Bills thru hardest stretch of schedule what needs to happen to secure homefield

[machine gun kelly]

16 hours ago, 1ManRaid said:

Call me crazy but 1/3 into the season feels like WAY too early to be talking about playoff seeding.

I just started reading this thread.  I’m not participating in prognostications in week 7.  Does it look more likely we win throughout?  Yes, but three words “the Jags Game”.  You just never

know where we could stub our toe.  
 

A rematch, this time I want to believe is in OP.  Bills/Chiefs in the AFCCG.  I’ve since the preseason thought 13-4, but never expected one loss to be to the Fish.  You just never know.  We’ll probably beat my guess prior to the season.

[eball]

18 hours ago, BearNorth said:

Detroit on Turkey day is a trap game on a short week

 

Is it time for my annual diatribe on this topic?

 

Good teams beat bad teams at the same historical rate, regardless of whether the game is before or after a “big” game.

 

And besides, who would think a nationally televised game on Thanksgiving isn’t a “big” game to the Bills?

 

After watching some more (bad) football yesterday one thing is clear to me — it’s a two-horse race in the AFC and the Bills just need to keep their lead on the Chiefs.

 

[Ethan in Cleveland]

Only KC has lived up to preseason hype so far. The home field advantage now will be determined if the Bills can go 5-1 inthe division the rest of the way.

[Kaenon]

Of 6 games played, only 1 team with a losing record (PIT) and only 1 team at .500 (LAR). All other teams have winning records. Pretty crazy considering our injuries and the dominance of the depth of the team. JA17 baby.

[Greg S]

8 hours ago, Buffalo03 said:

Cindy? So you think Cindy can beat our entire team? What's so great about her that she can beat our team herself?

 

Marcia or Jan will take her out first. Personally I think the Bills need to be worried about Alice.

[WotAGuy]

2 hours ago, eball said:

 

Is it time for my annual diatribe on this topic?

 

Good teams beat bad teams at the same historical rate, regardless of whether the game is before or after a “big” game.

 

And besides, who would think a nationally televised game on Thanksgiving isn’t a “big” game to the Bills?

 

After watching some more (bad) football yesterday one thing is clear to me — it’s a two-horse race in the AFC and the Bills just need to keep their lead on the Chiefs.

 

 

But a “trap” game is not just about the team’s records and their next opponent. A “trap” game is when the players fail to properly focus and prepare for the game and take their opponent lightly. That element is not factored into a simple analysis of wins and losses.  It’s also about the mental and preparation state of a team and how diligent they are in preparation. 
 

This is exactly why you keep hearing the Bills talk about “one game at a time”, and “this week’s game is the most important”, and they claim to not know who they play after the current opponent.  These are all mental aspects McD has drilled into the players to avoid “trap” games like the Jags game last year. 

[cage]

20 hours ago, Bills2022 said:

 

The likely 9-1 Bills are not losing to the likely 1-9 Lions.  Only reason to watch that game is to see if the Bills score 60. 60 is a real possibility vs the Lions D. 

 

 

That sounds like the kind of talk that led up to the game against Jaguars last year.... #NO

[eball]

1 hour ago, WotAGuy said:

 

But a “trap” game is not just about the team’s records and their next opponent. A “trap” game is when the players fail to properly focus and prepare for the game and take their opponent lightly. That element is not factored into a simple analysis of wins and losses.  It’s also about the mental and preparation state of a team and how diligent they are in preparation. 
 

This is exactly why you keep hearing the Bills talk about “one game at a time”, and “this week’s game is the most important”, and they claim to not know who they play after the current opponent.  These are all mental aspects McD has drilled into the players to avoid “trap” games like the Jags game last year. 

 

57 minutes ago, cage said:

 

That sounds like the kind of talk that led up to the game against Jaguars last year.... #NO

 

Well done, gents...two consecutive "Remember the Jags" posts!! 

 

[Buffalo03]

2 hours ago, Greg S said:

 

Marcia or Jan will take her out first. Personally I think the Bills need to be worried about Alice.

I agree. Alice can whip our whole team herself. I want no part of Alice

[Your Brown Eye]

It's unfortunate that the 49ers could not dealt the Chiefs a loss yesterday and give the Bills a 2-game lead

[Jauronimo]

15 hours ago, Big Turk said:

 

They haven't looked good all year really.

I keep waiting for Tampa and GB to turn it on.  7 weeks into the season and it doesnt look like its going to happen.

[Big Turk]

Just now, Jauronimo said:

I keep waiting for Tampa and GB to turn it on.  7 weeks into the season and it doesnt look like its going to happen.

 

Both have aging QBs who appear to be losing a battle to Father Time. The end comes suddenly most times.

[JakeFrommStateFarm]

Looking ahead on the schedule, the only teams I see challenging the Bills would be Minnesota and Cincy.

 

Every other team they should beat handily.

[BigDingus]

Well, we assumed the same thing last year, then after beating KC, went on a 3-5 stretch against those "easy teams" anyway.

 

In retrospect, some of those teams weren't so easy, but we were favored to win most of them. 

 

Im not penciling in any wins yet, but I expect this year's team to keep that fire lit & not take anyone for granted this time 👍

 

 

Edited October 24, 2022 by BigDingus

[Motorin']

2 hours ago, cage said:

 

That sounds like the kind of talk that led up to the game against Jaguars last year.... #NO

 

Its not like you hear Josh Allen and the rest of the team talking about the next 4 games like they're in the bag. 

 

They know as well as anyone that their Achilles heal last season was the mid-season lag. 

 

That's why I disagree with the OP's contention that the hardest part of the schedule is behind the Bills... The hardest part is coming up, bc the Bills really can only beat themselves. They can't allow themselves to sleep on any game like they did last year...  And I don't think they will... 

[BigDingus]

1 hour ago, eball said:

 

 

Well done, gents...two consecutive "Remember the Jags" posts!! 

 

How about "remember the Colts" then? 😉

 

That was equally embarrassing imo. We got blown out 41-15 at home to a 5-5 team. 

 

The only thing that makes Jax a bit worse is they were still being coached by Urban Meyer 🤢🤮

[Logic]

Looking at that schedule, I see a 9 game winning streak heading into the Cincinnati game.

That would put the Bills at 14-1 with two left to play.

The Bills can afford only as many losses as Kansas City has, thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker.

With the caveat of "any given Sunday" (who here had last year's Jags game marked down as a loss?), I like the Bills chances at the 1-seed, health permitting.

Fivethirtyeight.com currently has the Bills with a 65% chance at a first round bye. The next closest team, the Chiefs, have a 17% chance.

Edited October 24, 2022 by Logic

[US Egg]

With this Bills team, Al Davis’s credo “just win baby” seems very doable.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

5 hours ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

Only KC has lived up to preseason hype so far. The home field advantage now will be determined if the Bills can go 5-1 inthe division the rest of the way.

lolwut

 

[2003Contenders]

1 hour ago, Bandito said:

Any given Sunday. NFL had a bunch of upsets yesterday 

Yes -- and the Bills will be playing teams that know how good the team in Buffalo is, so they will be getting everyone's best. That will start next Sunday night against a very desperate Packers team that has their backs to the wall.

[msw2112]

I posted in another thread that given that the Bills have 1 loss at this point in the season, the loss to the Dolphins is the "best" game for them to have lost.  They needed to beat the Rams.  It was the league opener, prime time, against the defending Super Bowl champs.  It set the tone for the season.  They only get to play the Chiefs, Ravens, and Titans once, so beating those fellow AFC contenders was critical, as each win amounts to a 2-game lead over those teams.  They will have a 2nd shot at Miami, in which they can negate the first loss.  Plus, the way things have shaken out, Miami now has 3 losses, so despite beating the Bills, the Bills have a 2 game lead on them which will be difficult for Miami to close.  At home, with a healthy Tua and no heat issues, they beat a mediocre (at best) Steelers team by 6.  The Bills dispached that same team by 35, sitting all of their starters for the 4th quarter.

Edited October 24, 2022 by msw2112

[PetermansRedemption]

Win out. Too many what ifs to play the game this early. Talk to me in 6-7 weeks. 

[ColoradoBills]

Last year the Bills read their press releases and looked at some games as wins.  That was last year.

 

This team (both players and coaches) know there is only one game on the schedule.  The next one.

[FilthyBeast]

This team is 5-1 with road wins against 2 division leading teams and another dominant home win over another who hasn't lost a game since.

 

And while my gut feeling tells me they aren't going 16-1 or or 15-2, something would have to go seriously wrong for them to hit a midseason funk like last year and render the KC win useless in terms of tiebreakers.

 

I think 14-3 is probably were they finish and need to finish to ensure they get homefield because I don't see KC losing much either the rest of the way.