It was a hard loss AND we closed the gap

[BillsFan619]

Because football is win or go home in the playoffs, because you’re judged by wins and losses, sometimes the feelings are too black and white.

 

Yes, it was gut wrenching. Yes, I still can’t believe that we couldn’t stop them with 13 seconds left. 13 SECONDS! It was a tough, hard loss and it’s going to be a long off-season.

 

This isn’t a moral victory post. We lost and didn’t achieve our ultimate goal. That said, we still closed the gap. Progress was still made.

 

Last year we lost to them at home and didn’t play well and then we got embarrassed in the AFC Championship game. We weren’t on the same level with them and it showed.

 

This year, we beat them by eighteen points in the regular season and lost a heartbreaker in OT in the playoffs. Many would consider us to be pretty even with the Chiefs now, or at the very least, very stiff competition. We belonged on that field tonight and it went down to the wire.  That’s so much different than last year.

 

I know it most likely feels black and white for most people right now and many of you will disagree. That said, while it was a gut wrenching loss, we still closed the gap.

 

Because of #17, we’re not going anywhere and we’ll be back. Let’s get better in the off-season and get back to it in 2022. Go Bills!

Edited January 24, 2022 by BillsFan619

[HalftimeAdjustment]

We closed the gap in part because our quarterback put together back-to-back A-games in the playoffs, unlike some QBs who put up gaudy stats and fold in the postseason (paging Dak Prescott). I am happy that he is 25 and in the first year of a new contract.

[CincyBillsFan]

9 minutes ago, BillsFan619 said:

Because football is win or go home in the playoffs, because you’re judged by wins and losses, sometimes the feelings are too black and white.

 

Yes, it was gut wrenching. Yes, I still can’t believe that we couldn’t stop them with 13 seconds left. 13 SECONDS! It was a tough, hard loss and it’s going to be a long off-season.

 

This isn’t a moral victory post. We lost and didn’t achieve our ultimate goal. That said, we still closed the gap. Progress was still made.

 

Last year we lost to them at home and didn’t play well and then we got embarrassed in the AFC Championship game. We weren’t on the same level with them and it showed.

 

This year, we beat them by eighteen points in the regular season and lost a heartbreaker in OT in the playoffs. That’s so much different than last year. We belonged on that field tonight and it went down to the wire.

 

I know it most likely feels black and white for most people right now and many of you will disagree. That said, while it was a gut wrenching loss, we still closed the gap.

 

We’re not going anywhere, we’ll be back. Let’s get better in the off-season and get back to it in 2022. Go Bills!

Yep we went from last season where honesty the Chiefs mauled us in both game to this season where we won one game by 18 points and lost the 2nd in OT  with BOTH games being played in KC. 

 

I would dd that this is consistent with the steady progress made by the whole team from 2018 to now.  As dark as it seems now the future is bright.

 

 

[JohnBonhamRocks]

I think we are trending towards being the best team in the AFC over the next 5-10 years.

[BillsFanSD]

Yes, the future is bright, the gap is closed, our window is wide open, etc.

 

We still absolutely pissed away a golden opportunity to hoist the Lombardi trophy.  I am pissed, and I'm going to be pissed for a while.

[harryS]

we didn't close the gap.  we leapt over it and beat the Chiefs.

 

then 13 seconds of stupidity from our coaches happened.

Edited January 24, 2022 by harryS

[QLBillsFan]

5 minutes ago, harryS said:

we didn't close the gap.  we leapt over it and beat the Chiefs.

 

then 13 seconds of stupidity from our coaches happened.

Yes so poly Anna not acceptable.. our coach can’t win big game .. facts 

[Ethan in Cleveland]

What gap did we close?  Last year they made it to the AFC Championship game.  This year they didn't make it out of the divisional round. Went 0-6 in one score games.  Lost to the Jags. Lost to Pats at home.  OL regressed. DL didn't get any better. Edmunds didn't get any better.  Moss regressed.  Ford regressed wchih is amazing as he was bad to begin with.  Allen continued to be a superstar.  Knox, Davis, and Singletary are they only guys that got better.  Brown, Bass, Davis, and maybe Rousseau are the only guys contributing in two draft classes.  

 

With all that Allen still had his team and our city in the lead with 13 seconds left.  McDermott blew it.  He is our version of Dungy, Schottenheimer, Reid (without Mahommes) or Reeves.  He is not the guy that is going to get our city a trophy.  We will suffer through one more year of failure and then Pegula will realize McD has brought us as far as he can.  

[BillsFan619]

5 minutes ago, QLBillsFan said:

Yes so poly Anna not acceptable.. our coach can’t win big game .. facts 

What’s so pollyanna about acknowledging a tough loss and mentioning that they didn’t achieve their ultimate goal but also acknowledging that progress was made because the gap between the bills and chiefs have closed?

[JimmyNoodles]

We really didn’t close the gap. Josh is the best player in the league and these last two games proved it. The rest of the team is tagging along, especially the defense. Lots have to change on that side of the ball for the Bills to win a super bowl. 

[BillsFan619]

2 minutes ago, Ethan in Portland said:

What gap did we close?  Last year they made it to the AFC Championship game.  This year they didn't make it out of the divisional round. Went 0-6 in one score games.  Lost to the Jags. Lost to Pats at home.  OL regressed. DL didn't get any better. Edmunds didn't get any better.  Moss regressed.  Ford regressed wchih is amazing as he was bad to begin with.  Allen continued to be a superstar.  Knox, Davis, and Singletary are they only guys that got better.  Brown, Bass, Davis, and maybe Rousseau are the only guys contributing in two draft classes.  

 

With all that Allen still had his team and our city in the lead with 13 seconds left.  McDermott blew it.  He is our version of Dungy, Schottenheimer, Reid (without Mahommes) or Reeves.  He is not the guy that is going to get our city a trophy.  We will suffer through one more year of failure and then Pegula will realize McD has brought us as far as he can.  

The Chiefs are the gold standard in the AFC.

 

As I mentioned, we didn’t belong on the same field with them last year. This year, we beat them and went to the wire with them in the playoffs.

 

just because we met them in the divisional round this year vs. the AFC championship game last year doesn’t mean that we didn’t close the gap against the team to beat in the AFC.

[Maybe Someday]

Josh closed the gap. Did the guys with the headsets?

[Joe Ferguson]

Allen had to battle the Chiefs and the three stooges (Daboll, McDermottt and Frazier} and almost won.

[HalftimeAdjustment]

Here's a plus. The Cheifs' set of ultra fast receivers will age/decline faster than Josh.

[Last Guy on the Bench]

3 minutes ago, Ethan in Portland said:

What gap did we close?  Last year they made it to the AFC Championship game.  This year they didn't make it out of the divisional round. Went 0-6 in one score games.  Lost to the Jags. Lost to Pats at home.  OL regressed. DL didn't get any better. Edmunds didn't get any better.  Moss regressed.  Ford regressed wchih is amazing as he was bad to begin with.  Allen continued to be a superstar.  Knox, Davis, and Singletary are they only guys that got better.  Brown, Bass, Davis, and maybe Rousseau are the only guys contributing in two draft classes.  

 

With all that Allen still had his team and our city in the lead with 13 seconds left.  McDermott blew it.  He is our version of Dungy, Schottenheimer, Reid (without Mahommes) or Reeves.  He is not the guy that is going to get our city a trophy.  We will suffer through one more year of failure and then Pegula will realize McD has brought us as far as he can.  

Your list of "failed" coaches is hilarious. I hope McD is our version of those coaches. Two of them won Super Bowls. The tother two won bushels of games. Reeves won multiple conference championships and was NFL Coach of the Year twice. I love your definition of failure. I guess it includes 99% of coaches who ever coached, including a number of HOFers. McD will be in good company if he is one of those guys. According to you, the Chiefs never should have hired Reid, I guess.

[DapperCam]

1 minute ago, HalftimeAdjustment said:

Here's a plus. The Cheifs' set of ultra fast receivers will age/decline faster than Josh.

 

Kelce in particular could fall off quickly. He's 32 years old with a lot of miles. But with our luck, he'll probably be elite for another 8 years.

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

1 minute ago, HalftimeAdjustment said:

Here's a plus. The Cheifs' set of ultra fast receivers will age/decline faster than Josh.

They also have some cap issues coming up soon.  Would’ve been a real dagger for them if we pulled out this one. 

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

12 minutes ago, JimmyNoodles said:

We really didn’t close the gap. Josh is the best player in the league and these last two games proved it. The rest of the team is tagging along, especially the defense. Lots have to change on that side of the ball for the Bills to win a super bowl. 

He was not the best player in the league last year…sounds like progress to me 😂

[BuffaloRebound]

It’s ok to be pissed.  Horrendous 13 seconds of coaching decisions. If i’m frazier or mcdermott, I’m not even sure how I face the team.  They let everybody down.  All I know is somebody needs to go and it ain’t gonna be mcdermott.  People will get even more angry as more time goes by.  We would’ve been favored at home against Cincy and would’ve been favorites against Rams or 49ers.  

[Big Blitz]

4 minutes ago, Ethan in Portland said:

What gap did we close?  Last year they made it to the AFC Championship game.  This year they didn't make it out of the divisional round. Went 0-6 in one score games.  Lost to the Jags. Lost to Pats at home.  OL regressed. DL didn't get any better. Edmunds didn't get any better.  Moss regressed.  Ford regressed wchih is amazing as he was bad to begin with.  Allen continued to be a superstar.  Knox, Davis, and Singletary are they only guys that got better.  Brown, Bass, Davis, and maybe Rousseau are the only guys contributing in two draft classes.  

 

Yep.  Serious questions.  And apparently a lot of holes we've been filling for 4 years aren't filled.  

 

And the bold is an even bigger indictment of the coaches then what happened tonight.  

 

4 minutes ago, Ethan in Portland said:

 

With all that Allen still had his team and our city in the lead with 13 seconds left.  McDermott blew it.  He is our version of Dungy, Schottenheimer, Reid (without Mahommes) or Reeves.  He is not the guy that is going to get our city a trophy.  We will suffer through one more year of failure and then Pegula will realize McD has brought us as far as he can.  

 

 

McD Showaltered the franchise.  We're forever grateful.  

 

Might be time to find Joe Torre.  

[Ethan in Cleveland]

3 minutes ago, Last Guy on the Bench said:

Your list of "failed" coaches is hilarious. I hope McD is our version of those coaches. Two of them won Super Bowls. The tother two won bushels of games. Reeves won multiple conference championships and was NFL Coach of the Year twice. I love your definition of failure. I guess it includes 99% of coaches who ever coached, including a number of HOFers. McD will be in good company if he is one of those guys. According to you, the Chiefs never should have hired Reid, I guess.

Reid had a reputation of choking in the biggest moments until he drafted Mahommes.  

Dungy had one of the greatest defenses of all time (3 HOF players) in Tampa and couldn't get it done.  

Reeves was a solid coach that also fell flat on the biggest stage with one of the greatest QBs of all time.  

 

Let's flip the conversation. McDermott is of course not going anywhere this off-season.  What outcome next year is acceptable to you that he is still the coach in 2024?  Like the other thread, how many more years do you give him?

 

[LABILLBACKER]

I'm convinced if we had beat the Jags, we would've hosted this game and won. I'm also convinced our current pass rusher "rotation" is garbage. Ed Oliver is the ONLY Dlineman who played well tonight. So we either find REAL pass rushers, or Mahomes will continue to shred us until Kelce/Hill retire. And I'm not losing sleep if Dabs & Leslie leave. Sean needs to stop being stupid.

[BillsFan619]

2 hours ago, Maybe Someday said:

Josh closed the gap. Did the guys with the headsets?

While I don’t agree with your comments about the coaches (the coaches are part of the reason Josh closed the gap), even if what you’re saying is true, the gap was still closed.

Edited January 24, 2022 by BillsFan619

[BillMafia716ix]

We didn’t close the gap. Our defense got dominated two times in a row by the same team. We are no closer than we were last year

[damj]

We are past the point of moral victories. 

[Aussie Joe]

2 minutes ago, damj said:

We are past the point of moral victories. 

 

Moral victories implies that just be patient and your turn will come...

 

that's not the case 

[BillsFan619]

6 minutes ago, damj said:

We are past the point of moral victories. 

What does being past moral victories have to do with closing the gap?

 

I acknowledged that we didn’t succeed in our ultimate goal and that it was a tough loss. It doesn’t mean the gap didn’t close and progress can be made.

 

Both things can be true which was kind of the point of my post.

[LABILLBACKER]

Josh plays his brains out and loses. Joe "Home Alone" Burrow and Jimmy G play like garbage and win. The NFL sometimes makes no sense. 

[BullBuchanan]

1 hour ago, Ethan in Portland said:

Reid had a reputation of choking in the biggest moments until he drafted Mahommes.  

Dungy had one of the greatest defenses of all time (3 HOF players) in Tampa and couldn't get it done.  

Reeves was a solid coach that also fell flat on the biggest stage with one of the greatest QBs of all time.  

 

Let's flip the conversation. McDermott is of course not going anywhere this off-season.  What outcome next year is acceptable to you that he is still the coach in 2024?  Like the other thread, how many more years do you give him?

 

If McD gives you the results we have had over the last 2 years, I keep him until he retires. Yea, he made an error, so did both coordinators and the defense made plenty. Just one of them needed to make a play to turn this into a win and they didn't. There were absolutely scheme problems, but the players had a chance to win it and they didn't. Truthfully, we may never be better than the Chiefs over the long haul and may have to get used to being on the losing end of the rivalry. They're a perfect team with a perfect quarterback. We're both going to be in cap hell in a couple of years because of our QBs, but I think we'll have our shots over the next 10 years or so.

I really don't see a future where they're chasing us though, as long as Mahomes stays healthy and their organization keeps the same philosophy. If that's as good as it gets for us, I'm ok with that. I think we can get a ring or two with this group if we have the right kind of year. The last couple of weeks covered up a season that really didn't go according to plan. We played poorly a lot and often looked like a team that regressed from last year. The Chiefs started poorly but went 9-1 in their last 10 while we went 6-4. Our defensive strategy needs a shakeup, and we need to find some playmakers on the d-line to help out the secondary in games like this. There were so many times we almost had Mahomes today, but then he just walked on water and saved the day. As long as we let him play perfect football, he will. It's not that different from playing against Brady all these years, except he's far more athletically gifted.

[BullBuchanan]

3 minutes ago, Gene1973 said:

"Closing the gap" is moral victory BS.

You better learn to live with it, because it's probably all you're going to get. We had a great season and played the best team in the league to the final whistle. Outside of winning, there's nothing more that you can ask for.

What do you think they'd be saying if they were on the receiving end? Neither team deserved to lose today, but someone had to.

Edited January 24, 2022 by BullBuchanan

[BillsFan619]

2 minutes ago, Gene1973 said:

"Closing the gap" is moral victory BS.

No, it’s progress. Just because it wasn’t the progress you wanted doesn’t mean it didn’t happen or it’s some kind of moral victory.

 

Yes, we didn’t achieve our ultimate goal but progress was made.

 

We didn’t belong on the same field with them last year. This year? We beat them and then went toe to toe with them until we lost in OT.

[BullBuchanan]

Just now, Gene1973 said:

Someone had to, but may as well be Buffalo, cause we're used to it?

No, because in the end they're more talented. Mahomes has now taken his team to the AFC championship all 4 years he's played. He'll likely go to the SB making that 3/4. We played on their level today, but we couldn't stop them when we needed to.

This team overachieved today against a team that played flawless football. Maybe we'll be the team to beat down the road, but they're #1 until proven otherwise.

[TampaBillsJunkie]

Is it all on McD?  Bass still could have squibbed it. He could have taken a little off an tried to hang it inside the 10.  mcD did not kick that ball. Also, I do blame Frazier for the soft D and for not doubling Kelce and Hill for the last 13 seconds. They should have had one play, not 2. We should have won, but didn't. Now its 3:00am and I'm still up haunted by 50 years of this sh^t.

[BuffaloRebound]

I slept on it and I’m more angry than I was last night.  Just a complete failure and meltdown by the coaching staff in those 13 seconds.  Sorry, but once somebody shows you who they are, believe it.  Awful situational coaching just like last year at KC.  0-6 in 1 score games says it all.  McDermott has to stop coaching scared.  

[May Day 10]

They really need to get the playoffs to run through buffalo next season.

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

You had the lead with 13 seconds left after two of the best drives of our lives as Bills fans. If you can’t win that game, I don’t know how you are ever winning one. Everyone is always obsessed with “next years” You are now wasting prime year opportunities. You could have just had a home championship game against the Bengals. There is nothing ok about last night and there’s almost no chance we ever have a better look. You don’t ever stop being a fan but at some point you have to look at things objectively. Last night was our best shot at a Super Bowl and my guess is it’s always going to be.

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

7 hours ago, Big Blitz said:

 

Yep.  Serious questions.  And apparently a lot of holes we've been filling for 4 years aren't filled.  

 

And the bold is an even bigger indictment of the coaches then what happened tonight.  

 

 

 

McD Showaltered the franchise.  We're forever grateful.  

 

Might be time to find Joe Torre.  

Do you guys remember our dline against the chiefs last year when the chiefs oline was considerably worse?  Still didn’t win the game but it was a huge improvement 

[WinterSoldierFamily]

7 hours ago, JimmyNoodles said:

We really didn’t close the gap. Josh is the best player in the league and these last two games proved it. The rest of the team is tagging along, especially the defense. Lots have to change on that side of the ball for the Bills to win a super bowl. 

 

Many of you need to stop with this take, it makes our base look foolish.  There is no argument that Allen has eclipsed Mahomes.  They are the same age and Mahomes is trekking towards being the greatest of all time, on pace to shatter every passing record there is in regular season and playoffs.  He has a lifetime of success ahead of Allen already.

 

Just stop with it, its tiresome and foolish.

 

Allen may well be the second best player in league and if we can put some better coaching and skill players around him, we will get there.  

[Ethan in Cleveland]

6 hours ago, BullBuchanan said:

No, because in the end they're more talented. Mahomes has now taken his team to the AFC championship all 4 years he's played. He'll likely go to the SB making that 3/4. We played on their level today, but we couldn't stop them when we needed to.

This team overachieved today against a team that played flawless football. Maybe we'll be the team to beat down the road, but they're #1 until proven otherwise.

That's the whole point. They aren't more talented.  They are better coached. The players didn't fail the coaches did.

5 hours ago, TampaBillsJunkie said:

Is it all on McD?  Bass still could have squibbed it. He could have taken a little off an tried to hang it inside the 10.  mcD did not kick that ball. Also, I do blame Frazier for the soft D and for not doubling Kelce and Hill for the last 13 seconds. They should have had one play, not 2. We should have won, but didn't. Now its 3:00am and I'm still up haunted by 50 years of this sh^t.

You can't be serious? Do you think for one second the kicker gets to decide to squib it or kick it short???? That is 100% on McD. 

[BuffaloBill]

8 hours ago, JohnBonhamRocks said:

I think we are trending towards being the best team in the AFC over the next 5-10 years.

 

 

To really be this ^^^^ there has to be an answer for Patrick Mahomes. The Bills D was without the guy who was arguably their best payer in Tre last night. Still, they had no answers when they needed them.

 

The Bills really need a leader on defense who steps up in the big games. They were exposed last night by probably the only team in the league capable of doing so,