mjt328

Jumping in here, because I feel the same way. Over the last couple years (really after 13 Seconds), my enjoyment of everything else has been severely diminished, because of our inability to win the entire thing. For instance, my reaction to the Ravens playoff victory wasn't really excitement. It was a temporary sigh of relief, and I was immediately onto the next game. I mean... I've been watching the NFL for over 35 years. I've seen plenty of exciting games. I've seen the Bills win the AFC East. I've seen the Bills win playoff games. I've seen our players win MVP. I've seen our team in the Super Bowl. Every single one of those seasons ended in awful heartbreak, to the point I still get knots in my stomach when highlights come up from the SB losses. Just once, I want the NFL season to end with OUR team hoisting the trophy. After that, I can relax and actually enjoy the sport.

They have TRIED to address it. Drafting Ed Oliver, AJ Epenesa, Groot, Boogie Basham in the Top 2 rounds Signing Trent Murphy, Von Miller, Leonard Floyd with decent contracts The problem is, all the resources they have poured into the position have only kept us spinning our wheels once the postseason hits. Zero production when it's needed the most. The Chiefs biggest issue last year was the O-Line, and we couldn't take advantage at all. A few years ago, the Bengals were totally decimated with injuries up-front. But their blockers still totally stonewalled our pass rush.

Brandon Beane's strength as a GM (both in Free Agency and in the Draft) is finding solid/average players who fit and develop well in Sean McDermott's system. This goes mostly for linebacker/secondary players on the defensive side. But since bringing back Aaron Kromer, things have started clicking on the offensive line as well. Think of players like Christian Benford, Terrell Bernard, Spencer Brown, Connor McGovern, etc. - mostly mid-round picks and cheap free agents who significantly outperformed their original expectations. The Bills roster is absolutely stacked with these kinds of players. Where Beane has historically struggled is finding ELITE difference makers with his limited resources. Each year we are short on cap space, and stuck with picks in the mid/late 20s. This makes it much harder to find dominant players, unless you have a real eye for talent or get lucky. Plus - where the Bills are excellent at developing talent in the secondary and on the offensive line... they seem to struggle getting the most our of their defensive linemen, pass rushers and receiving corps. I know the Pro-Bowl is pretty much a joke. But it does give some insight to how the rest of the league views the Bills. They really see the team as Josh Allen carrying a bunch of mediocre offensive weapons, and a defense with nobody scary/special that always chokes in the postseason. Bills fans always get upset to hear it, but maybe it's really the truth. Outside of #17, this team really isn't anything special. For someone nicknamed "Big Baller" -- our GM really is actually pretty conservative. In all these years, he's really only made a couple extremely aggressive moves. The trade up for Josh Allen (homerun), the trade for Stefon Diggs (mostly great) and the signing of Von Miller (fell apart after ACL tear). Something needs to change for the Bills to finally reach the next level. Maybe Beane just needs to take more chances. Especially to obtain a game-breaking pass rushing talent.

By my recollection, opinions were actually pretty mixed at the moment Miller was signed. Some loved Beane swinging for the fences. Some felt it was foolish to spend that much on an aging player with an injury history. Year 1 it was looking like a homerun decision by the Bills. 8 sacks in 11 games. He really seemed like the missing piece in our pass rush. Then the ACL tear happened on Thanksgiving, and everything changed. Year 2 he was completely awful trying to recover. Plus the legal issues in the offseason. Most of the fanbase wanted him cut. Year 3 he was OK. Made some plays, but really wasn't a consistent force. Outside of the fumble recovery, Miller did almost nothing in the postseason. Anyone who supported the move is going to cling to those first 11 games, and say the move would have been brilliant if not for the injury (which nobody could have predicted). Anyone who was against the signing will point out how injury risk should have been factored in, considering his past and age. At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter if Beane was smart or stupid. It was just another bust for us that didn't work out.

Didn’t learn from the Ravens last week. Wasted two points on blown conversions.

The Chiefs have played 18 games this season. That's a pretty good sample size. They scored exactly 30 points twice. Never went over. Once required them going to overtime, and the other was against the Panthers (who at that time were legitimately being argued as the worst team in the entire NFL). So we aren't talking about a team that lacked consistency on offense. We are talking about a team that was mediocre or struggled all season long in putting the ball into the endzone. For comparison, the Bills scored 30 or more points in 13 of their 19 games. That includes their regular season matchup against the Chiefs and the Wild Card Game against a Broncos defense which most considered to be the best in the AFC playoffs. If the Bills had needed 30 to beat the Ravens, I'm pretty confident they could have gotten it... either with that 4th down goal line conversion, or with a 2-minute drive at the end of regulation. Anything can happen on Sunday. I'm of course nervous and anxious. But we also have every reason to be confident. To put it simply... this version of the Bills is better than this version of the Chiefs. To beat us, their offense will likely need their best game of the entire season. While at the same time, their defense will need to hold us to one of our worst games of the entire season.

Can't expect to be 100% healthy when you are 20 games into the season. We were down half of the defense last year, so missing maybe 1-2 starters should make us feel pretty fortunate. No more excuses. You go into the season with the goal of winning the Super Bowl, and this is what you play all season to get to. This team has blocked us from achieving that goal three times already. Comparing rosters, there is nothing that sets them above us in terms of overall talent. We should be well above them when it comes to desire, motivation and how bad we want this. No way they can get in our way a fourth time.

Sports are always better when you have legitimate competition and intense rivalries to keep fans interested. Watching the same teams/players dominate year after year just gets boring. That's why 99% of the country is rooting against the Chiefs. And I suspect many of their own fans are getting a little bit fatigued too. Even back during the Patriots run, there were gaps between their wins that helped keep NFL viewers tuning in. Fans finally starting getting tired of the Patriots after their third Super Bowl win (2004 season vs. Eagles). And thankfully after that victory, it took nearly a decade for the Patriots to win another championship. Over the next several years, we saw the Steelers, Colts, Giants, Saints, Packers, Ravens and Seahawks win championships. That really helped establish rivalries with the Manning brothers, Big Ben, gave defining moments to future HOF quarterbacks Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers, and helped establish a young Russell Wilson. The NFL wasn't just about Tom Brady. And it gave fans hope that the evil empire could at least could be conquered sometimes. The NFL is at risk of becoming the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes show. And that simply isn't good for the league. Especially when you have all these other QBs in their primes (Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, etc.) that need a ring to create their legacy.

I was frustrated with the conservative play-calling during the game as well. But on looking back, it probably wasn't as significant as we are all making it out to be. The Bills only had the ball four drives (not counting the kneel down) in the second-half. - On the first punt/three and out, they threw the ball twice. Dalton Kincaid dropped one. The other Allen was almost sacked. - The second punt, we were moving. Then the dumb screen to Dawson Knox. But on replay, it's clear Allen checked into that call. - Third drive was a field goal. 5 runs, 4 passes. - Fourth drive we got to the 2 yard line. Would have probably gone for it and scored in almost any other situation. We started the half with an 11 point lead, going against one of the most dangerous offenses in the entire NFL. Much of our success had come on the ground. It's really hard to blame them for trying to bleed clock with the running game, and make sure the Ravens didn't have enough chances to come back. The one play I really hated was the 3rd-5 screen to Knox. But that wasn't on the coaching staff. That was Allen changing the call to attack a more favorable look. With the scoreboard the way it was, the Bills never NEEDED to open up the offense. If the Ravens had gotten that 2 point conversion, you probably would have seen us go into an attack mode, so we could go down in regulation and win the game.

If you want to know what happened with Stefon Diggs, just look at Amari Cooper's production. He is currently in the spot that Diggs would have been occupying. Last year, Diggs saw his usage/numbers completely fall off a cliff when Joe Brady took over as coordinator. He clearly saw the writing on the wall that it was going to be the same in 2024, and he wanted no part of it. The offense was shifting into a more balanced attack, more checkdowns, less downfield passing and most importantly, no more forcing him the ball. Based on how Brandon Beane approached free agency and the cheap compensation we got back, I don't think he ever planned on trading him. Diggs forced his way out the door. The Bills were mostly willing to deal with the temper tantrums, cryptic posts, blow-ups and degrading relationship with his quarterback. They excused his toxic behavior as just being an emotional player who really wanted to win. As the year has progressed, I think we are now seeing Diggs exit as a blessing in disguise. Despite his talent, his attitude was a cancer to the locker room. There were moments when we missed his ability early in the year, but Cooper has now filled that role. He is perfectly happy to draw away defensive coverage, and just make the clutch plays when he's called upon. Doesn't need 100 catches and 1200 yards receiving. Just wants a ring.

When it comes to football, there are two different kinds of pain. Hard to really say what is worse. There are teams that always seem to be awful, have never really drafted an elite Quarterback to lead them, and never really seem to come close. Cleveland is the most obvious, for all the reasons you stated. Detroit still hasn't made a Super Bowl either. Arizona basically had that one shot with Kurt Warner's career winding down. None of these franchises have even experienced long-term success during the modern era. Then you have us. On the doorstep multiple times, but unable to finish the job. Our 1990's roster had multiple Hall of Famers, including at Quarterback. Now struggling to break-through again, despite having possibly the best QB in the entire NFL. I can't think of another team who has been so close, so many times, with zero rings to show for it. The next closest may be Cincinnati, especially if they fail to get one with Joe Burrow. Yeah, the Ravens have plenty of reason to be upset and disappointed after the last couple years. But they were still on top of the world twice, so I'm not willing to lump them with us.

Hope not. The NFL really needs to be careful here. I know they seem invincible when it comes to ratings, but they won't get unlimited grace with sports fans. After the nauseating New England/Tom Brady show that lasted almost two decades, most football fans I talk with are already SICK of the Chiefs (and I live in St. Louis, which is generally considered KC territory). They would rather have ANYONE ELSE go to the Super Bowl than watch another unending dynasty. Since Taylor Swift joined their team, most people are pretty suspicious of the NFL skewing things in their favor. The last thing they need is yet another officiating debacle that sends the most hated team in the league back to the big game. Especially if it's against another heavily disliked franchise like the Eagles.

The goal should be winning the Super Bowl every single season. Anything less is a failure. Rebuilding teams with new GMs and new coaches get a pass, because they are still working past the failures made by previous regimes. So for example, you really couldn't judge Brandon Beane/Sean McDermott way back in 2017-2018, when most of the roster talent and locker room problems were created by Doug Whaley and Rex Ryan. By now, those guys are responsible for everything involving how the Buffalo Bills are constructed from top to bottom. If the talent at Defensive End isn't good enough, that is on Beane and the scouting department for not drafting good enough. If the salary cap is an issue, he needs to own it. He gave out the contracts. If the players aren't being developed or utilized correctly, that is on the coaching staff. Failing doesn't necessarily mean they need to be fired. But it does mean that something isn't going right in the process, and must be re-evaluated. We can't just keep falling short of the same team over and over, and then praise them like something was accomplished.

Our primary competitor in the AFC has gone to 7 straight AFC Championships. If they defeat us (again) on Sunday, they will have a chance to win their third straight Super Bowl and fourth overall with this QB and Head Coach combination. And during roughly the same period of time, our team will have had only two appearances in the AFC Championship, still no Super Bowl appearances and of course no rings. Another franchise can achieve that level of consistent and sustained greatness, and I'm supposed to be "happy" just getting past the Divisional Round? I do not care what some goofs in the sports media said about our team in the preseason. We have a future Hall of Fame quarterback in the absolute prime of his career. If the roster talent around him is truly so inferior, then I want to know why Brandon Beane allowed it to happen. Don't give me that garbage about the salary cap, aging players, etc. The New England Patriots somehow managed to dominate the entire NFL for 18 straight years without falling off. As mentioned, the Chiefs haven't missed a beat since Patrick Mahomes stepped under center. Why can't we field a contender for 4-5 seasons before needing to blow everything up? To the OP - I have no idea how old you are. But I've been watching this team for 35+ years. And I can tell you that all the playoff success in the world is totally empty without getting the Lombardi. Looking back at the 90s teams brings me just as many painful memories as happy ones. It shouldn't be that way. Maybe you THINK you are good now. But if this team cannot finish the job with Josh Allen as their QB, it will be an equal if not greater failure. So no. I'm not happy just having a good season. Time to go win the whole *** thing.

What was the problem with the Bills offense before Joe Brady became the offensive coordinator? Most would say too much reliance on Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs and the downfield passing game creating big plays. It was exciting. But it also resulted in too many up and down games and too many turnovers. This year, the offense has been focused on playing smart, efficient and mistake-free football. Running the ball. Short passes and check-downs. Spreading the ball around. Only unleashing the beast when absolutely needed (such as the Rams and Lions games). It has resulted in one of the best offensive seasons in team history. Around the league, most defensive coordinators are primarily concerned with stopping Allen from making big plays. And Amari Cooper is still viewed as our most dangerous downfield receiver. Which means the smartest and most efficient way to attack is by running, and with the short/underneath passing game. For better or worse, Cooper is not going to be heavily used unless we need to attack down the field.

When history looks back at this game, it won't remember great plays by the Bills players. It will remember the two back-breaking mistakes by Mark Andrews. That is just the reality of the situation. So I can't blame the media for focusing on that point. The Ravens basically "Billsd" away the game. That is the kind of way our team has been losing for years and years and years. And from those years of experience, I can tell all the Ravens fans one cold, hard truth. Regardless of how much people cry that your team SHOULD have won, or scream that your team was the BETTER one... nothing will change the fact that your season is over, and we are the ones playing next week.

Elam always seems to perform well when called upon. Very surprised that Taylor Rapp's injury may not be as serious. He looked done last night.

Another benefit on winning this week. The farther we go in the playoffs, the better chance openings are filled by other coaches. Maybe we can hold onto Joe Brady for another year. Teams want to make their coaching moves ASAP, especially with other teams competing for the same candidates.

No way. Their offense was #15 in the NFL in scoring this season. That is easily the worst they have been with Patrick Mahomes under center. After losing Tyreek Hill, they weren't as explosive. But they were still very efficient with Travis Kelce in his prime. Now they aren't explosive, they aren't efficient, and they have been suspect at both tackle positions on the O-Line. I agree the defense has stepped forward as the other side of the ball has gone backwards. Better than 2022, sure. But that group was absolutely dominant last year. This year I think they are just good. We can absolutely put 30-40 points on them.

All the scenarios were going through my head. The Ravens getting the onsides kick... Fumbling the snap on the kneel down... Being a Bills fan is hard.

It was a tough situation all around. Can't blame the coaches either way. In my opinion, it was a really bad spot by the refs. Close to a full yard short of where it should have been. But spot challenges almost never work, and we really needed to conserve those timeouts, in case we needed a game-winning drive. So I can't fault McDermott for not throwing the flag there. Good coaches think ahead. And despite how much I love aggressive play, the Field Goal always needed to be the call on 4th Down. You need a play that is going to get the touchdown on 3rd, and it was probably too far for a single QB sneak. Killing clock was a factor, and we've been more successful running the ball inside the 5 yard line this year. Which meant the smartest play was probably either a Josh Allen run or a handoff to James Cook. Both have been really good this year, but the Ravens made a great stop.

The Chiefs are playing in their 7th straight AFC Championship game. In my opinion, this is the 7th-best team they have fielded in that period of time. The Bills were built to stop the Chiefs. They were not built to stop the Ravens, and barely squeaked past them. We have taken them down in the regular season every year. Should have done it in 13 seconds. Had a chance last year, despite most of the starting defense being injured. Despite the even record overall, I think we have the edge over them. At this point, it's all about the mental hurdle.

With a night to compile my thoughts... The Bills played excellent in the first half. Couldn't have asked for more. Game script played out exactly how we needed it to. They did fantastic at stuffing Derrick Henry, and were very aggressive on defense with blitzes - which played a role in forcing those turnovers. Offense was a perfect mix of run/pass. The only time they got stopped was on the BS holding call. In the second half, the Ravens seemed to adjust. We just turtled up on offense, and just tried bleeding away the clock. Never seen the Bills play so conservative with Josh Allen under center. Refused to attempt a pass over 5 yards in the air. Defense was getting steamrolled in the last two quarters. Mark Andrews really choked away the game for them. I feel more fortunate that we escaped that game, as opposed to impressed at how awesome the team played. But how many times have we exited the postseason on the opposite end... feeling like the Bills played great, and we were the unlucky ones? The Bills are the best team remaining in the Final Four. The next step is getting over the mental hurdle of finally beating the Chiefs in the playoffs.

Just like every KC game this year. Look like a mediocre 9-8 team all game. Other team shoots itself in the foot repeatedly, and blows it at the end.

Our goal should be #1 in the NFL. Better than the Chiefs. Not proudly amongst the other franchises who took them down to the wire. To make the change, you absolutely need to acknowledge that things could get worse. But staying the same, they also may never get better. That is the dilemma. Some fans are so afraid of going back to the drought days, they would be ok if we never got over the hump. Think about the Steelers. Mike Tomlin has mastered the art of finishing above .500, making the playoffs and going no farther. At what point do you demand more?