Utah John

Haack is trying to have Josh not be the worst guy on the field today.

No, Roberts got picked up, and he ran a KO back for a TD last week.

I think I'd like NE to win and get the 5 seed, leaving one of the weaker teams at 6. Assuming of course the Bills win.

As the announcer, Kevin Harlan, said, the Jets defense holds. They certainly did. They had Davis by the shoulder pads while he was making his cut.

After paying my life insurance premiums for many years, I still haven't used that policy. The thing about insurance is you really don't want to have to use it or need it. In my opinion having Trubisky in place in case Josh got hurt was one of the best investments McBeane made this year. And, if things don't work out for Trubisky to land a starting job somewhere else, I think both he and the Bills would be pleased to do the whole thing again. I don't expect that since there are so many teams desperate for a QB upgrade, and MT will look very promising compared to the guy they have now. But if it happens, it will be fine with me.

Does anyone else remember reading that Cynthia Frelund, the analytics guru, was going to be at Bills games this year? I thought that was odd, and then it doesn't seem to have materialized.

On a related topic, this year I've noticed several games where the mix of the crowd noise along with the announcers is adjusted so the announcers are hard to hear, while the crowd noise is dominant. This has happened enough that I think it might be a deliberate choice, not to downplay the announcers, but to give viewers at home a better sense of the game experience. Has anyone noticed this?

I see your point about Jones. You could be correct about him. But Matakevich I think is back for sure.

Not many RBs make it back and resume playing at a top level. Gale Sayers came back but wasn't as good. OJ was never the same after his 1977 injury. The biggest consideration however is the salary cap. Beane's success comes from avoiding expensive long-term commitments, Josh the obvious and necessary exception.

No. The Panthers made a huge mistake re-signing CMC to such a big contract, and no one is going to bail them out.

I don't buy this. Seattle convinced themselves years ago that they MUST keep Wilson at all costs. They ended up (a) gutting their great defense to be able to keep one guy, Wilson; and (b) now having an over-the-hill Wilson and almost nothing else. In 2018 Seattle was still a strong team overall but they were NOT going to move on from Wilson. Absolutely not. Carroll would have quit. And the idea that they would give up their prized QB who was still playing well to move on to a rookie with a high ceiling but a very low floor, is just nuts.

Hughes, Addison, Sanders, Trubisky, Butler, Boettger, Wallace, Jones, Obada, Breida, Phillips, Zimmer, McKenzie, Neil are all UFA. Hughes and Addison will be gone. The reason Epenesa, Rousseau, and Basham were drafted was to replace those guys (and be better than them too). Sanders will move on. He's lost a couple of steps and Davis is ready to take his place. Trubisky was always going to be gone. He came in on a one-year deal to resurrect his career. He hasn't had much of a chance to play this year, but so many teams are desperate for starting QBs that he'll get a chance to start somewhere else. But if nothing else is available, I think he'd be happy to come back and the Bills would be delighted to keep him. Probably won't happen though. Butler and Star will both be gone. Phillips has finally recovered from his knee injury and is showing the production we were expecting before he got hurt. Phillips gets resigned and a new DT will be drafted even if Zimmer shows he's ready to go after his injury. Star and Beasley have covided themselves out of jobs. I think Obada will stick around, being cheaper than other players. Butler might be back but he's been a huge disappointment and can easily be replaced at lower cost. Beasley is still our best slot receiver but he's slowing down, and McKenzie is growing into that role. Beasley is also far more expensive than McKenzie. Plus, the covid stupidity. Boettger will probably be back since he's a versatile and pretty good player. A lot depends on injury recovery since he got hurt so late in this season. I actually think Jones sticks around since he's so valuable on STs. Breida is the RB who will be somewhere else next year. For-sure re-signings are: Wallace, Phillips, McKenzie, Neil Likely re-signings depending on injury recovery are: Boettger, Zimmer Probable re-signings are: Jones, Obada Gone are: Star, Hughes, Addison, Butler, Sanders, Trubisky, Beasley, Breida, Getting the draft picks would be fantastic. Losing Frazier, not so much.

All 7 teams that make the AFC playoffs will be pretty evenly matched. All of them have lost to some of the other teams in the mix, and all of them have beaten other teams in the mix. It will come down to covid, injuries, and execution. There have been other years where the Bills appeared more dominant going into the playoffs, so I think we're all pretty apprehensive. But none of the other teams really have a better shot. The Bills have beaten the 2 seed (KC) and lost only narrowly to the 1 seed (Tennessee). It's gonna be fun to see how things go.

On the second INT, Beasley was jammed by a defensive player 9 or 10 yards beyond the LOS. He didn't break the route off, he was blocked illegally. When Josh released the ball it still looked like Beasley was going to get into the hole in the defense the play was designed to attack. What the announcers just couldn't bring themselves to say is that the defense committed illegal contact more than 5 yards downfield. The first INT was an egregious mistake by Josh. Not mentioned during the broadcast was that this was Josh's second INT in the red zone in his entire career. He didn't have any in the previous three years, and he has two this year.

Depends on your POV. He can point out that what he did isn't nearly as bad as what Ruggs did.

And to compensate the Pats for the absence of big-market draws, the league awards them two extra draft picks.

So next year our offense comes back to 100% but the defense struggles (isn't that the pattern, every other year?). There are a lot of games on this list where we can win in shootouts.

Just wondering if KC has been moved into the AFCE. Seems like we play them every year.

The Utes' pass defense was really good this year before several DBs were injured. They had a running back covering Smith-Njibwa which is what led to all those long TDs by Ohio State. I lived in Salt Lake City for 10 years and became a Utes fan, and I was disappointed at the result but pleased with the overall performance, considering the situation and the talent of Ohio State. Britain Covey became one of my favorite Utes during the season and he played great in the Rose Bowl. Super quick, but tiny. Possible slot receiver in the NFL but probably not able to block an NFL LB's shadow, let alone an actual LB. Still I wouldn't be surprised to see him pop up on someone's roster as a UDFA finding a niche as a returner.

Judon was cleared with the Belichick get out of jail free card. But Cheatin' Bill only gets one per game.

It's possible that "Can't" Hackett has learned a thing or two that he didn't know when he was here.

I try to worry about only things I can control.

If the Dolphins beat the Titans, both the Bills and Titans will have 6 losses (assuming the Bills beat the Falcons). The last games of the year are the Titans at the Texans, and the Bills vs the Jets, and both the Titans and Bills figure to win their games. If it comes down to the Bills vs Titans for the 2 seed, obviously the Titans have the head to head edge. What if there are three 11-6 teams? Say, Bengals, Bills, and Titans -- a very real possibility. I am not sure how that would shake out, but Cinci would have the best conference record of the three. Once again I don't think the Bills could get the 2 seed. If Tennessee loses both its remaining games, and Cinci loses to either the Chiefs or Browns, I think that's the only way the Bills get the 2 seed.

I'm rooting for Covid vs all the other AFC contenders. So far Covid is undefeated.

Hoping for a Bengals loss so the Bills can get the third seed.