billsfan89

These Thursday games are always whacky. No matter what happen gotta take it with a grain of salt.

Miami has a solid offense they are going to move the ball but the Bills are going to have to make redzone stops. Force them to field goals and let Josh build a lead with TD's.

One thing I think McD and the entire coaching staff deserves credit for is that the Bills played complementary football after getting punched in the mouth to start the game. The offense lifted the defense when it needed a physical and mental break (last drive of the half got the defense into half time with a break while a long sustained opening drive gave the defense an extended breather) and then when the offense turned it in its first three and out of the game the defense forced a turnover (After forcing a three and out on the previous drive). When the offense had the ball up 3 with 8.5 minutes left after the special teams let down the Bills offense grinded down the clock to slightly less than two minutes left in the game and extended the lead to 6. The defense then shut the door when the Cards still had plenty of time on the clock and 3 timeouts. While the players deserve the credit for executing the coaches definitely didn't let things spiral out of control when down 14.

Seems like a lot but factoring in the consistent cap spikes that are going to start next season and keep going up as Brown's contract kicks in. So while it is a bit higher than I would have expected I do think if Brown just continues to be an above average starting RT he's going to justify the contract. What I like about this signing is that it keeps the offensive line the same through 2025. The starting 5 is all locked up through 2025 and the group is all fairly young. All starting 5 offensive linemen NEXT season will be 28 years old or younger with the only exception being Dawkins who is the veteran of the group at age 31 next season which while on the older side is not ancient as offensive linemen tend to play well until age 33ish so hopefully Dawkins still has 2-3 more good seasons left after this one. I also do like the bench pieces they assembled. Four young players with potential. SVPG in my opinion was the 3rd best center in the draft and Grable is another rookie who while a late round pick showed potential in pre-season/camp. But the other two spots are occupied by Van Denmark and Alec Anderson who are entering in their second seasons and have looked good when called up mostly in camp/preseason. So with four solid prospects on the bench there's a plan to sustain development should Dawkins decline or injury hit. Gotta like the direction of the offensive line.

Even an uncharitable view of Von's opening game still sees him as a respectable rotational DE3/4 (and I think he played better than that but like I said even if you aren't as high on him) which is miles ahead of where he was last season where for most of the season he looked completely shot. So I think there's optimism that he at least looks like he belongs on a good defense in at least a rotational role.

Fun stat, glad the Bills turned the game around yesterday for the win!

After 24 hours plus to "digest" the game I have to say that there's a lot to like about the game but some stuff to be concerned about. I think what impressed me was the Bills turning things up when they absolutely needed to. The offense knew that in order to really get back into the game with 3 minutes left in the first half they had to get the "double dip" and I think they knew that a field goal to get it to 17-6 was not going to be the momentum getter that they really needed. I also think the offense knew the defense needed a break. The defense had been gassed by the Cards who had 3 long scoring drives putting them on their heels and dominating time of possession. But the offense got the defense something like a 40-50 minutes real time break between running out the clock on the last 3 minutes of the first half (that drive probably took 12-15 minutes due to the many stoppages/timeouts), then half time, and then the opening drive of the second half that was over 5.5 minutes of game time (a drive that probably took 15ish minutes of real time). The defensive players got to really lick their sores physically and mentally while the defensive coaches got to adjust the gameplan. McD talks about complementary football and this game was a perfect example of that. The defense got smacked in the mouth and the offense started out OK but coughed up a turnover and settled for a field goal on their first two drives. The Bills get just their third possession on the game and knew that they had to give the defense a rest and spark the team back to the second half and get the chance to "double dip", the offense had to know the defense needed a breather. The offense gave the defense just that. And the defense then gave the offense a boost. The defense started the second half with a 3 and out and got the ball back to the offense but the offense turned it its first three and out. So the defense then forced their own turnover and got the ball back to the offense with good field position and the offense punched it in for the 7 point lead. Both sides of the ball helped shift the game more towards the Bills. But you have to be concerned about the defense and more importantly the special teams. The defense I think came out flat but locked down in the second half. I think McD is a great defensive coach (esp in the regular season) so I think McD and Bobby B will get the secondary and LB core adjusted and improved as the season goes on. But special teams is a concern. Had they not had the one huge return given up I would say it was a good day. Even Bass kicking it out of bounds on the attempted squibb was forgivable (and honestly the only other mistake) but the return TD just leaves a concern about general special teams play. Bass did make his mostly short kicks which hopefully will lead to him regaining his confidence while Martin did a decent job on his lone punt.

Cam Lewis played fairly good in the absence of Taron, so if Taron has to miss a few weeks that's hopefully a sign that they can get good play out of Lewis.

If I had to guess a lot of defensive attention was being paid to Kincaid.

Bills get a win and it was a bit shaky but overall the type of win the Bills needed to get. The Bills defense got punched in the mouth aided by a bad call that cost them 4 points. The Bills offense was good but the fumble by Josh and the lack of time of possession hurt them. But the offense got it going with the 14 point double dip and then the defense actually did its part only letting up 5 points (a field goal and the two point conversion) in the second half. Special teams made a big blunder in the big return but luckily it didn't cost the Bills. Glad to see Bass hitting all of his kicks and Martin with a decent punt.

Bass getting it done with a clutch kick I like to see that, gotta just hope the defense can make the clutch plays.

Hoping the offense can just put it away with a long TD drive.

Defense holds to a FG big time hold there. Offense getting a TD would open this up to a two score lead. Getting into clutch time here.

Defense has to force a field goal attempt here they had back to back good drives but AZ has regained their first half form here.

Ugh defense returning to first half form, have to hold strong and force a field goal here.

Dawkins had two bad penalties but he had a great play there.

An hour ago we forfeited the season did you not get the memo?

This game has completely flipped!

Watch any NFL game it happens

Offense has its first bad drive. Josh took the smart checkdown on first down then the run on second down goes nowhere and Josh misses the open deep ball. Frustrating but it happens.

Defense got punched in the face in the first half but they got a huge break being off the field for 40ish minutes in real time (the last drive of the first half, half time, and the first drive of the second half) and the responded well getting a three and out in the first drive of the second half. Offense needs to keep up the momentum.

Momentum feels to be going the Bills way...

My hope with Hollins was that he could be a "supped up" version of Sherfiled/Kumerow. Looking good on early returns.

I am hoping that the defense not being on the field for real time 40ish minutes will help them regroup and reset while also allowing the coaches a chance to really make adjustments.

I am glad the Bills did not forfeit the season...