Game week thread - Bengals at Bills (flexed to 1pm ET)

[Buffalo716]

4 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

Well for one they’re playing the worst defense in the history of the nfl 

 

I know it's bad but is it statistically the worst ever? 

 

Ever? 

 

I pull a lot of stats out of my ass but I'm not that up to date on my Cincinnati Bengals statistics

Edited 11 hours ago by Buffalo716

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

8 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

 

I know it's bad but is it statistically the worst ever? 

 

Ever? 

 

I pull a lot of stats out of my ass but I'm not that up to date on my Cincinnati Bengals statistics

Whatever site I was looking at only does defensive epa/play back to 2022 but this bengals defense is the worst in that time frame 

 

The DVOA folks paywalled a bunch of stuff but on the chart of defensive DVOA I found no one is even close to as bad as the bengals this year like to the point where they had to zoom the chart way out just to fit them on 😆

Edited 11 hours ago by Generic_Bills_Fan

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

This defense has played excellent for the last 6 quarters. The year we finally do this, is the year our defense takes the big step. This team has made us look very bad in the past. If we can stop Cincinnati, I think the sky is the limit. Im very excited to see how our defense holds up this week.

Edited 10 hours ago by Brianmoorman4jesus

[Richard Noggin]

1 hour ago, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

This defense has played excellent for the last 6 quarters. The year we finally do this, is the year our defense takes the big step. This team has made us look very bad in the past. If we can stop Cincinnati, I think the sky is the limit. Im very excited to see how our defense holds up this week.

 

Love to see the hope here. Of course, I don't actually share it this week, against an opponent who just proves to be a bad matchup. Cinci runs it better lately than they get credit for, and we know of course how they throw it with Burrow back in the fold. Two-dimensional offenses like theirs have the ability to exploit McD's defense (and NFL defenses in general). Without a talented pass rush, it's really difficult to stop such teams.

[Buffalo716]

1 minute ago, Richard Noggin said:

 

Love to see the hope here. Of course, I don't actually share it this week, against an opponent who just proves to be a bad matchup. Cinci runs it better lately than they get credit for, and we know of course how they throw it with Burrow back in the fold. Two-dimensional offenses like theirs have the ability to exploit McD's defense (and NFL defenses in general). Without a talented pass rush, it's really difficult to stop such teams.

 

Can't make a diamond without a lot of pressure 

 

 I think this team is ready for the playoff push

[boater]

3 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

 

Can't make a diamond without a lot of pressure 

 

 I think this team is ready for the playoff push

 

I will say the same -- if -- the Bills beat the Bengals.

 

If the Bills lose to the Bengals, it's because they are not playoff material. Specifically, it is not a playoff roster.

[Chaos]

33 minutes ago, boater said:

 

I will say the same -- if -- the Bills beat the Bengals.

 

If the Bills lose to the Bengals, it's because they are not playoff material. Specifically, it is not a playoff roster.

Explain how the Bengal's roster is better than the Bill's roster. 

[Matt_In_NH]

10 hours ago, GoBills808 said:

Because he's a captain on a contract being outplayed by Shaq Thompson

I don’t think they would make up an injury to make the switch.  Yes he is a captain but he can be replaced.   Plus we all watched the injury happen. Not sure why you would think they made it up. 

[finn]

2 hours ago, boater said:

 

I will say the same -- if -- the Bills beat the Bengals.

 

If the Bills lose to the Bengals, it's because they are not playoff material. Specifically, it is not a playoff roster.

This is why I'm at peace with this game, instead of feeling anxious or confident or resigned. If they lose, it will confirm that this just wasn't their year; even with they squeak into the playoffs, I'll know it's just a matter of time before they're beat, since a Super Bowl team does not lose to Cincinnati at home with this much at stake. Resignation, in short. If they win? Well, I go back to the twin peaks of anxiety and confidence. But for now, I'm just plain curious. 

 

Ah, the life of a fan!

[WotAGuy]

This is a really interesting game, given how the league has played out this year. The unexpected has been happening a lot, teams have risen from the dead to knock off better teams, teams are up and down week to week, and games play out much differently than stats or recent performances would suggest. 
 

There’s no consistency this year, except for New England. They haven’t tripped up, whereas the Bills and every other team has had their bumps/potholes in the road. At the beginning of the year, it looked like the offense couldn’t be stopped, and now I cringe when Allen goes back to pass - is he going to get blasted, throw an awful pick, or have Cook wide open in the flat but throw it high to Coleman who misses it?
 

Like @finn, I feel like this game will be a good barometer of whether the Bills are going to get their shlt together and go on a run, or be a consistently inconsistent first round playoff loser. 

[eball]

With Hendrickson still out, there’s no excuse for the Bills not putting up 30+ in this one.  The game result all depends on which Buffalo defense shows up and the offense not turning it over.

 

[fergie's ire]

4 minutes ago, WotAGuy said:

This is a really interesting game, given how the league has played out this year. The unexpected has been happening a lot, teams have risen from the dead to knock off better teams, teams are up and down week to week, and games play out much differently than stats or recent performances would suggest. 
 

There’s no consistency this year, except for New England. They haven’t tripped up, whereas the Bills and every other team has had their bumps/potholes in the road. At the beginning of the year, it looked like the offense couldn’t be stopped, and now I cringe when Allen goes back to pass - is he going to get blasted, throw an awful pick, or have Cook wide open in the flat but throw it high to Coleman who misses it?
 

Like @finn, I feel like this game will be a good barometer of whether the Bills are going to get their shlt together and go on a run, or be a consistently inconsistent first round playoff loser. 

Except their losses are to the Raiders (yes, the Raiders) and the Steelers when they turned the ball over 5 times.  I would say they HAVE tripped up, but did it early.  What they haven't done is lost toss up games against good teams (Bills and Tampa in Tampa come to mind).  I've also heard how awful it is that the Bills could lose to a team like Atlanta and the Patriots beat them by 1.

[NeverOutNick]

4 minutes ago, eball said:

With Hendrickson still out, there’s no excuse for the Bills not putting up 30+ in this one.  The game result all depends on which Buffalo defense shows up and the offense not turning it over.

 

It all depends on McD. We know the team Beane fielded us has holes but it also can put up points in multiple ways and the defense tightens up in the red zone. The question is how many times will McD give up the long downs, when we have the lead will he do his normal prevent D and let the bengals back in it, will he mismanage key moments when a FG early would lead to an easy win late (Texans), he’s proven to be horrible in tight games and this one is going to be a high scoring nail biter

[boater]

2 hours ago, Chaos said:

Explain how the Bengal's roster is better than the Bill's roster. 

 

I didn't say anything about the Bengals.

 

But since you brought it up, their roster also sucks. It is a QB, 2 WR, and a bunch of JAGS.

 

[RichRiderBills]

I'm not a Zach Taylor fan. I think he generates several losses per year with unnecessary risk and doesn't do a lot of good game day head coaching. I think he was handed a pretty solid roster and a golden ticket with Joe burrow and has been operating over his head. 

 

Some of the personnel moves and the firing of Joe anarumo were head scratching. The Bengals are an odd franchise. 

 

I don't really buy that the Bengals are "back baby" so to speak. I also don't believe there are any serious contender for a playoff or super bowl push . 

 

As some have mentioned the defense is legendary bad and there is a little bit overrated to the notion it has gotten better. Well,  it actually hasn't gotten better.

 

Yes, they generated five turnovers against the Ravens. But watching this game the Ravens move the ball pretty easily. Just committed a lot of boneheaded turnovers in the Red zone. To be honest with you, the Ravens were sleepwalking through this game and Lamar Alexander looked like he didn't care. It was a strange game. 

 

I think we will control the lines of scrimmage this time. Both defensive and offensive. I think our running game is a lot better than it was a few years ago. We're getting more push in the running game. That's what wins games in December. 

 

I think you'll see the Bengals are a little off-cue and though they will move the ball on offense, they will make mistakes and turn the ball over. They haven't been playing together enough to come into Buffalo and be wired 100%, especially with Zach Taylor as their coach, who I don't believe is great at preparation. 

 

I know we've had problems with our defense but I think they're coming into shape tackling a lot better and getting a lot more physical. If you watch that game back then we genuinely got pushed off the line of scrimmage. I've got to tip my hat that the the bosa loss is a gut punch. He's been playing great but I think we have the folks to get us through this game. Like I said, I fully expect them to move the ball and generate some points, but I think we will just top them with our running game and get enough stops to put us over. I wouldn't be surprised if Zach Taylor's bone-headed risk taking plays a role even there. 

 

To be honest, we generally haven't been as bad at this at home and I expect that trend to continue. 

 

The Bill's biggest weakness and the largest reason in my opinion for their losses has been turnovers. If we don't turn the ball over, we will likely win this game and everything we want to do will work. I don't expect it to be a statistical trend that'll continue. Call me crazy. 

 

Go bills. 

 

 

Edited 2 hours ago by RichRiderBills

[Solomon Grundy]

6 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

 

Can't make a diamond without a lot of pressure 

 

 I think this team is ready for the playoff push

When fully healthy.... yes!

[Ya Digg?]

6 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

 

Love to see the hope here. Of course, I don't actually share it this week, against an opponent who just proves to be a bad matchup. Cinci runs it better lately than they get credit for, and we know of course how they throw it with Burrow back in the fold. Two-dimensional offenses like theirs have the ability to exploit McD's defense (and NFL defenses in general). Without a talented pass rush, it's really difficult to stop such teams.

Have the Bills had a talented pass rush ever since Rex chased Mario out of here?

[AlCowlingsTaxiService]

6 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

Can't make a diamond without a lot of pressure 

Now THAT’S a McDermott-ism if I ever heard one 😂

[No_Matter_What]

14 hours ago, atlbillsfan1975 said:

Because this team has shown over the last 2 months they struggle with consistency. The Bengals are a desperate team who believes they have a shot to win their division. They got their QB back and the entire team has responded. The Bills have zero pass rush since KC, and now no Bosa or Epinesa. Josh is without his best receiver. Not saying they can’t win, just don’t see them as the favorite and not a 5.5 favorite.

So it's easy for you then. You know better than bookmakers. Easy money 

[AlCowlingsTaxiService]

41 minutes ago, RichRiderBills said:

Call me crazy

Ok … you’re crazy 😂