In real time it looked like the ball went right by him. Either Beasley or Gabe broke their route off a little early?

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

Just now, stevewin said:

Even the 'overthrow' it looked like Beasley got held then gave up on the play which made it look much worse - if he runs the route to completion I think he would have gotten his hands on it.  Sanchez would not stop about the ball that was tipped by the EZ b/c of all the defenders in the area, but I'm willing to bet if it isn't tipped it's a laser threaded through for a TD and we'd be talking about what an amazing throw

Agreed on both points. On the first, that really should have been illegal contact by the Falcons— it’s the exact definition of illegal contact. Defender hit/bumped Beasley Right as he was entering the window where josh thought he would be. 
 

And you are right re the second throw. Sanchez can’t fathom it because he could Never make that throw in a million years. I don’t fault any QB on a tipped ball interception— those are just fluke plays. 

2 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

Beasley certainly didn't look to upset or animated over the play. In real time it looked like the ball went right by him. Either Beasley or Gabe broke their route off a little early?

I went back and re-watched it, and the defender hit Beasley. It was like a bump and slight grab that slowed him down. May not look like a lot, but I think it was the direct cause of the interception.

[stevewin]

4 hours ago, Dr. Who said:

Will definitely lessen the pressure on Josh to feel he has to play hero ball to carry the team to victory. The emergence of a true run game late in the season would be huge -- not going to assume that off of small sample size, but it might be happening.

One big difference last couple weeks is Singeltary seems to be running with a real purpose and more urgency - urgency to get past the 1st down and goal lines.  He's actually been bulling through people at the end of runs to get the 1st or TD, something he hadn't been doing before 

Edited January 3, 2022 by stevewin

[Mango]

Love Josh. I get amped when he runs. But we have to do a better job of settling him down as a passer. He’s a franchise QB and needs to take care of himself. He’s playing like a FB. I’m terrified the dude will fall off a cliff like Cam with the kind of abuse he’s taking.
 

We are leaning on his running heavily when he can’t settle his arm down. The JA run needs to be in addition to his arm, not a replacement at this point. Other mobile guys like Russ, Lamar, etc. aren’t taking the same abuse. Not even close. 

 

[buffblue]

4 hours ago, mannc said:

Josh made a few mistakes, but he did more for his team to win the game than Ryan did. And let’s be honest, those were awful conditions.  Would any QB have had a really good day?

C'mon, the conditions were not that bad. Light snow and 8-10 mph winds is not awful at all for Buffalo this time of year.

[stevewin]

3 hours ago, Wacka said:

On the news after the game they said he is now tied at #3 with Cookie Gilchrist.

He was running like his goal was to pass Gilchrist today 😛 

2 hours ago, HalftimeAdjustment said:

 

Didn't he have to do a free kick after the safety? I realize it's not a punt.

Maybe they conceded the safety just to get Haack some game action

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

2 hours ago, Warcodered said:

 

 

ummm. The 3 ints were basically punts.  
 

[Warcodered]

Just now, SlimShady'sSpaceForce said:

 

ummm. The 3 ints were basically punts.  
 

🤷‍♂️

 

Hey, we won I'm not going to spoil their fun.

[Patrick Duffy]

11 minutes ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

I went back and re-watched it, and the defender hit Beasley. It was like a bump and slight grab that slowed him down. May not look like a lot, but I think it was the direct cause of the interception

Also kinda seemed like he didn't think ball was coming his way or maybe he thought ball was already thrown to somebody else.

7 minutes ago, buffblue said:

C'mon, the conditions were not that bad. Light snow and 8-10 mph winds is not awful at all for Buffalo this time of year.

Agree wasn't bad, but was enough to make ball a little slippery. However I'd take that allday over a bad windy day

[JGMcD2]

15 minutes ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

And you are right re the second throw. Sanchez can’t fathom it because he could Never make that throw in a million years. I don’t fault any QB on a tipped ball interception— those are just fluke plays. 

Haha this made me chuckle. First off, I actually didn’t mind Sanchez on the call at all.
 

I don’t remember the exact point in the game, but Sanchez was kind of griping over something Josh did. Maybe he was in disbelief… I honestly don’t remember the context.

 

Anyway, my dad goes “Well Mark, you can’t believe it because your signature play was the butt-fumble.” 
 

I got a good little chuckle out of that. 

[muppy]

16 minutes ago, Mango said:

Love Josh. I get amped when he runs. But we have to do a better job of settling him down as a passer. He’s a franchise QB and needs to take care of himself. He’s playing like a FB. I’m terrified the dude will fall off a cliff like Cam with the kind of abuse he’s taking.
 

We are leaning on his running heavily when he can’t settle his arm down. The JA run needs to be in addition to his arm, not a replacement at this point. Other mobile guys like Russ, Lamar, etc. aren’t taking the same abuse. Not even close. 

 

I made mention of this thought in the GDT....#17 is the franchise...Next man UP from #17 WHOA I hope we never have to see that scenario unless sitting he for rest. Josh is gonna Josh and you don't want to coach that out of him...Running is a very important weapon and part of his game. But for he to make those running back plays where his body is potentially in more jeopardy makes me cringe........No fullback to Pound the line for short gains eh .....I mean Im torn. I want the first downs and I want him healthy.... it may be a damned if u do and damned if u dont potential scenario at that point.

Edited January 3, 2022 by muppy

[stevewin]

4 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

 

Seems like the custodial staff is on notice...

[BananaB]

13 minutes ago, buffblue said:

C'mon, the conditions were not that bad. Light snow and 8-10 mph winds is not awful at all for Buffalo this time of year.

The field itself was terrible. That ***** up a lot of things in the passing game. 

[mannc]

17 minutes ago, buffblue said:

C'mon, the conditions were not that bad. Light snow and 8-10 mph winds is not awful at all for Buffalo this time of year.

I wasn’t at the game, but it certainly did not look like a good day to pass the football…to assert otherwise is just foolish.

[PromoTheRobot]

4 minutes ago, mannc said:

I wasn’t at the game, but it certainly did not look like a good day to pass the football…to assert otherwise is just foolish.

It looked slippery. 

[stevewin]

1 hour ago, No Place To Hyde said:

Hey now...there's still a week in the regular season. Nothing's guaranteed.😂😂

So you're saying he is on the hotseat?

[mannc]

2 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

It looked slippery. 

To put it mildly

[CLTbills]

52 minutes ago, ganesh said:

I think the Ref felt very sorry for the Falcon defender...I mean you never know if Josh is ever going to slide feet first and avoid that contact...All these players have been asked to hit 17 and hit him hard...

It doesn't matter. He slid. The rule is the rule.

[Franco_92]

33 minutes ago, Mango said:

Love Josh. I get amped when he runs. But we have to do a better job of settling him down as a passer. He’s a franchise QB and needs to take care of himself. He’s playing like a FB. I’m terrified the dude will fall off a cliff like Cam with the kind of abuse he’s taking.
 

We are leaning on his running heavily when he can’t settle his arm down. The JA run needs to be in addition to his arm, not a replacement at this point. Other mobile guys like Russ, Lamar, etc. aren’t taking the same abuse. Not even close. 

 

I've thought more about this as this season has progressed. I'm sure he feels invincible now. I will be crushed if he is a shell of himself before his late thirties. 

[muppy]

as far as injuries it would seem ( I Hope)  The Bills were pretty unscathed with exception of possibly Bates. However Chris Brown said he walked off under his own power and McDermott reported no injuries

Quote

 

Chris Brown

@ChrisBrownBills

Jon Feliciano in at LG for Ryan Bates who was shaken up on last play and walked off under own power. #Bills

 

[Best Williams Available]

2 hours ago, RunTheBall said:

What you saw today was the continuing evolution of Josh as the leader of this franchise. 3 turnovers and he never seemed rattled. He looked more annoyed than anything. Here’s a guy who you can tell doesn’t give 2 shts about what the stat line looks like, all he wants is Ws. There are a lot of guys who talk the talk but Allen backs it up with his play as evidenced by his numerous runs where he refused to go down (we can discuss whether that’s the best tactic but at this point in his career you can’t take that out of his game, it’s who he is). 

 

I don’t think you can overstate how play like that elevates every single player around him. That’s the type of play that gets all these guys talking and playing like they’d run through a wall for Josh Allen. No other QB in the league right now is playing with that type of determination. Yeah there are better passers, Lamar is a better runner, but there’s no better complete QB (even Mahomes) who fits better with his franchise than Allen in Buffalo.

 

This is true and a great post and what it means is that Josh will always be overlooked for individual accolades because those are given to QBs great on paper and not necessarily on the field. Most fans and talking heads don’t watch Bills games so being snubbed will be his “thing.” It’s ok for us to complain about it (not ad nauseam) but we should expect it. They’ll say he’s just “vanilla Cam” or whatever. It’s all fine I think because JA will use it as a continual source of ammo and motivation to accomplish really extraordinary things—all while improving the play of the guys around him.

[Comebackkid]

5 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

 

Bills:  next Man up

Cafeteria worker:   but sir im just a dishwasher

Bills:  your playoff caliber..now get out there son and make us proud

[Boatdrinks]

23 minutes ago, arcane said:

I've thought more about this as this season has progressed. I'm sure he feels invincible now. I will be crushed if he is a shell of himself before his late thirties. 

He’ll adapt and run less in a couple years. He’s fine now 

[KeLLy1278]

3 hours ago, Meatloaf63 said:

Such a douchey little look at me, I don’t complain when the refs make poor calls🤡. If you can’t see that some teams consistently get the short end of the stick you’re too busy patting yourself on the back for being above the average fan who see’s teams get poor calls time and time again. Of course Buffalo fans think their team gets it worse then others, most fans only watch the Buffalo game. If you watch a couple games a week you see a pattern of poor officiating league wide. Look even closer and this year Tampa and New England seem to get favorable calls most games, not all but most. If you don’t understand emotional responses from Bills fans you are in the wrong place. Here we are locking up a play off birth and all day you are asking your stupid question. Here’s a question for you, are you a Bills fan or just a troll being an ass here?

Ok so “rigged” according to you.  Excellent.  Ciao.

[KeLLy1278]

2 hours ago, Scott7975 said:

 

So the Bills just clinched a playoff birth and you want to spend your day arguing about some straw man crap with no one.  Man your life must be pathetic.

Cute.. however what I’m bringing up is valid.  The Bills winning some games and making the playoffs runs contrary to a certain shall we say “theory” that rages on here.  The latest win vS the Pats runs contrary to that theory as well.  Pathetic?  Feel free to skip the reply button.  No one will frown if you do.  However, this is sound and timely topic to be bringing up.. especially on this forum.  You don’t like it?  Blame the conspiracy theorists.  

[Solomon Grundy]

2 hours ago, co_springs_billsfan said:

Any discussion on the 2nd int?  Seemed like the shove on Beasely should have been illegal contact.  Or am I missing something on that play?

I was curious about that INT myself. Josh didn't seem to happy

[YattaOkasan]

2 hours ago, BananaB said:

The field itself was terrible. That ***** up a lot of things in the passing game. 

Most outdoor stadiums have grass. I think it would’ve been less slippery (not by much though). 

[K-9]

1 hour ago, Solomon Grundy said:

I was curious about that INT myself. Josh didn't seem to happy

It was well past five yards and was illegal contact as a result. Josh was right; should have been a five yard penalty and automatic first down. 

[Bad Things]

4 hours ago, JGMcD2 said:

Haha this made me chuckle. First off, I actually didn’t mind Sanchez on the call at all.
 

I don’t remember the exact point in the game, but Sanchez was kind of griping over something Josh did. Maybe he was in disbelief… I honestly don’t remember the context.

 

Anyway, my dad goes “Well Mark, you can’t believe it because your signature play was the butt-fumble.” 
 

I got a good little chuckle out of that. 

I said the exact same thing to my wife, when Sanchez said that. 

Edited January 3, 2022 by Bad Things

[Patrick Duffy]

1 hour ago, K-9 said:

It was well past five yards and was illegal contact as a result. Josh was right; should have been a five yard penalty and automatic first down. 

Yeah definitely should have been called, but after the contact it kinda seemed like Bease slowed up on the route and didn't think ball would come to him. Maybe it was a timing thing and the contact messed it up enough that he felt there's no way ball comes to him or maybe he thought Josh already got the ball away to another WR?

[Rochesterfan]

11 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

Kudos to McK for being a great teammate but SMD head at this

 

 

 

11 hours ago, Sheneneh Jenkins said:

 

Yeah I commented on this up thread...he didn't want to stick with McK when he fumbled though. Don't know if McK would have done better at KR or not today, but I was nervous each time Stevenson touched the ball. With the slippery conditions I suppose i would have been nervous with McK also though...

 

 

I think there are several reasons that he didn’t stick with McKenzie back there - primarily because he is on a 1 year contract and if (at the time) his main job is returning and he is fumbling (like he did early in his career) - that is who he is as a returner.

 

Stevenson is a rookie with lots to learn and a 3 year contract - so much more developmental.

 

What really sucks for this team is McKenzie can return punts, but struggles with kickoffs, Stevenson is better at Kickoff returns, but seems less sure on punts, but going forward - you do not want 2 separate guys doing that.  
 

My guess is that is something they look for in the off season - one player that can do both consistently.

 

 

[Chandler#81]

The “official” stat sheet says Beasley had 2 catches. But he had 3! 2 for 1st downs and a 2 point conversion. Neither the catch nor 3 yards are given to him -to say nothing of 2 more points he scored. I never bothered to know why before, but going for 2 is so prevalent anymore that I think this should be addressed by the League.

 

What say you?

6 hours ago, KeLLy1278 said:

Cute.. however what I’m bringing up is valid.  The Bills winning some games and making the playoffs runs contrary to a certain shall we say “theory” that rages on here.  The latest win vS the Pats runs contrary to that theory as well.  Pathetic?  Feel free to skip the reply button.  No one will frown if you do.  However, this is sound and timely topic to be bringing up.. especially on this forum.  You don’t like it?  Blame the conspiracy theorists.  

Yeah, no. Cool your jets, youngun. Noobs shouldn’t even be seen, let alone heard from. Read and learn what’s acceptable here.

[Chandler#81]

Thank you, Antonio. 
Now disappear!

[Neo]

14 hours ago, Ralonzo said:

 

Gronk only pawn in game of life

Signed in just to LOL!

[Meatloaf63]

1 hour ago, Chandler#81 said:

Thank you, Antonio. 
Now disappear!

Dude has issues, hope he gets them figured out…