Utah John

There were posts earlier that said that if the Bills lose and the Bengals win, with both team finishing at 12-4, the Bills would win the tiebreaker and get the #2 seed. On the NFL's announcement of what outcomes could come from Sunday's games, that's not the case. Previously the Ravens had a shot at winning the AFCN, and would have been highly motivated. Not now. And the Patriots are highly motivated since their chance at being in the playoffs depends on beating the Bills. The impact of getting the 2 seed is, we lose the bye, and our competition in the second round gets tougher. But we still have home playoff games before a possible neutral site -- no trip to KC, no replay of last year when we beat KC in the regular season and lost in the playoff at KC. Wild Card round: 2 (Bills) plays 7 and wins. 3 (Bengals) plays 6 and wins. 4 (Jags) vs 5 is very interesting but the outcome doesn't affect the next round. Division round: 1 (Chiefs) plays 4/5 and wins. 2 plays 3 IN BUFFALO. AFCCG: 1 plays 2 somewhere else. So the importance of beating the Pats is to have that second round game in Buffalo instead of in Cinci. The Chiefs get the 1 seed with the bye and the easier division round game despite losing to both Buffalo and Cincinnati in the regular season. We now see how much that damned fumble against the Vikings hurt us. The neutral site would only come into play if two of the Chiefs or Bills or Bengals play. Personally I'd like the game moved to Miami, to rub their noses in it.

There are conflicting posts in this threat about what happens if the Bills lose and the Bengals win, so both end up 12-4. Some say the Bills win the tiebreaker and some say the Bengals do. Does anyone know for sure? If it could turn out that the Bills could fall to the 3 seed with a loss, they should play starters until a win is ensured. Assuming higher seeds win, then 2 beats 7, 3 beats 6, and 4 and 5 don't matter. Next week 1 plays 4/5, and 2 hosts 3. Not looking forward to a return to Cinci. Much better for Cinci to come to Orchard Park. It's sad that both the Bills and Bengals beat the Chiefs head to head, and that neither has the chance to play a full schedule to try to get the top seed.

I wouldn't be surprised if the play is a little tentative at first, but quite early someone will tackle someone hard, and everyone will snap out of it. If you don't play full speed, you're more likely to get hurt. Half the games this weekend will determine playoff entry or position, so there will be some serious hitting by the second quarter of each game.

I'm a skeptic about religious matters, but I see an entire country praying for Hamlin, and he's doing better...so....

Thanks for that info. He still could have figured, why push my ...errr...

In my younger days I played in an adult soccer league. One guy on our arch rival team was in terrific shape, and was a good player. Someone kicked a ball during a game that caught him in the chest. He died right then and there. He was in his 30s. Another time in a different league, a 30-something man got hit in the abdomen with a kicked ball. The impact ruptured his spleen, and only by getting to the hospital immediately did he save his life. These were not top-level competition soccer leagues, in fact to protect us old guys from ourselves we were not allowed to tackle or leave our feet. None of us had nearly the power of kick that a college or pro player would have. And still these freak things happened. And no one quit playing because of them. The point is that we all take risks, every day, doing things that can end in tragedy. We fly on airplanes and eat at McDonald's and go out in the sun without sunscreen. And we still do them. For an NFL-caliber football player, football is not just a job. It might be the only thing that man can do to make a living. You or I could quit our jobs or change careers, but for these players, there is no substitute.

I wonder if this is why Andrew Luck retired when he did.

Would you stop driving your car just because you come across a crash scene? Probably not. Most players finish long careers with a variety of scars and healed broken bones, but very very few are disabled, and on the other end of the spectrum, some walk away without any damage at all. Most guys probably figure they'll end up in the middle of the spectrum, having achieved their life's goal of playing for years in the NFL.

When I was in college majoring in meteorology 45 years ago, the models were not even worth looking at. (Except Christie Brinkley and Cheryl Tiegs - hahaha). I spent nearly 40 years as a professional meteorologist, either forecasting or working in related fields, or in management. The models got better steadily throughout the decades since the 70s, and as you say are now extremely accurate. The improvement came about for multiple reasons -- better computers, much better satellite data, much better data assimilation routines, different types of models, more precise weather radar data. All of this was funded by taxpayers. When I hear people complain that the government doesn't do anything, or produce anything, I just shake my head at their lack of awareness. A graph is worth 10,000 words to those with a little patience to understand it.

I would speculate that the changing odds corresponded to the Bills injury report. Specifically whether Jordan Poyer would be able to play. The Bills are undefeated this year when he plays. Early in the week it looked possible he wouldn't play. He's still listed as questionable but I would be shocked if he didn't play, and play well. We need Poyer AND Tre White to be close to their best considering how good a QB Burrow is.

They're actually fortunate to be 8-8 this year. They beat Baltimore with a huge comeback after the Ravens' DBs were all hurt. They beat us thanks to the heat and the design of the stadium, and almost lost when Josh misfired on a pass to McKenzie right at the end. They have invested heavily in their passing attack but their D is not good at all, other than Christian Wilkins who is excellent. Too many holes in their roster. And they need to sort out their QB situation immediately.

Light years? More like two years. They've got a young squad, so they have a couple of years to fill the holes in their roster and in particular get a veteran QB. In that time, the Bills' front office will have to shed some of the talent on the defense due to Josh's and Von's contracts kicking in. and let's be honest, our O line is just average at best and our WRs are mostly ineffective.

Cook (surprisingly) doesn't have elite speed either. He ran a 4.42 40 at the combine, which is good but not elite. He seems so much faster though. I think he's quick, not really fast.

All the evidence points to the Bears having a really lousy D line. I can't name a single player on their D line -- I don't think any of them got their name called during the game for a good play. Our O line and RBs didn't suddenly get a lot better -- they were just up against a JV team. I'll take the win and move on, but next week at this time don't think everyone regressed after they face a tougher opponent in Cincinnati.

They also live in NJ. I got to know a former NJ Giant this fall, and he said ALL the players live in NJ. He said NYC is far too expensive for all but the highest paid players, and it's a hassle to get out of NYC and get to East Rutherford for practice and games.

I would be delighted to see a merely good QB with the Dolphins. Having a merely good QB is a ticket to 9-8 and a mighty struggle to get into the playoffs. Having a bad QB is a ticket to 4-13 or worse (better?) which looks pretty rosy at draft time. There are four excellent QBs in the AFC, we all know who they are, and only those four teams have a legitimate chance at the SB.

McDaniels has been dispatched by Belichick to sabotage two teams in the AFCW. Mission accomplished, sir, now may I come back to NE and rescue the offense from Patricia? So OK, I'm not a fan of either of McDaniels's victims, but I sure hope we can convince Kansas City to dump Reid and replace him with McDaniels sometime soon.

The Dolphins are 8-7 and not playing lights out. In fact they've lost four in a row. They might squeeze into the playoffs, but they're not going to make it past the Big Three in the AFC, with or without him. They should bench him and make sure he's right before the 2023 season. And who knows maybe they still make the playoffs without Tua. Letting him play now is a disgusting idea, showing no concern at all for this young man, and striving only for the cash players and teams get for making the postseason. What's that money worth when he could end up like Junior Seau, or the former WNY player Justin Strzelczyk.

But the Colts do have a relatively young player who looks more like an athlete not yet on Social Security. He might have given the Colts a chance. Absolutely right. He was the QB on teams that won multiple Lombardis, and he had the Fox/NFC propaganda machine behind him. (Not a political Fox comment -- just Fox Sports.) But he was never a masterful QB, not a great passer. He was a good game manager with all those weapons, who belongs in the Hall of Very Good.

It sure would be nice to get back to running on all cylinders, but I'll take the good news that the Bills can win with low-octane performances. If this team ever DOES get back to strong play all across the board, it will be incredible.

There will be at least two AFC teams that are better than either the Bucs or the Panthers. OTOH a below average team is going to win the AFCS so that's just how things go sometimes.

Part of me would love to see Jacksonville surpass Tennessee for the AFCS. I just hate the Titans. But OTOH I'm not sure I want to see Jacksonville in the tournament. The Titans would be a much easier game for the Bills.

NO NO NO. We would still need to beat the Pats to secure the 1 seed.

Carr had his career year about four years ago, when the Raiders were simply dominant. That was their year. Then Carr got injured late in the year (broken leg, I believe) and they washed out of the playoffs. They never got back near that level. If anything, memories of that year are what's holding the Raiders back. They still imagine Carr is the same guy he was before the injury, and that all will be well as long as they address other needs. Well, no, Carr sucks now, and the Raiders are doomed if he's their guy.

I had a post about this a couple of days ago, where I basically said the Bills must beat Cincinnati in Cincinnati, either on Monday night or deep in the playoffs. The reward is much greater for doing it Monday.