What Would You Consider a Successful Season? - Poll

[Doc Brown]

What's your expectations?

Edited January 18, 2022 by Doc Brown

[The Wiz]

Playoff Caliber has passed.

 

Championship Caliber.  

[billybrew1]

Thankfully, the Bills already know what makes for a successful season; only a Super Bowl victory will do.

You can tell by the way we played. We absolutely crushed New Englan in every possible way. Hutch-tech could have played as well as Belicheat's team did. These Bills gave little in the way of feeling success after this victory. To a man, the coaches and players said it was great for the fans but not what the Bills are looking for.

This team is going all the way and this time we are going to WIN.

 

(I was worried at the beginning of the playoffs but after watching that domination and the way the Bills did it, I feel no one can beat them now. I think the chefs know it, too.

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

As up and down as the team/season has gone, at this point with the win this past weekend, after this I feel like playing with house money.  Did I expect more going in, yes, but at this point who knows what to expect.  They are the 3 seed so in theory have gone as far as they should.   Roster still needs a bit more tweaking and improvements.

Edited January 18, 2022 by Ed_Formerly_of_Roch

[Southern_Bills]

Super Bowl, the Bills can play with anyone, now do it.

 

Moral victories or stepping stones are over.

[78thealltimegreat]

Super Bowl…but we are now a legitimate powerhouse and no longer just a nice up coming story…if Allen stays healthy we have a chance at being a dynasty  

[KingBoots8]

Josh already said it best: “I know they didn’t pay me for what I’ve done. They did it because they expect me to continue what I’m doing and expect me to go win this team some championships.”

 

Anything less is short of his expectations.

 

We have seen so much growth in our guys over 2 years especially. We know we are getting better. We know we have the pieces in place. We know what needs to be done. All that’s left is to do it.

[BuffaloFan68]

THIS IS OUR YEAR!  We are built to beat KC.  We need to do it now because there is a good chance our coaching staff is going to start getting poached. 
Let’s Go Buffalo 🦬!!!!!

[DCbillsfan]

Bills are playing as well as anyone else the past 5 weeks or so.  They are relatively healthy minus Tre White.  Need to take advantage of this opportunity.  Period.

[RyanC883]

winning the SB.  It's there for the taking.   

[jethro_tull]

Unfinished business..........

[quinnearlysghost88]

Super bowl. It’s why we watch. We’ve built a contender. It’s not getting better than this. We’re in our window now. 

[BillsPride12]

Under the Beane/McDermott/Josh Allen era the Buffalo Bills have exorcised the Demons of the past...The playoff drought was broken, we found a true Franchise QB, we won playoff games, we have won consecutive Division titles, Made it to the AFC Championship game, just kicked the S*** out of the arch nemesis over in New England in the playoffs...There's really only one thing left to do for this regime....Go bring us that Lombardi!!!

[Ethan in Cleveland]

I've posted many times they should be in win now mode just like the Rams.  That said, any season that ends with a Division title and a playoff win has to be considered a success.  I've posted a few times that the season was not necessarily enjoyable.  But that was born of frustration of inexplicable periods of bad play and the constant background issues of COVID this year.  Any wins after beating the Patriots will only add to a good season and each win will make it even better.  Madden always said all but one playoff team ends their season with a loss.  They are not losers. They just lost a playoff game.  Hope this is our year.  Hope a resurgent DL and OL along with superstar play from JA is enough to bring home a title.

[Doc Brown]

1 hour ago, Ethan in Portland said:

I've posted many times they should be in win now mode just like the Rams.  That said, any season that ends with a Division title and a playoff win has to be considered a success.  I've posted a few times that the season was not necessarily enjoyable.  But that was born of frustration of inexplicable periods of bad play and the constant background issues of COVID this year.  Any wins after beating the Patriots will only add to a good season and each win will make it even better.  Madden always said all but one playoff team ends their season with a loss.  They are not losers. They just lost a playoff game.  Hope this is our year.  Hope a resurgent DL and OL along with superstar play from JA is enough to bring home a title.

I agree to a certain extent.  I think the voting on this poll would be different when we were 7-6 wondering if we could even sneak into the playoffs.  There's always pry about ten fan bases that say Super Bowl or bust before the season but only one of them well be satisfied. 

 

Having said that, this team is extremely healthy relative to most NFL teams this time of year and you'll need a little bit of luck to win the Super Bowl.  I don't see this team being any worse personnel wise next season but I can't guarantee their health come next January.  My expectations for this team have shifted throughout the year as before the season it was make the Super Bowl or bust.  It came full circle to where I'm at the same point.  We have the personnel to beat the Chiefs and the less talented Bengals/Titans.  If we play our A game twice we should get to the Super Bowl and that's a successful season for me.  If we win it it's icing on the cake.

[AuntieEm]

2 hours ago, Ethan in Portland said:

I've posted many times they should be in win now mode just like the Rams.  That said, any season that ends with a Division title and a playoff win has to be considered a success.  I've posted a few times that the season was not necessarily enjoyable.  But that was born of frustration of inexplicable periods of bad play and the constant background issues of COVID this year.  Any wins after beating the Patriots will only add to a good season and each win will make it even better.  Madden always said all but one playoff team ends their season with a loss.  They are not losers. They just lost a playoff game.  Hope this is our year.  Hope a resurgent DL and OL along with superstar play from JA is enough to bring home a title.

 

    Yes there were some ugly games but the Bills are showing us what they learned from this seasons ups and downs.  Only 1 game into playoffs and they are letting everyone see this is a team you gotta outplay and good luck with that.  

[Buffalo_Stampede]

I think anytime you win the division and win a playoff game the season should be considered successful. 

 

I think everyone will be disappointed with anything other than a Super Bowl championship. That's where we are as a franchise now. 

[Not at the table Karlos]

If you picked anything other than a super bowl victory you're wrong. 

[Chandler#81]

The Vince Lombardi.

[KDIGGZ]

This season has been fun but it would be a disappointment if we don't beat KC on Sunday. The narrative will be that the Chiefs are our daddy and we don't have the team to beat them in the postseason and get to the Superbowl. KC is the new Pats. I think we just proved beyond any doubt that the 1 game vs the Pats in the wind was a fluke and they are not a team to be concerned with any longer. KC is the real threat and the whole offseason the question was how do the Bills beat KC and get over the hump. We will be in the same position we were last offseason if we don't get it done and take the next step.

[Real McClappy]

SB or bust at this phase for me.

[May Day 10]

Overall, Id say that with a close loss to KC, I would consider this a 'successful' season...  I'm sure the team wouldn't though.

 

From a fan standpoint, they held serve.  They lost a few games in the regular season they shouldn't have.  It did seem like fortune wasn't on their side in some critical close games... but they still won the Division.  The beat-down they gave New England was such a gratifying game.  For us to finally get a full-throat home playoff game, and it ended up being a 3 hour bonfire where we were able to put the 20 year Patriots dominance over us to bed was amazing.  

 

All year we knew this season would come down to the game against KC.  IMO, the winner of this game is going to win the Super Bowl.  I dont think its fair for fans to give a Pass/Fail grade on this game.  KC is a great team.  

 

Furthermore, they certainly have another really good kick at the can next season before they will be forced to make some roster adjustments and re-tool in certain position groups.   They were almost certainly a 14-3 or even 15-2 team this season.  There are some obvious holes and adjustments that can easily be made to augment this team.  This team is pretty incredible.  I believe their last 21 wins are all by 10 or more points, other than the Indianapolis playoff game.  Other than that, their last 1-score win was the Cam Newton fumble game.

 

Seattle 44-34 (+10)

Chargers 27-17 (+10)

49ers 34-24 (+10)

Steelers 26-14 (+11)

Denver 48-19 (+29)

New England 38-9 (+29)

Miami 56-26 (+30)

Indianapolis 27-24 (+3)

Baltimore 17-3 (+14)

Miami 35-0 (+35)

Washington 43-21 (+22)

Houston 40-0 (+40)

Kansas City 38-20 (+18)

Miami 26-11 (+15)

Jets 45-17 (+28)

New Orleans 31-6 (+25)

Carolina 31-14 (+17)

New England 33-21 (+12)

Atlanta 29-15 (+14)

Jets 27-10 (+17)

New England 47-17 (+30)

 

21 wins, point differential 419.  Average of 20 points.  

 

Im not sure what that means, other than maybe this is possibly an emerging historically good team.  It has also already been a really fun ride.  I dont think Im in the mood to stew all offseason in negativity and demanding changes, etc if they lose on the road to KC.  Also, one thing this team need to accomplish is getting/finishing the clutch win.  

 

 

[Freddie's Dead]

Anything less that Josh hoisting the Lombardi this year will be a disappointment.  We have the best player and the best team in the NFL, RIGHT NOW!  Let's bring home the hardware.

[No_Matter_What]

This is really an interesting topic and I struggle with the answer.

 

With a team like Bills, obvious answer is "Superbowl". But I think it is a flawed logic - there are a lot of good teams in the league and even if you have the best one you don't have more than 15-20% chance to win it all, so considering anything else than SB as unsuccesful season seems off to me.

 

I'd say that it can't be a disaster anymore, once we have won the division and confirmed it by crushing the Pats in the WC.

 

I'd call it a success if we beat the Chiefs - we owe them a lot and when we beat them there will be no more dragons to slay (not to mention we deny them winning another one). If we lose, it will suck a lot, since I hate their arrogant fan base and it will widen the gap between their success and ours.

 

After that it is freeroll to me. Losing to Titans again will be much less painful to me than losing to Pats or Chiefs, and even if that happens, we can be pretty sure from now on that we can win it all. But I really think that losing in AFCCG is the least probable option right now - if we beat the Chiefs, we are going to SB.

 

Losing in SB would suck for sure but like I said, there can be only one winner.

 

So yeah, beating the Chiefs makes succesful season for me I guess. 

[Greg S]

A Super Bowl win. This team is capable of doing that so anything less would be disappointing.

[TheCockSportif]

A SB appearance would be fabulous, but I didn't vote for that option, because I've seen SB appearances with this team before, and always to negative results.  Ugh.

 

A SB win suits this team.

[billsfan1959]

I don't think there is much debate about which two teams are the best in the AFC - the Bills and the Chiefs. I am confident the Bills can go into Arrowhead and win this weekend. However, if the Bills play well and lose, I would still consider this season a success. 

 

People forget just what a s*** show the offensive line was for most of this season. They have played 18 games this year:

 

- They have had Dawkins, Morse, Williams, Brown playing together in half of those games (9).

- In those 9 games they averaged 416 YPG, 154 rushing YPG, 32 PPG, and went 6-3

- The three losses were to the Titans 34-31, Bucs 33-27 OT, and mother nature (Pats 14-10)

 

- They played 9 games with at least one of those four missing

- In those 9 games they averaged 358 YPG, 110 rushing YPG, 26 PPG, and went 6-3

- The three losses were to the Steelers 23-16, Jags 9-6, and Colts 41-15

 

- They have had Dawkins, Bates, Morse, Williams, Brown playing together in only 4 games

- In those 4 games they averaged 427 YPG, 194 rushing YPG, 35 PPG, and went 4-0

 

 

                                                            Games              YPG              Rush YPG           PPG

With less than 4 of their best OL          9                   359                 110                     26

With 4 of their best OL                          9                   416                  154                    32

With their 5 best OL                              4                   427                  194                    35

 

Given what they had to deal with along the offensive line, I kinda feel like the season has been a success to this point

[Einstein's Dog]

I think one of the main reasons for considering this a successful season is it has solidified the Bills as a top team for the future.  Last season was shown not to be a fluke.  The Bills are not a one year wonder.  The football world will take notice, and deservedly so - another double digit win season, another conference championship, another playoff victory.  All the key players will be back next year.

 

The Bills are now a top tier team for the foreseeable future!  Lots of hype, TV coverage, prime time games.  The Bills have established themselves as a cut above the Clevelands, Indy, Pitts, and New Englands of the world.  It's great for the long time fans to now be able to talk to coworkers/friends from the perspective of an upper echelon team.

 

Of course I want to win it all.  And I'll be disappointed with any loss.  But as a known Bills fan, as the subject of football comes up, i will enjoy taking part in the discussions.

[ArtVandalay]

If you don't beat KC there has not been any progress.

 

The Jacksonville game cost us home field this weekend.

 

We must go to the Super Bowl.  You can split hairs if winning or losing that game matters but I'm on the side that we need the Lombardi.