56 million watched Chiefs @ Bills - Most watched divisional game ever

[Einstein]

 

[RyanC883]

Allen brings viewers.   

[njbuff]

And yet the Bills embarrassed themselves in front of the nation yet again.

 

And the people who threatened Bass should be ashamed of themselves and should hand in their Bills fan card.

[Process]

For those that like games at 1pm on Sundays, I have bad news for you 

[eball]

1 minute ago, njbuff said:

And yet the Bills embarrassed themselves in front of the nation yet again.

 

And the people who threatened Bass should be ashamed of themselves and should hand in their Bills fan card.

 

To be clear, I'm rolling my eyes at your first statement, not the second...

 

[Einstein]

1 minute ago, njbuff said:

And yet the Bills embarrassed themselves in front of the nation yet again.

I don't think that was the impression the nation got at all.

While us Bills fans were embarrassed, the rest of the nation that had no rooting interest saw a very close, back and forth entertaining game.

[BADOLBILZ]

1 minute ago, Einstein said:

 

 

 

It almost lived up to that kind of hype.   Bass killed a well executed game by both teams with an amateur hour kick.

 

Allen trying to throw that dagger on 2nd and 9 was almost like an attempt to maximize the drama of the game by giving the Chiefs the ball back to play 4 down football with a minute plus and two timeouts.

[eball]

Get ready for more primetime games next season...

 

[Einstein]

2 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

It almost lived up to that kind of hype.

For the rest of the nation, it basically did. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

[Low Positive]

That was a great game. I didn't like the outcome, but it was a great game. 

[Mango]

4 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

It almost lived up to that kind of hype.   Bass killed a well executed game by both teams with an amateur hour kick.

 

Allen trying to throw that dagger on 2nd and 9 was almost like an attempt to maximize the drama of the game by giving the Chiefs the ball back to play 4 down football with a minute plus and two timeouts.

I think the league wanted/needs the Bills to win this playoff matchup to keep the hype high otherwise it risks flaming out for the causal viewer. 
 

The Taylor Swift aspect changes something for the league. But in general they’ll want a back and forth at some point. 

[Einstein]

1 minute ago, Mango said:

I think the league wanted/needs the Bills to win this playoff matchup to keep the hype high otherwise it risks flaming out for the causal viewer. 
 

The Taylor Swift aspect changes something for the league. But in general they’ll want a back and forth at some point. 

I really don't think the league cares about Taylor as much as people think they do.

Sure, they probably want to maximize her exposure to get more fans, but I don't think the league office is pulling levers behind the scenes to get the Chiefs to the SB. They saw how much resentment that repeated winners cause with the Patriots, and I actually think they did their best to minimize the Chiefs chances this year (Chiefs were scheduled with the lowest amount of rest days all season).

[BADOLBILZ]

1 minute ago, Einstein said:

For the rest of the nation, it basically did. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah by "almost" I mean it wasn't the greatest divisional game ever to match the highest viewership.   13 seconds is still the best divisional round NFL playoff game ever, IMO.   This one will just go down amongst the good ones.

 

As I mentioned in another thread,  I hope the Chiefs lose this week because it will add gravity to the toll of this matchup if the Chiefs continue to lose the week after beating the Bills.

[Dick_Cheney]

6 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Yeah by "almost" I mean it wasn't the greatest divisional game ever to match the highest viewership.   13 seconds is still the best divisional round NFL playoff game ever, IMO.   This one will just go down amongst the good ones.

 

As I mentioned in another thread,  I hope the Chiefs lose this week because it will add gravity to the toll of this matchup if the Chiefs continue to lose the week after beating the Bills.

A lot of people say that 13 seconds is the best game ever, period. I'm inclined to believe them even though the outcome was devastating. Watching that game didn't even seem real.

 

Anyways, 56+ million for a divisional game is absolutely nuts. So now it's in the league's best interest they tell the referees to give us favorable calls to get us back to at least that point.

[Warcodered]

11 minutes ago, Mango said:

I think the league wanted/needs the Bills to win this playoff matchup to keep the hype high otherwise it risks flaming out for the causal viewer. 
 

The Taylor Swift aspect changes something for the league. But in general they’ll want a back and forth at some point. 

If so they had to be pissed at how the Chiefs ridiculous luck continued to play out, I mean Bills manage to get the 2nd seed and a weak Steelers team great, but then they have the game delayed so the Chiefs get a two day rest advantage, hey league if you cared that much maybe plan on the 2nd seed playing before the 3rd seed, then in the game the already busted up defense takes even more injuries to there LB core.

 

Not trying to make excuses but the Chiefs have a ***** horseshoe shoved up their ass.

 

Funny thing is just like the last two years I'm betting one of the networks is going to buy the exclusive rights to the regular season rematch, so what should be a primetime game will be on at like 4.

[Mango]

Just now, Warcodered said:

If so they had to be pissed at how the Chiefs ridiculous luck continued to play out, I mean Bills manage to get the 2nd seed and a weak Steelers team great, but then they have the game delayed so the Chiefs get a two day rest advantage, hey league if you cared that much maybe plan on the 2nd seed playing before the 3rd seed, then in the game the already busted up defense takes even more injuries to there LB core.

 

Not trying to make excuses but the Chiefs have a ***** horseshoe shoved up their ass.

 

The Bills still use those spinning brooms to clear the field in the snow. They were on the field in some of the pictures during clean up. They toss the rubber everywhere, and it needs to be regraded. My tinfoil hat says that even though the game was delayed the storm ultimately knocked out Bernard, Benford, and Spector due to field conditions. 

[Einstein]

8 minutes ago, Warcodered said:

Not trying to make excuses but the Chiefs have a ***** horseshoe shoved up their ass.

 

I disagree here.

 

The Bills were the far more "lucky" team on Sunday. We fumbled TWICE and neither went into the hands of a Chiefs player. Josh only had 1 bad pass all game, but it was darn close to being picked off. And then there is the whole fumbling through the endzone for a safety play.

 

Bills got lucky a lot in that game. More than the Chiefs IMO. And i'm glad - we deserve some luck.

[Low Positive]

4 minutes ago, Einstein said:

 

I disagree here.

 

The Bills were the far more "lucky" team on Sunday. We fumbled TWICE and neither went into the hands of a Chiefs player. Josh only had 1 bad pass all game, but it was darn close to being picked off. And then there is the whole fumbling through the endzone for a safety play.

 

Bills got lucky a lot in that game. More than the Chiefs IMO. And i'm glad - we deserve some luck.

And for the most part, Hochuli stayed out of it. It was a great game to watch for neutral fans. But then again so was 13 seconds.

[Dan Darragh]

39 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

Bass killed a well executed game by both teams

Not sure about you but I was watching the game that was on CBS, and I saw a shtshow of execution by the guys in blue, including a fumble on the first play from scrimmage, a busted fake punt, two (maybe three) drops of perfectly thrown bombs and a defense that couldn't stop my mother.  (Note, my mother died in 2009 at the age of 89, and I'm saying they couldn't stop her today).

 

It was an entertaining game, but the one on CBS was not well executed.

[Heels20X6]

3 minutes ago, Low Positive said:

And for the most part, Hochuli stayed out of it. It was a great game to watch for neutral fans. But then again so was 13 seconds.

 

That BS "holding" call on 3rd down really could have ended the game for us.  I was livid over that call.  Thought it was over at that point.

[Dick_Cheney]

18 minutes ago, Mango said:

 

The Bills still use those spinning brooms to clear the field in the snow. They were on the field in some of the pictures during clean up. They toss the rubber everywhere, and it needs to be regraded. My tinfoil hat says that even though the game was delayed the storm ultimately knocked out Bernard, Benford, and Spector due to field conditions. 

Ugh I hate that this is even a possibility.

 

We should've let the governor postpone the game until Tuesday. Then we might've gotten one or two guys back. (Kidding, sort of)

[Gregg]

Next year KC comes to Buffalo again. I would say it's a lock for SNF.

[BADOLBILZ]

Just now, Dan Darragh said:

Not sure about you but I was watching the game that was on CBS, and I saw a shtshow of execution by the guys in blue, including a fumble on the first play from scrimmage, a busted fake punt, two (maybe three) drops of perfectly thrown bombs and a defense that couldn't stop my mother.  (Note, my mother died in 2009 at the age of 89, and I'm saying they couldn't stop her today).

 

It was an entertaining game, but the one on CBS was not well executed.

 

 

There were mistakes for sure.   But deep balls and fake punts on 4th and 5 aren't plays where there is a high probability of success.   The Bass kick was a relative chip shot.   People comparing it to Norwood's kick miss the point that Norwood hadn't made a kick that far on grass in a very long time.   We are accustomed to 50+ yard kicks being fairly routine nowadays.  Back then a 47 yarder was a long kick.  It was just clearly out of his range so he over kicked it and just missed.   Bass just shanked his misses in these playoffs.   He has the yips.

[LABILLBACKER]

The only people who should be ashamed of themselves are Josh's teammates that never step up and make plays like he does every playoffs. 

[Mango]

Just now, Dick_Cheney said:

Ugh I hate that this is even a possibility.

 

We should've let the governor postpone the game until Tuesday. Then we might've gotten one or two guys back. (Kidding, sort of)

 

One thing that always irked me is that Pegula hasn't upgraded the field conditions since buying the team 10 years ago. It isn't just that we have turf, it is also that the turf at the Ralph forking sucks. It was installed in 2011 and was the 29th ranked field in the league in 2015. Absolutely brutal.

We have Josh Allen, who has said "I prefer grass". McDermott has said the same thing. And in the 6-7 years they have been here Pegula hasn't made any attempt to upgrade it to grass or even a better synthetic surface.

And on the flip side we have the Patriots. Brady said "I prefer grass" and Bob Kraft replaced it during the bye week. 

https://www.si.com/nfl/2015/09/29/nfl-stadium-turf-grass-rankings

[HomeskillitMoorman]

5 minutes ago, Gregg said:

Next year KC comes to Buffalo again. I would say it's a lock for SNF.

This took the air out of that game though. The regular season wins vs them don’t matter anymore. 

[Dick_Cheney]

3 minutes ago, Mango said:

 

One thing that always irked me is that Pegula hasn't upgraded the field conditions since buying the team 10 years ago. It isn't just that we have turf, it is also that the turf at the Ralph forking sucks. It was installed in 2011 and was the 29th ranked field in the league in 2015. Absolutely brutal.

We have Josh Allen, who has said "I prefer grass". McDermott has said the same thing. And in the 6-7 years they have been here Pegula hasn't made any attempt to upgrade it to grass or even a better synthetic surface.

And on the flip side we have the Patriots. Brady said "I prefer grass" and Bob Kraft replaced it during the bye week. 

https://www.si.com/nfl/2015/09/29/nfl-stadium-turf-grass-rankings

That's really awful. It bums me out so bad that the new stadium won't be ready until 2026.

[LABILLBACKER]

2 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

There were mistakes for sure.   But deep balls and fake punts on 4th and 5 aren't plays where there is a high probability of success.   The Bass kick was a relative chip shot.   People comparing it to Norwood's kick miss the point that Norwood hadn't made a kick that far on grass in a very long time.   We are accustomed to 50+ yard kicks being fairly routine nowadays.  Back then a 47 yarder was a long kick.  It was just clearly out of his range so he over kicked it and just missed.   Bass just shanked his misses in these playoffs.   He has the yips.

Those goal post flags were straight down. There was no wind. He just pushed that ball right like a golfer with an open faced club.  Out of 12 playoff kickers who attempted kicks, Bass was dead last at 40%.  What a stupid extension. 

[BADOLBILZ]

52 minutes ago, eball said:

Get ready for more primetime games next season...

 

 

 

Yeah, unfortunately that is probably so.   Even the unappealing matchups like NYG and Tampa ended up being good TV for the general public.   

 

The Bills propensity to play down to the competition this year took a toll on Bills fans with these home night/evening games.

 

This last one was the icing on the cake with it taking a good 2.5 hours for traffic to entirely clear following the game.   

[LABILLBACKER]

18 minutes ago, Dick_Cheney said:

Ugh I hate that this is even a possibility.

 

We should've let the governor postpone the game until Tuesday. Then we might've gotten one or two guys back. (Kidding, sort of)

We need a better quality field and strength/conditioning staff.  You can't completely eliminate injuries but you absolutely can minimize them. Injuries were the #1 reason our season was derailed. 

[BullBuchanan]

1 hour ago, eball said:

Get ready for more primetime games next season...

 

Awesome. nothing beats a great primetime matchup.

[dave mcbride]

56 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

There were mistakes for sure.   But deep balls and fake punts on 4th and 5 aren't plays where there is a high probability of success.   The Bass kick was a relative chip shot.   People comparing it to Norwood's kick miss the point that Norwood hadn't made a kick that far on grass in a very long time.   We are accustomed to 50+ yard kicks being fairly routine nowadays.  Back then a 47 yarder was a long kick.  It was just clearly out of his range so he over kicked it and just missed.   Bass just shanked his misses in these playoffs.   He has the yips.

After the soul crushing miss in the Giants SB, Norwood was 62.1 percent the next season and allegedly threatened to be thrown off the plane by Bruce Smith et al after his dismal performance vs the Raiders at the Colosseum in 1991. Smart teams recognize that they need a new kicker after that playoff performance because he CLEARLY has the yips. Even the XPs are adventures. As bad as the KC miss was, he at least elevated it over the LOS. The worst was the Giancarlo Stanton-elevation level line drive vs the Steelers that single-handedly got Pittsburgh back in the game.

 

He has to go. To paraphrase Charles DeGaulle, the graves are filled with indispensable place kickers.

Edited January 23 by dave mcbride

[PromoTheRobot]

1 hour ago, njbuff said:

And yet the Bills embarrassed themselves in front of the nation yet again.

 

And the people who threatened Bass should be ashamed of themselves and should hand in their Bills fan card.

 

Did they? They gutted out a tough game and didn't get a break. 

1 hour ago, Low Positive said:

And for the most part, Hochuli stayed out of it. It was a great game to watch for neutral fans. But then again so was 13 seconds.

 

I agree. Hoculi was mostly good. I could quibble about the late PI call but that's it. They got the goal line fumble call correct.

Edited January 23 by PromoTheRobot

[PromoTheRobot]

56 minutes ago, Mango said:

 

One thing that always irked me is that Pegula hasn't upgraded the field conditions since buying the team 10 years ago. It isn't just that we have turf, it is also that the turf at the Ralph forking sucks. It was installed in 2011 and was the 29th ranked field in the league in 2015. Absolutely brutal.
 

 

FYI the turf at Highmark was replaced for the 2019 season. It's only 5 years old.

 

https://billswire.usatoday.com/2019/02/20/new-era-field-turf-being-replaced-buffalo-bills/

56 minutes ago, HomeskillitMoorman said:

This took the air out of that game though. The regular season wins vs them don’t matter anymore. 

 

Yeah. They only earn you home field for the playoffs.

52 minutes ago, Dick_Cheney said:

That's really awful. It bums me out so bad that the new stadium won't be ready until 2026.

 

Field was replaced in 2019.

Edited January 23 by PromoTheRobot

[Doc Brown]

1 hour ago, njbuff said:

And yet the Bills embarrassed themselves in front of the nation yet again.

 

And the people who threatened Bass should be ashamed of themselves and should hand in their Bills fan card.

The Bengals playoff game was an embarrassment.  This was expected to be a close game and it was.

1 hour ago, Gregg said:

Next year KC comes to Buffalo again. I would say it's a lock for SNF.

CBS late window would be my guess.  That time frame usually draws the biggest audience.

[Gregg]

1 minute ago, Doc Brown said:

The Bengals playoff game was an embarrassment.  This was expected to be a close game and it was.

CBS late window would be my guess.  That time frame usually draws the biggest audience.

 

If it doesn't get primetime then definitely a 4:25 start on Sunday. Which is odd because an east coast team like the Bills very rarely gets a 4:25 start at home.

[Doc Brown]

Just now, Gregg said:

 

If it doesn't get primetime then definitely a 4:25 start on Sunday. Which is odd because an east coast team like the Bills very rarely gets a 4:25 start at home.

They got two at home this year and two on the road I believe (Jets, Cowboys, @Eagles, @Chiefs).  All could've easily been coveted Prime Time games before the season started.

[chongli]

FOX had the most watched Saturday game ever:

 

[Steptide]

2 hours ago, Process said:

For those that like games at 1pm on Sundays, I have bad news for you 

I was thinking about this the other day. Gonna be alot of prime time games again next season, which are tough, but I'll take that over 17 years of no playoffs and being irrelevant 

[BADOLBILZ]

33 minutes ago, dave mcbride said:

After the soul crushing miss in the Giants SB, Norwood was 62.1 percent the next season and allegedly threatened to be thrown off the plane by Bruce Smith et al after his dismal performance vs the Raiders at the Colosseum in 1991. Smart teams recognize that they need a new kicker after that playoff performance because he CLEARLY has the yips. Even the XPs are adventures. As bad as the KC miss was, he at least elevated it over the LOS. The worst was the Giancarlo Stanton-elevation level line drive vs the Steelers that single-handedly got Pittsburgh back in the game.

 

He has to go. To paraphrase Charles DeGaulle, the graves are filled with indispensable place kickers.

 

 

Yeah Norwood was just washed.   They needed Pop-goes Daluiso to kickoff for him and still they didn't replace him.