The race for the AFC East

[oldmanfan]

4 minutes ago, mjt328 said:

So a team that almost never turns the ball over, having 3 of them wasn’t fluky?  Having 11 penalties wasn’t fluky?  
 

This was the sloppiest game we have played in over a year (since last year’s regular season loss to the Ravens).  And they still needed a last second field goal to pull it out.

Anything can happen.  But if the Bills drop another 5-6 games with this schedule, then they aren’t a real Super Bowl contender.

I didn’t say they’d lose 5-6 more games.  I don’t think anyone expects that.  It was one loss where they didn’t play smart.  Can we dial it back a bit?

[Robert Paulson]

1 hour ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

I am worried because Vrabel completely shut down James Cook and slowed Allen down considerably. 20 points is a joke for this offense. Buffalo should be putting up 30+ every game. 
 

McDermott was severely out coached. He gets way too conservative. I would’ve felt better running a 2 minute offense the entire game than hoping for the Bills to force a miracle turnover in a one possession game. On an even playing field, coaching wins you the game. Drop balls, missed blocks ARE his fault because McD is responsible who sees the field and instilling fundamentals. A fundamentally sound player doesn’t drop balls and miss tackles. 

 

The biggest concern though is the defense who let Maye effortlessly drive into FG range. This was exactly what happened last season except the Bills won by 3 that time. Would’ve been easier to stomach if it was a chaotic road game, but that’s what Maye was dealing with so gotta give him props. 

Allen slowed Allen down.  There were open recievers to move the chains and Allen wanted to chunk play it to show up Diggs. 

 

Simple as that

[BuffaloMatt]

Looks like wild card to me. 

[Ya Digg?]

10 minutes ago, BuffaloMatt said:

Looks like wild card to me. 

If that! I mean I’d this team can’t go undefeated with Josh Allen as QB year in and year out what’s even the point of having him in the team? I say the Bills trade him so we can start over! And while we’re at it, everyone wanted Cook gone during the offseason too, so time to trade him as well! How dare he not get 140 yards and 2 touchdowns!

 

DOOM AND GLOOM I TELL YA, DIOM AND GLOOM!!!!

[Dillenger4]

1 hour ago, oldmanfan said:

Maybe panic is a bit extreme, but so is saying it’s realism that all of a sudden we are not a good football team.  Three turnovers lost the game last week; that is extremely uncharacteristic for the Bills.   The offense despite everyone complaining about it is one of the top offenses in the league.  The defense actually played decently last week, but needs more consistent performances from a lot of guys. 
 

Last week the team played dumb football.  Too many stupid penalties, stupid calls, just overall stupid.  That will not likely recur.

Who is saying we are not a good football team?? We are. Problem is, and what we are saying: so are the Pats. You think we "Played a bad game"? Ok then. That's who we are. We've had three tough outings and then the NE loss. Saints, Miami and Balt could have been losses too. I'm happy we won. But thats the NFL. Wea re NOT some juggernaut like a lot of fans think we are.

Let's see what happens Monday night when the Falcons Rise Up. Should be a great game! Hopefully we can squeak one out on the road in Primetime!

With our D... I expect it to be very close.

[oldmanfan]

5 minutes ago, Dillenger4 said:

Who is saying we are not a good football team?? We are. Problem is, and what we are saying: so are the Pats. You think we "Played a bad game"? Ok then. That's who we are. We've had three tough outings and then the NE loss. Saints, Miami and Balt could have been losses too. I'm happy we won. But thats the NFL. Wea re NOT some juggernaut like a lot of fans think we are.

Let's see what happens Monday night when the Falcons Rise Up. Should be a great game! Hopefully we can squeak one out on the road in Primetime!

With our D... I expect it to be very close.

We are not who we are based on one bad game.  I don’t anticipate three turnover games as a constant.  Take it a game at a time, play well against Atlanta, and pick up another win.

[Dillenger4]

1 minute ago, oldmanfan said:

We are not who we are based on one bad game.  I don’t anticipate three turnover games as a constant.  Take it a game at a time, play well against Atlanta, and pick up another win.

I hope so man! It wasn't one bad game though... IMO it has been a pattern this season, brewing up to the loss.

Falcons are good and pose a threat to our porous D. Hopefully we play disciplined football and get the W!

GO BILLS!

[SoTier]

1 hour ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

I am just revisiting this topic now that we have a larger sample size to sort through. The season has kind of gone the way I thought it would. I knew Miami & NY wouldn’t compete. I never would’ve guessed they (Pats) went into Orchard Park and won. 

 

I have been on the Pats as a possible WC team since they hired Vrabel and then signed Diggs. Maye played pretty well despite poor coaching and minimal talent around him as a rookie.  I picked the Pats to finish second in the AFCE when numerous others were worried about the Fins and even the Jests.  Right now, I think they can get 10 or 11 wins, especially with the Bengals circling the drain and the Ravens watching them and hoping to avoid the same fate.

 

The Bills should win 13 or 14 games.  

 

1 hour ago, thronethinker said:

Patriots have a much easier schedule going forward. We may be pulling for the Ravens against them.

 

 

 

Unless Allen misses games, the Pats aren't threatening the Bills for the AFCE.

 

 

Edited 5 hours ago by SoTier

[UKBillFan]

15 minutes ago, Dillenger4 said:

Who is saying we are not a good football team?? We are. Problem is, and what we are saying: so are the Pats. You think we "Played a bad game"? Ok then. That's who we are. We've had three tough outings and then the NE loss. Saints, Miami and Balt could have been losses too. I'm happy we won. But thats the NFL. Wea re NOT some juggernaut like a lot of fans think we are.

Let's see what happens Monday night when the Falcons Rise Up. Should be a great game! Hopefully we can squeak one out on the road in Primetime!

With our D... I expect it to be very close.

 

Though what team is this year?

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

Pats are going to drop their next two against the saints and browns. Just have a feeling based on how those teams have been playing, and they are both road games for the Pats.

[SoTier]

4 minutes ago, Dillenger4 said:

I hope so man! It wasn't one bad game though... IMO it has been a pattern this season, brewing up to the loss.

Falcons are good and pose a threat to our porous D. Hopefully we play disciplined football and get the W!

GO BILLS!

 

The Bills weren't going to go undefeated in 2025.  Only the 1972 Dolphins and the 2007 Patriots have managed that, and the Pats lost the Super Bowl to Eli Manning and the Helmet Catch.   

 

I'm not convinced that Atlanta is all that good.   They got blanked 30-0 by the Panthers, and then had to hang on to get a one score win against the Commanders without Jayden Daniels.

[SlamnSam]

2 hours ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

Excluding some kind of miracle, it’s obvious who the front runners are of this division. The Patriots showed that they are not the same team as the past few seasons. Maye was impressive and Vrabel’s defense showed that it can slow Josh Allen down. I am still leaning heavily towards Buffalo to win it. I think the next 3 games will be very telling for each of these teams.

 

The first 3 for the Patriots should be EASY wins for a contender. If they win those 3, they will show me that can beat the teams they are supposed to beat. That is the first step of becoming an elite team. Once you can defeat the “tomato cans” with regularity, you have to start beating elite teams. The Bills win was a fluke until I see them do it again. Unfortunately, their remaining schedule is probably the easiest in the NFL.

 

The Bills next 3 games scares me a little more. The Falcons are the type of team the Bills typically fail against. The run-heavy, physical kind. Still their QB doesn’t scare me. For the Panthers, Bryce Young has flashes of brilliance once in a blue moon. Facing off against the Chiefs used to be a good gauge on how good your team is. Although, still a major accomplishment if the Bills win. 
 

I posted both remaining schedules. What do you think? 

Patriots

@ Saints

@ Browns

Titans

Falcons

@ Bucs

Jets 

@ Bengals 

Giants

BYE

Bills

@ Ravens

@ Jets

Dolphins

 

Bills

@ Falcons

BYE 

@ Panthers 

Chiefs

@ Dolphins

Bucs

@ Texans 

@ Steelers 

Bengals

@ Patriots

@ Browns

Eagles

Jets 

 

 

 

 

the bills schedule is much harder and with the nfl cheating for kraft the pats probably wont lose many more. the pegulaos got what they wanted they wanted a team that would bridge them to their big payday with the PSLs. The team will be up for sale soon as they finish cashing in on the new stadium. 

[HOUSE]

Let's face it, The Bills gave another chump team a break and somehow the Patriots are now considered a good team. Go figure...

That team is average at best.

Saints 24

Patriots 21

Edited 4 hours ago by HOUSE

[pennstate10]

I’m not too worried 

It took a “perfect storm” for the Pats to win. 
 

—Bills had 3 turnovers, all of which hurt because they were in red zone or near redzone. 
 

—Bills were missing two of their top defenders 

 

—Shawn Hoculi crew was officiating. I’m not saying that this is a conspiracy and his crew is biased against the Bills.  I am saying that he has a poor group of officials

amd they call more ticky tack and phantom penalties than any other crew. The evidence

is in the data. Someone else posted

the data that his crew led the league in penalties called. And that the p

value for Bills being more likely to lose games with his crew was about 0.01. 
 

I remember a real phantom hold against Mcgovern and uncallled hold against NE #18 on key plays. 
 

—And Maye played one of his best games ever. 

[Success]

I think the Pats win this past Sunday was a lot like the Bills win over the Pats w/ Fitz that one year (and yeah - it's pretty sad we all know what that one was.  One of the very few meaningful wins we had over Brady).

 

They pulled out the stops, played a little over their heads, and took advantage of our mistakes & some questionable officiating. And they still only won in the least seconds.

 

If this sparks a run for them, I'll be surprised. They played to the level of their opponent in every game except Carolina.  They're going to lose to some bad teams.

 

I think we win the division by 2 games, maybe 3.

 

Edited 3 hours ago by Success

[The Frankish Reich]

Before the season I predicted the Jets would be the most improved team in the NFL.

 

Am I allowed to amend that?

 

The Patriots are the most improved team in the NFL.

 

The Jets will be the most improved team in the second half.

[Sweats]

The Bills have an uncanny knack for making trash QB's look like MVP's.........i mean, it is truly unprecedented.

 

[Low Positive]

3 hours ago, uticaclub said:

We never beaten them at home, with an emerging QB, a head coach who previously found success in the league, and a promising free agent and draft class. This win didn't feel fluky; it felt like our five-year division run will actually be challenged.

Does everyone forget that it was already challenged. In 2021, rookie Mac Jones and the Pats led the division until the Bills went into Foxboro and beat them on Thursday night. In 2023, the Bills had to beat Miami in week 18 to win the division. This year is no different. 

Edited 3 hours ago by Low Positive

[Psautcsk]

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Edited 3 hours ago by Psautcsk

[UKBillFan]

8 minutes ago, Sweats said:

The Bills have an uncanny knack for making trash QB's look like MVP's.........i mean, it is truly unprecedented.

 

 

I don't think Maye is 'trash'. I think the Bills D made him look better than he is, though.