7-3 (so far) in 2022 vs. 2-6 in 2021

[BillsFan619]

“The Bills improved to 7-3 when trailing at any point of a game this season, after going 2-6 last year.”

 

This is a very revealing sign of how much better of a team we are this year over last year. What makes this even more encouraging is that our schedule this year has been much tougher but we still have a five game improvement in the win column when we’ve faced deficits in games this year.

 

It’s also encouraging to see because it shows that we’re battle tested yet coming out victorious once the battle is over. This bodes very well for the playoffs.

 

Even in our three losses, we haven’t been blown out or outclassed. We weren’t able to say that last year.

 

Go Bills!

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/afc-leading-bills-adapt-overcome-233742882.html

Edited December 28, 2022 by BillsFan619

[Dr.Sack]

Don’t blink mentality is real. 

[LABILLBACKER]

We're starting to win alot of close games when we might not be running on all cylinders. Hopefully our OL and defense will hold up into the playoffs. But I think we're battle tested.

[John from Riverside]

This year’s team is just different whenever you count the amount of injuries that they’ve gone through the strength of schedule that they’ve had and where they sit right now
 

None of these teams should look forward to playing the Buffalo Bills

[ganesh]

1 hour ago, John from Riverside said:

This year’s team is just different whenever you count the amount of injuries that they’ve gone through the strength of schedule that they’ve had and where they sit right now
 

None of these teams should look forward to playing the Buffalo Bills

so true. Go Bills!

[Punching Bag]

The Bills seem to be deceptively easy with offense misfiring and defenses being gashed. 

When Bills get a lead big opponents often can get close to catching up but that catching up is costing them time and timeouts. It also plays into defense's strength.

 

The three Bills loses:

1. Miami (21-1) in terms of composition is most like Bengals with large WRs with speed but Bills lost due to unfair stadium.  On neutral stadium (i.e. NFL say station conditions were dangerous and game moved to Atlanta stadium) Bills would have won. 
2. Jets (20-17) seemed to be a game Bills lost due to Jets defense.  It surprised me for Bills have faced Robert Saleh's defenses before both with 49ers and Jets and had no issues. Bills definitely had solution to Jets in rematch demolishing QB.  
3. Vikings (33-30) was a game they should have won but Bills had a problem with Allen's habit of turnovers and problem covering Jefferson, another big WR.

Nope of the loses were big not were Bills out of game but had some scores which made game look closer. 

Bills have been playing sloppily and part of the issue has been injuries and disruptions causing lack of playing time. 

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

Resiliency has been a watchword for this team, absolutely.  We're also letting the opponent draw first blood a lot and then whipping back into form, which is a little concerning.  I'm guessing the majority of 12-3 teams haven't trailed in 10 of those games.

[Casey D]

It's a long season.  Can't always have your A game. There are inevitable concentration lapses, especially against weaker foes.  I think as the stakes get higher, this team has the capacity to elevate its game further.  We are now into January.  It is time.

[Billsfan1972]

12-3, but as stated so disjointed.  Unfortunately as said hard to believe 13-4 could be the 3rd seed. 

 

Win the next 5 and all is well....

[Matt_In_NH]

Last year was an anomaly when it came to one score Games.  

Edited December 27, 2022 by Matt_In_NH

[SoCal Deek]

The Bills record speaks for itself but I really wish they didn’t have to come from behind as often as they have. The team has come out flat in many recent weeks. I’m assuming they’re not doing it just so they can get practice at overcoming adversity! (Kidding) 

[ganesh]

1 hour ago, Casey D said:

It's a long season.  Can't always have your A game. There are inevitable concentration lapses, especially against weaker foes.  I think as the stakes get higher, this team has the capacity to elevate its game further.  We are now into January.  It is time.

And people keep forgetting the number of injuries we have had this season.

 

In that week 3 Miami game, we did not have Poyer, Hyde, White, Ed Oliver, Phillips and Mitch Morse.    That is 7 starters missing in a divisional showdown on the road.

 

 

[benderbender]

I was certain this thread was going to be about our record after Josh grows a Gatsby mustache

[ganesh]

38 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

The Bills record speaks for itself but I really wish they didn’t have to come from behind as often as they have. The team has come out flat in many recent weeks. I’m assuming they’re not doing it just so they can get practice at overcoming adversity! (Kidding) 

Injuries on the OL has been catching up with this team.   Dawkins, Morse and Spencer (all starting linemen) have missed multiple games during this period.  The Bills have to overcome that on a daily basis.  The same goes on the defense....Von Miller, Oliver, Edmunds, Milano, Poyer, Phillips, Rosseau - All have been missing games through the season.

[SoCal Deek]

Just now, ganesh said:

Injuries on the OL has been catching up with this team.   Dawkins, Morse and Spencer (all starting linemen) have missed multiple games during this period.  The Bills have to overcome that on a daily basis.  The same goes on the defense....Von Miller, Oliver, Edmunds, Milano, Poyer, Phillips, Rosseau - All have been missing games through the season.

That’s true of course but it doesn’t really explain the slow starts. Not sure what happened to the scripted plays and opening drives. I may be wrong it feels like we’ve been going three and out a lot to open games. 

[Utah John]

7 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:

We're starting to win alot of close games when we might not be running on all cylinders. Hopefully our OL and defense will hold up into the playoffs. But I think we're battle tested.

It sure would be nice to get back to running on all cylinders, but I'll take the good news that the Bills can win with low-octane performances.  

 

If this team ever DOES get back to strong play all across the board, it will be incredible.

[TBBills]

Ask any other team int he NFL to go through what this yeam has and maybe a handful would have been able to handle it. 3 games in 11 days, storm of the century, followed by storm of the century part 2.

[dollars 2 donuts]

I also think our guys have hit the mentality of (and I am not saying this is a bad thing), "WHATEVER, let's just win games and get to the playoffs."

 

They want home field advantage so there is obviously that, but this team wants that Super Bowl and everything leading up to it, is just sort of everything leading up to it.

 

 

Edited December 27, 2022 by dollars 2 donuts

[BillsFanSD]

People make too big a deal out of this sort of thing.  The sample size is far too small to draw any sweeping conclusions about the mindset of the team.

 

The Bills are quite a bit better than average.  That's true this year, and it was also true last year.  We got very unlucky in some close games in 2021, and our luck more or less reverted to the mean in 2022.  That's all.  It's literally nothing more than just mean reversion.  Unless you think that Josh Allen just learned in the offseason not to trip on 4th and 1 or something.

[ganesh]

42 minutes ago, BillsFanSD said:

People make too big a deal out of this sort of thing.  The sample size is far too small to draw any sweeping conclusions about the mindset of the team.

 

The Bills are quite a bit better than average.  That's true this year, and it was also true last year.  We got very unlucky in some close games in 2021, and our luck more or less reverted to the mean in 2022.  That's all.  It's literally nothing more than just mean reversion.  Unless you think that Josh Allen just learned in the offseason not to trip on 4th and 1 or something.

bizarre endings is something we seem to get one every year...

2 years ago it was the Hail Murray ending

Last year, it was 13 seconds and the 4th and 1 at the Titans one yard line

This year we have had the Fumble at 1 yard instead of icing the game.

[BillsFan619]

9 hours ago, TBBills said:

Ask any other team int he NFL to go through what this yeam has and maybe a handful would have been able to handle it. 3 games in 11 days, storm of the century, followed by storm of the century part 2.

Good thoughts!
 

That’s what makes our 12-3 record look even better. That, and the competition we’ve played against.

 

12-3 is very impressive for what we’ve been through from injuries to adversity.

 

Being battle tested like this will be an advantage for our SB run.

 

Go Bills!

Edited December 28, 2022 by BillsFan619

[Logic]

Thanks for this stat. A positive evolution for this team, no doubt about it.

I forget who originally said it on Twitter, but I find it very true: The only team that has really convincingly beaten the Buffalo Bills this season is the Bills themselves. All three games they lost were due to boneheaded errors. It can be reasonably argued that they were in position to win -- and should've won -- all three games, but for the self-inflicted wounds that cost them the victories.

Not one opponent this year, not one single opponent, has straight up outclassed the Bills and been the undeniably better team. Three losses by a combined eight points, and all three are games they arguably should have won.

On the one hand, if they CONTINUE to make these mistakes and self-inflicted errors in the playoffs, they're not gonna win a title. On the other hand, it seems like the Bills' "A game" is better than any other teams' "A game".

 

[DCofNC]

Maybe this year’s focus needs to be getting their heads out of their @$$es earlier in the game.  To be down in 10 games is an indicator your defense gave up points early and often because the O was on fire the first drive for the early part of the year.

[Goin Breakdown]

13 hours ago, ganesh said:

bizarre endings is something we seem to get one every year...

2 years ago it was the Hail Murray ending

Last year, it was 13 seconds and the 4th and 1 at the Titans one yard line

This year we have had the Fumble at 1 yard instead of icing the game.

And the running out of time in Miami. 

[AuntieEm]

16 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:

The Bills record speaks for itself but I really wish they didn’t have to come from behind as often as they have. The team has come out flat in many recent weeks. I’m assuming they’re not doing it just so they can get practice at overcoming adversity! (Kidding) 

 

   I'm sure they aren't doing it deliberately but no reason they can't use it as and treat it as practice and they have gotten it down well enough it's not a big deal.  I used to bowl alot and I'd always check what I needed from like the 6th frame on to have a game 200+.  It used to drive me teammates crazy, but that year I improved my average like 20 some points and I won 1st in the state WiBC tourney that year in FL.  I practiced under pressure to get used to it and it did work well for me.  Any good coach should use that to reinforce never giving up and following up a bad play with a good.  Much like Allen's first season where it seemed like Allen had a ton of tds nullified by penalties yet he would keep scoring tds after the penalties and just demoralized the other teams that you almost wanted to see them take a penalty so it was not an easy 3rd and goal from the 1.  

[TheBrownBear]

I almost feel like McDermott and Frazier are okay just playing the most vanilla base nickel possible during the first drive while the opponent picks it apart before unveiling their grand defensive plans from that point forward.  Like the D is playing possum and gathering Intel for the later rounds of the fight.