Do the Bills make the playoffs

[Nitro]

They will make it.  The AFC is up and down.  Parity abounds.  Hot one week, bad the next.  As bad as the Bills played last week they were in position to win.   

[gordong]

I don't think they stand a chance to get into the playoffs honestly....  they just aren't good enough. The GM and the HC seem to be the two biggest weak links.

[BritishBill]

I've been pretty confident but now quite worried. A lot is going to depend on this steelers game. 

 

Chiefs will make it i think

 

I obviously want to get in but wonder if we might need to miss out to make ownership change things 

Edited 9 hours ago by BritishBill

[FloridaSnow]

2 hours ago, BritishBill said:

I've been pretty confident but now quite worried. A lot is going to depend on this steelers game. 

 

Chiefs will make it i think

 

I obviously want to get in but wonder if we might need to miss out to make ownership change things 

I’m here too. If the Bills beat Pitt, which I think they will, we are in a very strong position to make the playoffs. 

[Goin Breakdown]

Steelers is going to be a tough game

Cinci will be tough 

Cleveland tough only because defense but Houston showed us that only having a good defense will beat the Bills. 
Eagles again good defense and capable offense. 
jets are the jets so this is the only game I see as a for sure win, but I thought that about Miami too so there's that. I'm not confident in the playoffs this year at all. 
 

[Metal Man]

After playing with the ESPN Playoff machine this morning 3-3 should be enough to get in as the 6 in most of the probable scenarios.

 

The match-up that came about the most would be facing the Colts in the WC round. Hard to imagine not giving up 200+ to Taylor in that game though.

 

So for me I think they make it but get bounced by Indy or Baltimore in the first round and probably in a pretty lopsided way.

[The Red King]

At this point I'd be satisfied just making the playoffs so long as we keep the Chiefs from getting in via tiebreaker.

[LarryMadman]

Does it matter? Even if they do they aren't winning 4 in a row against top teams.

[mjt328]

Very good chance Week 18 we are playing for the postseason, and I'm not sure they make it.

I can think of really good reasons they could lose any of their upcoming games:

 

With the way they struggled with the Texans pass rush, how do you think they are going to perform against the Eagles?  I could see them also struggling badly with the Steelers and Browns rushers.  Bengals get back Joe Burrow, so their record is irrelevant.  The Jets also pose a much bigger threat with Tyrod Taylor, and Aaron Glenn might be coaching for his job in the final game.  I've also finally accepted the Patriots are a better team than us this season, and will probably sweep.

 

Edited 4 hours ago by mjt328

[frostbitmic]

We were 4-0 before wearing those ugly *** Silver uniforms and 3-4 since.

 

The only consistencies with the team this year is the non stop penalties, the never ending injuries and not filling our gaps in run Defense (we hear that one every week from McD).

 

The magic this team has had the past few seasons seems to be gone and they show up flat and not ready to play far too often ... we're collectively becoming Keon Carpenter.

 

2-4 in the final 6 games wouldn't be a shock, 4-2 would be.

[Bill from NYC]

I voted yes but I cannot and will not try to justify this vote.

[Kirby Jackson]

14 hours ago, Paup 1995MVP said:

KJ I respect your football acumen.  What do you make of this Bills’ team?  I am not impressed in the slightest.  Josh seems to have lost his juice to a degree.  Our receiver group is bottom 5 easily.  Maybe bottom 3 w the Saints and some other scrub team like the Raiders and Browns.  
 

It’s really appalling w such a great QB and RB that we look overwhelmed in so many games.  
 

And the defense is a bunch of parts bought at the junk yard.  You know how some people  try and steal copper wire to sell for money.  That fits Brandon Beane. Buying used players w no upside.  
 

I have been a fan since the 70’s when I moved to Buffalo New Years 1976.  Haven’t lived there in many years.  But all 3 of my kids are huge fans even though they have never lived in Buffalo.  (They live in Miami and LA. But watch every game.  And live and die w the team like their Dad.) Heck my ex wife is a big fan and she grew up in Texas.  And my girlfriend is a big fan even though she is from the D and is a big Lions fan too.  My mother is 84 and never misses a game.  She used to drive down from Toronto w her boyfriend to every game.  I bleed the Bills.  And I am hurting.  I hate McDermott.  Don’t think he has the smarts, the moxie or the toughness to lead us to a  Championship.  
 

My college team is the Michigan Wolverines.  I love Sherrone Moore way better than McDermott.  We aren’t great this year.  But Sherrone has a presence, a plan and a confidence that we will be great again soon.  And we will play Ohio State tough next Saturday if not best their ass.  Because we have a pride and a toughness that is Michigan.  And it should be the Bills too. 

Hey man, I’ve found this to be arguably the most frustrating team of my lifetime. They’ve been on the verge for 6 years but have had some clear flaws every year. The last 2 years, the flaws looked bigger. The pass catchers looked to be near the bottom as you mentioned.
 

The DL was so bad last year that they brought in a handful of guys to try to change it (Walker, Sanders, Ogunjobi, Bosa, Jackson and Hoecht). They were throwing things at the wall and hoping something stuck. It has not. There wasn’t a plan other than “go find different guys.” Hoecht was probably planned but Bosa and Walker just kind of “happened.” I mean, the Bills took TJ Sanders AND Landon Jackson before settling on Walker. It was like, “I guess he’s good value.” I’m not saying I wouldn’t have taken those guys first but he’s clearly been the best of the 3. That was way more luck than a plan. If that was a “plan” you’d have taken him before Landon Jackson. 

 

I fear that next year, they’ll do the EXACT same thing at WR. Clearly they see what a disaster it has been by the efforts at the deadline. I suspect that next year only Shakir, Palmer, Shavers and MAYBE Gabe are back as WRs. That means that we will have 3+ new guys on the roster and a bunch more coming in. If I had to guess they will take the quantity over quality strategy that they have. They’ll just keep adding bodies instead of trying to add “the” guy.

 

The biggest issue, in my opinion, is that the Bills don’t value talent. If you told them they could have 2 “B” players or have an “A” and a “D” player they are taking 2 “B” players all day long. They then create this rotation where the “B” players split snaps 60/40 or whatever. I believe that you should go with the “A” and “D” players at premium positions (WR, Edge). The snap shares for “A” player vs. “D” player should be 90/10 at WR and 75/25 at Edge. The “A” players should be on the field at EVERY big moment. You’re banking on the “A” players making a play like Pickens made yesterday to win the game. You’re hoping that they just “out-talent” the guy across from them. This Bills regime sees it differently. 
 

You hit the nail on the head with the philosophy on defense. It’s get pieces to fill roles. I believe that the delta from “A” players to “suitable role players” is wide. The Bills seem to be willing to downgrade from the “A” players to upgrade the “suitable role players.” That’s insanity. The Cook negotiations were a perfect example. They had no choice but to bring him back even before he exploded this year because he is a Pro Bowl level player. You don’t let those guys go in favor of 2 “Ray Davis-level” guys. You shouldn’t sign those high end role players like Bernard, Rousseau and Knox to make them low end “A” players. They aren’t that. 
 

There’s a lot of words here but you win at the top of your roster. The Eagles have elite talent so let’s put them aside. KC won for years with HOFer Patrick Mahomes throwing to HOFer Travis Kelce and HOFer Chris Jones making every big stop. The Pats did it with HOFer Tom Brady to HOFer Gronk with a handful of defensive stars also in Canton.
 

You don’t win because of the gap between Dawson Knox and Quentin Morris. You win because of the gap between George Pickens and Elijah Moore (or even Josh Palmer). Maybe that’s a good way of putting it. The Bills would rather have Knox and Palmer than Pickens and Morris. If you give them 4 players they’ll take the 2nd and 3rd best over the 1st and 4th. I just don’t think that’s a championship plan. That’s how Carolina was built too. They were both fortunate to get MVP QBs. You never trade a dollar for 4 quarters. Beane would trade 10 dollars for 40 quarters if offered.

 

ADDENDUM: Lol, after reading this back it almost feels like a breakthrough in therapy. I think the root of my frustration with the Bills is that they’re wasting Josh. I’ve known that but what I now realize is that they’re consciously trying to give him as MANY guys as they can, not “the best possible guys.” It’s like saying, “we would rather go to Longhorn twice than to Ruth’s Chris once and Sizzler once.” It’s just not the lens that I see the world through.

Edited 1 hour ago by Kirby Jackson

[TBBills Fan]

15 hours ago, machine gun kelly said:

Well my other Tampa, Bills fan other than me, it depends on the Steelers, Pats, and Eagles.  I’m not overly worried about the others although I can also see us falling apart.  Brady is way too predictable and we can’t buy separation from our WRs.

His lack of adjustments and questionable game plans and play calls have me wondering about him. 

[buffalostu2]

Why does it matter if we are AFC East champs?   We have done that six years in a row without the end result we are looking for.   If you don't get the #1 seed it doesn't matter.   Home field advantage is not what it used to be.

 

Get us in and let Josh be Josh

[Sweats]

Part of me feels that they should just throw in the towel and concentrate on making corrections for next year, but the logical one in me keeps saying that nothing will change next year anyways, so what's the point anymore.

 

I think the FO has proved that they aren't going anywhere with this status quo regime, since they've had 8 years already with nothing to show for it and us fans know that the horizon doesn't look any brighter no matter if it's this season or next.

 

Poor coaching, poor drafting, poor FO decisions, poor talent, poor everything right across the board.

 

SB or bust.

[Goin Breakdown]

30 minutes ago, Sweats said:

Part of me feels that they should just throw in the towel and concentrate on making corrections for next year, but the logical one in me keeps saying that nothing will change next year anyways, so what's the point anymore.

 

I think the FO has proved that they aren't going anywhere with this status quo regime, since they've had 8 years already with nothing to show for it and us fans know that the horizon doesn't look any brighter no matter if it's this season or next.

 

Poor coaching, poor drafting, poor FO decisions, poor talent, poor everything right across the board.

 

SB or bust.

I think we've busted. I honestly don't think we'll be healthy enough, coached and prepared enough to beat the top level teams. But maybe because it seems improbable, the Bills will win it all. Who knows?

[RichStadiumGuy]

I went with NO.

 

This whole team... players AND coaches alike... seem to be in some sort of a mystical daze over the past several weeks while some teams that normally live in that state of "dazedome" have been playing balls to the wall. I realize that you can't win 'em all but if they lose many more we can start singing the turn out the lights tune.