Pondslider

The Bills, in their own words, were supposed to be a playoff team this year. Now all of a sudden "progress" (a likely two game improvement and a worse conference record) is all we could ask for? That's some epic goal post moving.

lol

When you've got an offense that is not able to score quickly, you're down two scores at the end of the game, and you've got the ball you should do every thing you can to hang on to it. Marrone has yet to learn that after being burned on it over an over again.

Why would New Orleans do this without a backup plan in place?

It's not a winning season yet.

BOY THE REFS SURE HAVE IT OUT FOR THE BILLS WTF NFL CONSPIRACY

They should just go wildcat the rest of the game.

Brian Brohm life.

Biggest home game since Vince Young ran all over the JP Losman Bills? http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/bills/4594

He's an average QB who looks better than he is when all your team has had recently are below average QBs. If the Bills ever have a good QB again Orton won't look half as good to most people.

They had a minuscule chance of getting the ball back twice. An onside kick with less than a minute technically counts as a chance I guess? They would have had a better chance if they hadn't punted. And that's the point I've been making. That and in the end it doesn't matter whether they lose by 1 score or 3 scores. I don't give them credit for making it close.

But if they had gone for it on 4th and 2 and not made it then they would have lost slightly sooner and I would have had to accept it and go back to interacting with my horrible family.

If there's that little confidence in the offense at that point and you need two scores then the game is basically over anyway and it doesn't really matter what happens if they don't convert the 4th and 2. In the situation that played out it didn't matter either.

They took too long to get down the field, in part, because the defense had to use all their timeouts when they punted the ball to Denver. Imagine how much better off they would have been if they'd had two extra minutes and two timeouts to score that TD and get the ball back.

Well they punted and everything worked out for them about as well they could have planned for it and they still lost because the offense only got the ball back once when they needed two scores. So maybe that's why people question it? Being down 2 scores is the same as being down 3 scores if you only score once. Why didn't they punt the ball on 4th and 16? There were still over 3 minutes left. If they hadn't converted it Denver could have scored a TD and 2 point conversion and then where would they have been!?!

If down 2 TDs with 5 minutes to go in a game you pretty much know you need to win to have any real chance at the playoffs is not the time for a desperation play then when is the time?

Better odds than having to make an onside kick (.3% according to this http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/stats/onside-kickoff-success/2014/) which is what you're counting on when you punt the ball with 5 minutes left down two TDs.

Also how are the odds against? According to this site http://www.sportsone...rticle/62665328 from 2010-2013 teams had a 62.7% chance of making 4th and short. It's slightly dated I guess, but those odds are hardly against them and I'll take that even with this coaching staff over giving the ball back to the other team, knowing you will have to spend your timeouts and in the best case scenario get the ball back roughly where you just were with less time and no timeouts and lowering your chance to win. Especially when you need two scores in a short amount of time as the Bills did.

I guess it's the difference between trying to win and trying not to lose. By trying not to lose they held on a little longer than they might have, but in the end they still lost. I was hoping they'd try to win. Also, spare me the condescension. You have not proven anything with fact other than, yes, if they hadn't made the 4th and 2 they would have lost. If they hadn't made the 4th and 16 they would have lost too. They scored a TD with 55 seconds left and left themselves with no other option but an onside kick which is a low percent desperation play and they lost.

The Bills were down 24-10 and scored one TD to reach the final score. Up to the point in they game we are talking about they had only scored 1 (one) TD the entire rest of the game. They lost because they were clearly not capable of scoring two TDs in the final 4 minutes to tie the game. A bad snap could have occurred on the punt. The Broncos could have returned it into Buffalo territory. The Broncos could have moved the ball and got enough 1st downs to end the game without the offense touching the ball again. The Bills could have fumbled the punt return (remember Leodis McKelvin?) I'm not assuming everything good. I'm saying making the 4th and 2 gives them a better chance to win and if they miss it they lose the game, but they lost the the game punting the ball, so what's the difference? You are assuming that it's wrong to go for it on 4th and 2 from the 22 because of the chance that they don't make it, but they made a 4th and 16 from the 22 a few minutes later which you seemingly have no problem with.

A team full of players capable of what? They hadn't scored two TDs the entire game up to that point. Scoring two in 5 minutes was going to be difficult enough without losing two minutes and two time outs by giving the ball away on a makable 4th down.

Should the Bills have punted on 4th and 16 from their 22 on their last drive? If not, why? What's different other than they already had to use up all their time outs and 2 minutes on the clock when they punted on 4th and 2?

Oh for sure. Even on that last drive they seemed to waste a lot of time lining for the next play when the clock was running down.

The best play they ran all year was the Orton TD dive. Short yardage situation, no hesitation, snap the ball, catch the defense off guard dive forward and get the yard. It was so great and out of character that it makes me think Orton improvised it and the coaches had nothing to do with it.

The game would have ended the exact same way as far as the only meaningful statistic. They lose either way.