Week 18: Jets at Bills - a W wins the AFC East!

[CincyBillsFan]

51 minutes ago, Nineforty said:

Has a win ever felt more polarizing as to how good it was or wasnt? I am in the camp of Josh played a good game. Throwing as well. Not great. Not subpar. Good.

 

And reasonable folks seem to disagree. Idk.

Frankly I don't think they are being reasonable.  Or to put it less insulting they're exhibiting a keen ignorance of the Bills 1988 - 1993 run which was the best 6 seasons in Buffalo Bills history. The Bills won a lot of games just like yesterday.  In fact by my rough count we won almost as many games sloppy as we did with impressive blow outs. 

 

This is how playoff runs work in the NFL. This isn't college football where an LSU or Alabama can dominate every game on their way to a championship. 

 

 

[Logic]

2 minutes ago, No Place To Hyde said:

 

For me, it was actually refreshing to see that we can win a game where Allen is off, the passing game is out of sync and we need to make adjustments. I've been a Daboll has her for most of his time here, however give Ol' Bertrum his due...he made the call to switch to the run game and roll with that. The Falcons knew we were going to run and couldn't stop it. He called a heckuva 2nd half after nearly blowing it in the 1st half with cutesy and cocky playcalling.

 

Agreed. A pessimist could look at yesterday's game and say "oh man, Allen struggled, we let an inferior team hang around, what a disaster", and that's a fair take.

I choose to look at the positive, though: Two major areas that we have been dying to see step up the past few weeks have been defensive line production and offensive line production. BOTH came through yesterday, and arguably are the key reasons we won the game.

On the D-Line, Phillips, Oliver, and Rousseau all had very good days. Even Epenesa made a big TFL! On the O-line, the run game was cooking like it hasn't been in a while, and Allen mostly got good protection. Granted, the Falcons front four isn't too hard to handle, but still. Baby steps.

Seeing the Bills be able to pressure the passer and limit the run game on defense, and then to get the ground game going and protect the QB on offense was very encouraging as the playoffs near. 

[NewEra]

9 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

They struggled passing the ball. They didn’t struggle to win. 

Correct.  Like I said, they struggled passing the ball. 

[Patrick Duffy]

48 minutes ago, NewEra said:

They moved the ball. They didn’t pass well at all. Minus the ints and josh still had a bad game throwing the ball. It was pretty obvious to me.  

Well I expected some issues considering slick conditions. There were some big drops also. Josh made some nice completions in crucial situations getting 1st downs too. 

 

So I guess he didn't struggle all that bad since they marched down the field as they wished. He could have done better sure....but imo when considering the slippery day it was he didn't struggle enough that he couldn't move the ball.. Anyway that's just me....

[Warcodered]

 

[SCBills]

Josh Allen looked like he was going to dance all over the Falcons until that 1st pick.  Bad decision, deflected pass, pick.

 

The second pick was another bad decision where he forced it into a tight window, but Beasley didn't exactly help him out on that play and if Terrell doesn't make a great play, it falls incomplete.  

 

Third pick, deflected pass, not a ton you can do about that.  

 

Also some drops.  

 

I don't think Allen was as bad as the stat line looks throwing the ball, but it looks like we got wayyyyyy too cocky and feelin ourselves, then when 3 picks stack up, we had to reign it in and find another way because it was just not our day in the passing game.  

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

7 minutes ago, SCBills said:

Josh Allen looked like he was going to dance all over the Falcons until that 1st pick.  Bad decision, deflected pass, pick.

 

The second pick was another bad decision where he forced it into a tight window, but Beasley didn't exactly help him out on that play and if Terrell doesn't make a great play, it falls incomplete.  

 

Third pick, deflected pass, not a ton you can do about that.  

 

Also some drops.  

 

I don't think Allen was as bad as the stat line looks throwing the ball, but it looks like we got wayyyyyy too cocky and feelin ourselves, then when 3 picks stack up, we had to reign it in and find another way because it was just not our day in the passing game.  

Re-watching and thinking back on this game, I don’t think any of those 3 picks were bad decisions. We applaud Josh for throwing and completing those same tight passes all the time. It’s a bit unfair to suggest he wouldn’t have done so again, but for the tips and Beasley getting bumped off his route. 

[Logic]

21 minutes ago, SCBills said:

Josh Allen looked like he was going to dance all over the Falcons until that 1st pick.  Bad decision, deflected pass, pick.

 

The second pick was another bad decision where he forced it into a tight window, but Beasley didn't exactly help him out on that play and if Terrell doesn't make a great play, it falls incomplete.  

 

Third pick, deflected pass, not a ton you can do about that.  

 

Also some drops.  

 

I don't think Allen was as bad as the stat line looks throwing the ball, but it looks like we got wayyyyyy too cocky and feelin ourselves, then when 3 picks stack up, we had to reign it in and find another way because it was just not our day in the passing game.  

One of the things that separates Allen from other QBs and makes him so special is that even when he's having a bad day throwing the ball (and I agree it wasn't as bad as it seemed, but 3 INTs is 3 INTs), he can still take over with his legs. 

"Oh, the passing game isn't humming? That's okay, I'll run for 82 yards and 2 scores."

Special player.

[Success]

28 minutes ago, SCBills said:

Josh Allen looked like he was going to dance all over the Falcons until that 1st pick.  Bad decision, deflected pass, pick.

 

The second pick was another bad decision where he forced it into a tight window, but Beasley didn't exactly help him out on that play and if Terrell doesn't make a great play, it falls incomplete.  

 

Third pick, deflected pass, not a ton you can do about that.  

 

Also some drops.  

 

I don't think Allen was as bad as the stat line looks throwing the ball, but it looks like we got wayyyyyy too cocky and feelin ourselves, then when 3 picks stack up, we had to reign it in and find another way because it was just not our day in the passing game.  

 

They were pretty flukey picks, imo.  On the 2nd, it looked like Beasley was pushed also - it probably should have been a flag.

 

But it was good to see other players and units step up for the win.

 

[PaattMaann]

8 minutes ago, Logic said:

One of the things that separates Allen from other QBs and makes him so special is that even when he's having a bad day throwing the ball (and I agree it wasn't as bad as it seemed, but 3 INTs is 3 INTs), he can still take over with his legs. 

"Oh, the passing game isn't humming? That's okay, I'll run for 82 yards and 2 scores."

Special player.

 

Couldn't agree more. Also why the Jags game pissed me off so much after it was over. I just kept thinking, Josh could have just ran the ball down to the endzone himself on any one of those failed drives...why didn't he? Not to get too off topic, just agreeing with you, the dude is special and can dominate a game at will in many ways. 

 

Go Bills! 

 

Roll the Jets 

[CincyBillsFan]

37 minutes ago, SCBills said:

I don't think Allen was as bad as the stat line looks throwing the ball, but it looks like we got wayyyyyy too cocky and feelin ourselves, then when 3 picks stack up, we had to reign it in and find another way because it was just not our day in the passing game.  

Or to put a different spin on it who do you think was the better QB yesterday - Prescott or Allen?  Prescott's passing stats were exponentially better then Allen's were in their games yesterday.  Yet Dallas lost the game and trailed 22 - 7 in the 4th quarter.  And the Cowboys rely in their offense yet Prescott could only manage one TD through 3 and a half quarters.  IMO Allen was the better QB but not the better passer yesterday,

 

Stats, particularly fr QB's, can be very misleading.

 

 

Edited January 3, 2022 by CincyBillsFan

[Pokebball]

50 minutes ago, Logic said:

Agreed. A pessimist could look at yesterday's game and say "oh man, Allen struggled, we let an inferior team hang around, what a disaster", and that's a fair take.

I choose to look at the positive, though: Two major areas that we have been dying to see step up the past few weeks have been defensive line production and offensive line production. BOTH came through yesterday, and arguably are the key reasons we won the game.

On the D-Line, Phillips, Oliver, and Rousseau all had very good days. Even Epenesa made a big TFL! On the O-line, the run game was cooking like it hasn't been in a while, and Allen mostly got good protection. Granted, the Falcons front four isn't too hard to handle, but still. Baby steps.

Seeing the Bills be able to pressure the passer and limit the run game on defense, and then to get the ground game going and protect the QB on offense was very encouraging as the playoffs near. 

I can't get too excited over tip ball interceptions either. Those don't happen too very often, and quite frankly, the chances of Josh's passes getting intercepted goes up when tipped and some of the heat is taken off the pass. The odds of two happening in one game?  We're good for another couple of years.

[stevewin]

14 hours ago, Process said:

Their number 1 WR is some guy named Berrios.

He went to a high school in my area the same years as my kids. My son has always said  "Leesville legend Braxton Barrios!" Whenever he showed up on highlights or in a game - first at Miami, then in the NFL just a STer, now a legitimate receiver

Edited January 3, 2022 by stevewin

[sonyab1974]

Hey we beat them the last time.. We can beat them again! GO BILLS!!!!

[RalphWilson'sNewWar]

Robert Saleh and his defense had had ZERO answers for Allen and Buffalo.

 

34 in 2020 with 49ers

45 in 2021 with Jets (1st Game)

 

If it wasn’t final game of season I might say 45+ again.

[mannc]

1 hour ago, Logic said:

Agreed. A pessimist could look at yesterday's game and say "oh man, Allen struggled, we let an inferior team hang around, what a disaster", and that's a fair take.

I choose to look at the positive, though: Two major areas that we have been dying to see step up the past few weeks have been defensive line production and offensive line production. BOTH came through yesterday, and arguably are the key reasons we won the game.

On the D-Line, Phillips, Oliver, and Rousseau all had very good days. Even Epenesa made a big TFL! On the O-line, the run game was cooking like it hasn't been in a while, and Allen mostly got good protection. Granted, the Falcons front four isn't too hard to handle, but still. Baby steps.

Seeing the Bills be able to pressure the passer and limit the run game on defense, and then to get the ground game going and protect the QB on offense was very encouraging as the playoffs near. 

Another positive: second consecutive game where Josh was neither sacked nor seriously pressured. 

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

11 hours ago, NewEra said:

Division games haven’t been tough minus the game played in a tornado.  The other 4 games, bills win 35-0, 26-11, 45-17 and 33-21-  covered the spread in the 4 wins.  Average point differential in 4 wins:  22.25.

average point differential in the 5 division games: 17

 

11–1 in the division the last two years assuming we beat the jets 

[UKBillFan]

1 minute ago, mannc said:

Another positive: second consecutive game where Josh was neither sacked nor seriously pressured. 

And yet he had passing issues despite that.

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

2 minutes ago, UKBillFan said:

And yet he had passing issues despite that.

Lots of bad luck in the falcons game and we still won by 14

[MAJBobby]

If you want to read their takes.

 

https://forums.theganggreen.com/threads/2021-week-18-new-york-jets-at-buffalo-bills.96789/

[mannc]

1 hour ago, CincyBillsFan said:

Or to put a different spin on it who do you think was the better QB yesterday - Prescott or Allen?  Prescott's passing stats were exponentially better then Allen's were in their games yesterday.  Yet Dallas lost the game and trailed 22 - 7 in the 4th quarter.  And the Cowboys rely in their offense yet Prescott could only manage one TD through 3 and a half quarters.  IMO Allen was the better QB but not the better passer yesterday,

 

Stats, particularly fr QB's, can be very misleading.

 

 

With Josh Allen, I’ve come to believe you can just throw out the stats…to understand his value as a player you just have to watch the games…and that’s why he probably won’t be winning NFL MVP awards anytime soon, even though he should.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

32 minutes ago, RalphWilson'sNewWar said:

Robert Saleh and his defense had had ZERO answers for Allen and Buffalo.

 

34 in 2020 with 49ers

45 in 2021 with Jets (1st Game)

 

If it wasn’t final game of season I might say 45+ again.

Saleh runs his defense and that’s it. I think it is all single high safety and cover 4. Josh feasts on that.

[mannc]

5 minutes ago, UKBillFan said:

And yet he had passing issues despite that.

No denying that, but it shows real progress in an area of severe concern.

[RalphWilson'sNewWar]

3 minutes ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

Saleh runs his defense and that’s it. I think it is all single high safety and cover 4. Josh feasts on that.

I figured it would be an ego thing to submarine his head coaching career.

[Ben]

Im really hoping Ryan Bates wasn't too badly injured, hes been a big improvement of late.

[Cheektowaga Chad]

18 minutes ago, MAJBobby said:

If you want to read their takes.

 

https://forums.theganggreen.com/threads/2021-week-18-new-york-jets-at-buffalo-bills.96789/

Sound similar to what my jet fan friends have been saying the last few weeks

 

Low expectations but the young guys have been showing promise

 

I do disagree with them and think that the bet is bills -17

[Nineforty]

1 hour ago, Logic said:

One of the things that separates Allen from other QBs and makes him so special is that even when he's having a bad day throwing the ball (and I agree it wasn't as bad as it seemed, but 3 INTs is 3 INTs), he can still take over with his legs. 

"Oh, the passing game isn't humming? That's okay, I'll run for 82 yards and 2 scores."

Special player.

 

we rightfully talk about the weather negatively affecting this team. but rarely in the same breath is it mentioned what you specify, how much of a positive his legs are in bad weather.

 

long term speaking, I think Josh Allen in bad weather is a positive for the bills, when comparing directly to most other QB's. I get that we are predicated on being able to throw the ball and we are at our best when we can do that. 

 

But to me, they are two separate questions/thoughts. 1. Bad weather does hurt our chances in the sense that we can't run our 'ideal' offense (although the Bills are doing their best to become Multiple)  2. Josh Allen is the quarterback I would say is built best for bad weather in the entire league, when factoring in his legs of course. 

[JGMcD2]

1 hour ago, Success said:

 

They were pretty flukey picks, imo.  On the 2nd, it looked like Beasley was pushed also - it probably should have been a flag.

 

But it was good to see other players and units step up for the win.

 

The only INT I was mad about was the first one. The 2nd and 3rd he really couldn't do all that much about IMO.

 

It was infuriating watching the rest of the games yesterday and seeing numerous balls get tipped and just fall to the ground or go right into the WR hands. GB/Minnesota.... Rodgers' throw got tipped and the pass ended up being deflected right into Davante Adams hands in stride. It's just the way the ball bounces sometimes lol

[NickelCity]

Unless we get lucky I think weather will be in the Jets' favor.

[Scott7975]

1 hour ago, UKBillFan said:

And yet he had passing issues despite that.

 

He had a few poor balls.  The receivers also had a few poor drops.  All QBs have a few poor balls.

[YoloinOhio]

Only 6 more days until Zach is reunited with Groot from draft night 

 

 

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

We won by 2 TDs, we ran well, the defense played well, we got the Ryan call, results were there........except I don't think anyone is being unreasonable at being blown away by the struggling passing game against the number 28 defense. Again, nobody is pissed about the win or disappointed in the win. This is a sustainability question going forward, can we win if that happens again to the passing attack against say NE in 2 weeks? I think some of us were shocked at what happened, it was more information about where we are . It was eye opening, like being just off the green with a sand wedge and shanking it. Could be an overreaction..yes, but...might not be and thus the concern.

[Boatdrinks]

3 minutes ago, D. L. Hot-Flamethrower said:

We won by 2 TDs, we ran well, the defense played well, we got the Ryan call, results were there........except I don't think anyone is being unreasonable at being blown away by the struggling passing game against the number 28 defense. Again, nobody is pissed about the win or disappointed in the win. This is a sustainability question going forward, can we win if that happens again to the passing attack against say NE in 2 weeks? I think some of us were shocked at what happened, it was more information about where we are . It was eye opening, like being just off the green with a sand wedge and shanking it. Could be an overreaction..yes, but...might not be and thus the concern.

The Bills passing game struggles in bad weather. Drops, bad timing etc etc but it seems pretty clear by now. They perform at a high level in good conditions. It’s definitely a concern when your first playoff game is at home in January. Hope for a day like last years Colts playoff game. 

[Greg S]

4 minutes ago, Boatdrinks said:

The Bills passing game struggles in bad weather. Drops, bad timing etc etc but it seems pretty clear by now. They perform at a high level in good conditions. It’s definitely a concern when your first playoff game is at home in January. Hope for a day like last years Colts playoff game. 

 

This would be a great question for Beane. Why did you a build a team that struggles in bad weather? Even the Super Bowl era teams could run it down other teams throats when they had too. A strong OL and HOF RB will allow you to do that.

[Ray Stonada]

4 minutes ago, Greg S said:

 

This would be a great question for Beane. Why did you a build a team that struggles in bad weather? Even the Super Bowl era teams could run it down other teams throats when they had too. A strong OL and HOF RB will allow you to do that.

 

That's what makes the Falcons game so big. If Buffalo can keep that kind of power running game going, it will solve a lot of problems. 

[Golden*Wheels]

Wish it had stayed a 1pm game...oh well.

[YoloinOhio]

 

 

[Warcodered]

3 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

 

Leslie Frasier probably isn't going to be here next year.

[harryS]

16 hours ago, That's No Moon said:

link?

 

ha, get your own nfl db (might have to purchase) and learn sql

 

5 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

It’s a big number. But I think they may be running for the bus more on Sunday night in Buffalo then they were yesterday afternoon at home. They’ve played much better at home this year than on the road and the Bucs looked like they were sleepwalking, didn’t seem to put a lot into that game. Rookie Qb with a bad team hours from their off-season vs this bills D in OP and a team very motivated to win the division could be ugly. 

 

that's exactly right.  the team that played the Bucs tough on Sunday isn't the team that will show up in Buffalo.  bad teams that lose a heartbreaker at home are very unlikely to show up on the road the next week, especially in the last game of the season.  the jets are already thinking about the beaches in Costa Rica or wherever.

 

but obviously the bills can't think this way.  we should respect the opponent and come prepared and amped up to win the division.  i don't expect that will be a problem.

[PromoTheRobot]

24 minutes ago, harryS said:

 

ha, get your own nfl db (might have to purchase) and learn sql

 

 

that's exactly right.  the team that played the Bucs tough on Sunday isn't the team that will show up in Buffalo.  bad teams that lose a heartbreaker at home are very unlikely to show up on the road the next week, especially in the last game of the season.  the jets are already thinking about the beaches in Costa Rica or wherever.

 

but obviously the bills can't think this way.  we should respect the opponent and come prepared and amped up to win the division.  i don't expect that will be a problem.

 

A bad weather day could level the playing field. Take nothing for granted. Forecast for Sunday (right now) calls for temps near freezing, 30% of rain or snow, and winds in the teens.

Edited January 3, 2022 by PromoTheRobot