Dont Stop Billeiving

I agree with this completely. Jacksonville is a good QB and a above-average head coach away from being a wild card team and unfortunately for them, they haven't had anything close to either this season. But if they land Lawrence and a better HC hire, I think they have enough young talent across the offense and defense to be in the hunt next year.

I can understand that take and normally I'd agree with you, but Trevor Lawrence is different than those guys. He has the elite physical traits of Russell, the mobility and broken play ability of Manziel, and the winning pedigree and leadership of Tebow combined (and I'd argue he's better at all of those individual things than those guys too). He's the best college football player I've seen and I can't find a reason why his success won't translate to the NFL. Even the Jets likely couldn't screw him up.

Actual chills man. I didn't know Tasker had those stone-cold narrator vibes in him as well. What a team, this still doesn't feel real.

I generally don't get too worked up about these national talk show guys and their opinions (Nick Wright comes to mind), those type of pundits are just trying to throw out hot takes to get clicks and generate hype etc. But Bomani Jones and Dominque Foxworth took it too far going after the fans. Honestly still can't believe them smearing the entire Bills fanbase with the unfortunate Twitter history of a few people. Now that stuff should be called out and those people should be held accountable, but to tar everyone with that and root against Josh Allen and the Bills because of it and ignore all the amazing people that make up the BillsMafia with all the donations and acts of kindness is just wrong. Not the point of tonight and let's celebrate this awesome win and the AFC East title so my bad, but your post just brought all that back up for me. Love this team, Go Bills!

Josh Diggs Beasley Oliver Hughes Poyer And an anti-game ball to Drew Lock...I was open to seeing the potential, but between his throws, decision-making, and demeanor, that dude has a long road to being a good NFL QB based on what we saw today.

WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE. CONGRATS EVERYONE!

Second half Takeaway Tre strikes again. Clutch. Two defensive TDs in 2 games after none in nearly 3 seasons. Love to see it.

KUMEROW!!! Is that the record?

Obviously getting the dub is the most important, but it would be awesome to see Josh set the franchise single-season passing yards and TDs records. 719 yards and 6 passing scores with three games to go. Given that we end with two division games against better secondaries, it would be awesome to see Josh put up 350 yards and 3-4 TDs today in an AFC East clinching win. Will be simultaneously watching the Bills game on our personal laptop (optimistic) and the Notre Dame game (very nervous) on my work laptop. Fingers crossed!

Funny that Devontae Harris was probably their worst 2019 CB and had a tough game against the Bills last season, but he'd likely be their best CB tonight. Landed on the Ravens this year so they couldn't even bring him back like Will Parks.

Thanks buddy! Yeah 100%, all fair points. I probably didn't expand enough on how good Fangio is as a defensive mind in this league (as a head coach, not so much IMO). But they are the number one red zone defense for a reason and as you said, getting 6 points instead of 3 in those opportunities will be critical. If the Broncos defense was fully healthy with Casey, Purcell, Miller, Bouye, Callahan etc., I'd be a lot more concerned with the match up, but I'm optimistic that Allen and our WRs are a downright terrible match up for their CB room at the moment. Hopefully that will negate some of Fangio's red zone prowess and allow us score enough points to put this game out of reach. Go Bills!

Another week and another primetime win for these surging Buffalo Bills. The offense started slow and the Steelers were getting so much pressure (Cam Heyward is an absolute monster), but unlike past years, I was able to keep genuinely believing in the QB/offense and that we're never out of any game. Taron Johnson continued his strong form over the past few games and came up with the biggest play of his young career and Josh and Stef took it from there. We exorcised the third quarter demons and out-executed Pittsburgh in all three phases in the second half. Our Bills are 10-3 and one win away from clinching the AFC East for the first time since I was 6 (madness)! Looking ahead, we're back on the road and up into that thin mountain air against the 5-8 Denver Broncos who are coming off their most complete win against the Carolina Panthers. Same as the previous weeks, I wanted to do an amateur deep dive/scouting session into the Broncos' last three games (***not counting the debacle against New Orleans where they didn't have an actual QB as there wouldn't be much value in comparing that performance to any future game***) based on their game highlights (granted it's not the All-22 film but still nearly an hour of tape) and then list some keys/X-factors for our matchup this week. Anyways, hope you enjoy/find this useful: ***Offensive and Defensive Ranks are based on Football Outsiders' Defense-adjusted Value Over Average statistics*** https://www.footballoutsiders.com/dvoa-ratings November 22nd- Week 11 Win at Home vs Miami (the Dolphins had the 20th ranked offense, 15th ranked defense, and 1st ranked special teams after Week 11, current record: 8-5) by a score of 20-13: Drew Lock- 18/30 for 270 yards, 0 TDs, and 1 INT. Picked off by Xavien Howard on one of his first throws, trying to complete a 15 yard crossing route over the middle to Tim Patrick. Rebounded well a couple drives later with a couple accurate intermediate throws and used his mobility to pick up a 3rd-and-13 with his legs, leading to a short Gordon TD run. Lock's best throws of the game came in the 2nd quarter over the middle to Patrick (over the LBs/in front of the safeties, hitting Patrick in stride allowing him to get 15+ YAC) and on an out route to Jeudy on the left sideline. Lock definitely uses his good arm strength and seems to read the field deep-to-short in the way that 2018 Josh Allen did with the inevitable boom-or-bust results. Lock was not sacked in this game. Broncos Running Game- Melvin Gordon (84 yards, 5.6 YPC, and 2 TDs) surprised me in a good way for most of this game. I had thought he had looked pretty average in his last year with the Chargers (somewhat explained by his extended holdout and lack of fitness), but he looks to have regained some of his former speed and shiftiness (for example his 17 yard TD run in the 3rd quarter which provided the winning points). He was stuffed on a 4th-and-1 play on a run up the middle, but I'd place the blame more on Denver's interior line. Lindsay provided his usual change of pace (82 yards and 5.1 YPC). Gordon lost a late fumble literally a step from the end zone, spoiling a chance to put the game away. Both backs had success running outside (particularly off the right side which is strange given that it's the weaker side of the Broncos' O-line). This isn't an overly huge or powerful offensive line, but rather a quick and mobile one. The Broncos use a lot of pulling guards and tackles in their run game and it was effective against Miami. Jerry Jeudy (3 catches for 37 yards) and KJ Hamler (4 catches for 35 yards)- The young athletic additions to this offense. Jeudy's route running and Hamler's speed are already elite at the pro level, but both WRs have struggled with drops and consistency. Tim Patrick- 5 catches for 119 yards. His stats were somewhat inflated by a running-out-the-clock Hail Mary-type play where Xavien Howard blew the coverage, but he's the steady veteran of Denver's young offense and unlike some of the other WRs who have struggled with drops, Patrick shows good hands and reliable route running. Noah Fant- 4 catches for 55 yards, made a couple splash plays with his speed. Broncos Run Defense- Impressive performance, holding Salvon Ahmed (I know you're thinking who?...but he actually looks like he could be a decent 3rd down back for them) and Matt Brieda to a combined 47 yards on 14 carries. The defensive line led by Shelby Harris did a good job winning the LoS and Alexander Johnson/Josey Jewell are intelligent backers in Fangio's scheme. Broncos Pass Defense- Denver did a nice job of limiting Tua early (11/20 for 83 yards, 1 TD) and then coaxing Fitzpatrick into one of his patented back-breaking INTs to end the game (Justin Simmons baited Fitz into the throw and is probably a top 5 safety in the league who isn't talked about enough). Off the early Xavien Howard INT, AJ Bouye got beat for a TD by Devante Parker on a nice fade catch and throw. The Broncos sacked Tua SIX times (the better ones were Malik Reed off the left side, Deshawn Williams roasting the Miami LG with an excellent swim move, and Bradley 'I was Drafted Over Josh Allen' Chubb with a good stunt the Dolphins failed to pick up). Miscellaneous- Denver's special teams put in a strong performance in this game. Brandon McManus and Sam Martin are a proven Kicker/Punter combo and Diontae Spencer is one of the best returners in the NFL. Denver doubled up Miami in yards and the Dolphins only averaged 3.7 yards per play. The Broncos committed 7 penalties for 80 yards. December 7th- Week 13 Loss Away to Kansas City (the Chiefs had the 1st ranked offense, 18th ranked defense, and 20th ranked special teams after Week 13, current record: 12-1) by a score of 22-16: Drew Lock- 15/28 for 151 yards, 2 TDs, and 2 INTs. Again came out looking for the deep ball and hit Fant for a nice gain on the left sideline. However, on the next play, Lock tried throwing over the middle and across his body and was predictably picked off by the Honey Badger. Showed some touch on a short pass to Patrick for the first TD and then placed the ball perfectly in the corner for Patrick on the second score. Threw his second INT also to Mathieu down by 6 with under a minute to play. Lock can zero in on his intended target too much at times and seems to be a one step forward, one step backward kind of player at this point in his career. Lock was not sacked for the second week in a row. Broncos Running Game- Melvin Gordon (131 yards and 8.7 YPC) had another sharp game highlighted by a nearly untouched 60 yard run through a big hole opened up by the line. Lindsay struggled on the other hand and was held to a mere 26 yards on 14 carries. Jerry Jeudy (1 catch for 5 yards) and KJ Hamler (2 catches for 16 yards)- Jeudy was invisible, but Hamler forced a few missed tackles after his limited targets and executed a successful reverse play as well. Tim Patrick- 4 catches for 44 yards and 2 TDs. Made an outstanding play with an over-the-shoulder catch and somehow getting both feet inbounds for the second TD. Noah Fant- I noticed a tendency for Denver to run jet motion one way usually with Hamler and then throw to Fant (4 catches for 57 yards) who is crossing the field in the opposite direction, something to watch out for. Broncos Run Defense- Another solid performance, holding the KC RBs to a combined 78 yards on 17 carries. Got burned on a reverse to Hill for 30+ yards and lost contain on Mahomes allowing him to pick up first downs more than once. However, Denver is the number one red zone defense in the NFL and they proved it again, forcing KC to kick FGs once they were in the red zone on all but one of their opportunities. Broncos Pass Defense- Denver did a nice job of bending but not breaking and Mahomes had a relatively reserved game by his elite standards (25/40 for 318 yards and 1 TD). Denver lost Tyreek Hill a few times, but Bouye did an excellent job recovering and breaking up a potential 40 yard TD pass to Hill to force a KC punt. Denver also struggled to contain Kelce (136 yards and 1 TD) as most defenses do. The Broncos struggled to get pressure on Mahomes, but Jeremiah Attaochu made a fantastic play to notch Denver's lone sack on 3rd-and-goal. Miscellaneous- Hill caught a deep TD pass in the 4th quarter that was cancelled out by a holding penalty. McManus hit a FG of over 50 yards for the second consecutive week. The Broncos committed 4 penalties for 31 yards. December 13th - Week 14 Win Away to Carolina (the Panthers had the 9th ranked offense, 27th ranked defense, and the 21st ranked special teams after Week 14, current record: 4-9) by a score of 32-27: Drew Lock- 21/27 for 280 yards, 4 TDs, and 0 INTs. Probably the best game of Lock's young career. Similar to previous weeks, the Denver offense started a bit slow and Lock was strip-sacked by Jeremy Chinn on an 'A Gap' blitz that was set up a Carolina score. Lock started to heat up in the second half though, hitting Hamler who had badly beaten his man in stride for 37 and 49 yard TD strikes. Lock was sacked just once (the only sack he took in these three games which is impressive). Broncos Running Game- Melvin Gordon (68 yards and 5.2 YPC) broke a few runs off-tackle and was active in the screen game. Lindsay struggled again and just doesn't look like himself (held to a mere 24 yards on 11 carries). I believe he's carrying an injury and I think Denver is using Lindsay and his skill set poorly, running him inside while Gordon is getting all the screens and pitch plays. Both backs got stuffed in a couple short yardage situations and Denver's interior O-line (especially Cushenberry at Center) appeared to struggle. Jerry Jeudy (2 catches for 42 yards) and KJ Hamler (2 catches for 86 yards and 2 TDs)- Jeudy showed excellent effort to chase down the Carolina defender after the strip-sack and tackle him at the three yard line. Jeudy showed off his polished route running on the next drive, losing his defender and hauling in a 25+ reception to set up Denver's first offensive TD. Carolina dared to use single coverage on Hamler from what I could see and while they held him to 2 catches, he made them pay. Tim Patrick- 36 yards and 1 TD down close to the goal line (similar play to his score vs Miami where he motioned left before the snap and beat him man to the edge). Lock spread the ball around a bit more in this match up. Broncos TEs- Fant missed this game (along with LT Garrett Bolles) with an illness, but Nick Vannett (20 yards and 1 TD) and Troy Fumagalli (53 yards) both stepped up in his absence. Broncos Run Defense- Their least impressive performance of these three games, giving up three rushing TDs led by Mike Davis (51 yards, 4.6 YPC, and 2 TDs). Got burned on multiple reverses/jet sweeps for the 2nd week running by Robbie Anderson/Curtis Samuel and didn't commit to their gaps a number of times, allowing Bridgewater to run up the middle for 31 yards and 1 TD. The Broncos look very susceptible to misdirection and mobile QBs. Broncos Pass Defense- Denver's secondary started to show signs of cracking in this game given their injuries and Bridgewater was fairly successful throwing the ball (30/40 for 283 yards and 0 TDs/0 INTs). Robby Anderson got loose for 8 receptions and 84 yards and there are plays for Mckenzie to make on Saturday based on the space Samuel was able to find. However, the Broncos were able to pressure Bridgewater at key moments and got four sacks (of note, Attaochu lost his blocker on a stunt inside, Will Parks got Bridgewater for an 18 yard loss on a nice corner blitz, and Dre-Mont Jones got a huge sack on Carolina's final drive). Miscellaneous- Diontae Spencer took the Panthers' first punt back 83 yards for a TD, he looks very fast and showed incredible acceleration after running into his own guy at the start. McManus had an off game and missed 2 XPs (he now has three missed XPs on the season after never having missed more than one in any previous year). With the ball and three minutes to play, Denver's offense could have put the game away, but went 3-and-out and were fortunate to avoid a safety/defensive TD on a batted pass. Not the first time Denver has nearly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. The Broncos committed only 2 penalties for 18 yards. December 19th - Week 15 Denver Broncos (current record: 5-8, 31st ranked offense, 13th ranked defense, and 18th ranked special teams after Week 14) at Home vs The Buffalo Bills (current record: 10-3, 7th ranked offense, 16th ranked defense, and 5th ranked special teams after Week 14) Bills On Offense- Denver was one of the top run defenses at the beginning of the season, but have lost two-thirds of their starting D-line in Jurrell Casey and Mike Purcell and have been more vulnerable to outside runs and running QBs since. Shelby Harris is an underrated player and will make his share of plays inside, but between the losses on the D-line and the lack of athleticism at the LB position, Motor and Moss should be able to find some space. However, the Bills' largest advantage should be through the air as Denver has been terribly unlucky with injuries at the cornerback position (and the suspension to Bouye). Now to be fair, Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson form one of the top safety tandems in the NFL (I'd still rather have Hyde and Poyer) and they do a great job of tackling and disguising coverages, but I don't see how they can realistically make up for the replacement-level or below CB group the Broncos will field on Saturday. Diggs and Beasley should feast and the Bills were smart to rest John Brown as they should have enough weapons available without him. Denver has some good edge rushers in Chubb and Attaochu, but the Bills should be able to handle them, having faced better versions of those guys last week. Bills On Defense- Drew Lock is a young player who has some potential and is coming off his best game as a pro, but his game still has a lot of flaws as well. He is beyond terrible under pressure and leads the league in bad throw %. This offense really misses Courtland Sutton as their top aerial threat, but Tim Patrick has stepped up and is an underrated player who has the steadiest pair of hands among the group and keeps the offense in rhythm. Jeudy and Hamler are very exciting rookies with impressive traits, but have yet to become consistent pros and have struggled with drops. Fant is a difference maker at the TE position, but I don't think they throw to him enough. Still, Milano will have his hands full. Gordon and Lindsay represent a great RB duo on paper and while Gordon has looked the ticket, Lindsay is playing hurt and hasn't been his usual effective self (which is handy for the Bills as I think he's the player that could best exploit our weaknesses). After a tough stretch of facing many of the league's top offenses, the defense should be able to take care of business here and confuse Lock into some mistakes. The defensive rotations will be especially key on Saturday given the altitude/fatigue. On Special Teams- Spencer is a real weapon in the kick and punt return game and is more than capable of taking any touch to the house as he did vs Carolina. McManus has been uncharacteristically hot and cold this season and is currently on the COVID list, but expects to play on Saturday. The DVOA ratings show that the Bills should have the advantage on special teams and I'm hoping to see Andre Roberts finally make his own house call after almost breaking a few recently. Alright thanks for reading! I enjoyed putting this together and will look to do so each week moving forward. Denver has some exciting young talent on both sides of the ball and Lock has shown some positive signs recently, but the Bills are a couple years further ahead in their rebuild with a now-proven franchise QB and I think Buffalo has the advantage in all three phases. The Bills are also relatively healthy and may get John Brown back while the Broncos have lost five of their top six CBs. Altitude is a definite X-factor, but I'm expecting to see the Bills defeat a young but ultimately less talented opponent and finally take back the AFC East! All the best, stay healthy, and Go Bills!

Great to see Phillips getting back to his old self. I've heard Banged Up Bills and a few others say that an ACL injury for a DT can be closer to a two year injury than one year because of the physicality of playing that position. We just need to be patient with him, but starting to see good signs. Epenesa has all the physical tools aside from top end speed. It's just the mental part of the game that was holding him back at the start of the season, but I love his hustle and you can see the game starting to slow down for him week by week. Most of the players who struggled early in the season have been making plays these past few weeks and the defense is starting to heat up at just the right time.

We got a massive defensive play and TD to swing the momentum. Shout out to @Stank_Nasty, restart your countdown buddy! We made key halftime adjustments (getting Diggs more involved and doubling Cam Heyward). We won the 3rd quarter. We closed out the game running the ball and never gave it back. What a win and what a season so far. Go Bills!

About as poor of a half as we have played on offense in a while but the defense stood on its head and made a huge play when we needed one. Thrilled with 9-7 at the half. Let's score some points on this first drive!

Yeah fair point. Even though he's a veteran, he hasn't practiced with Ben and the O-line in a while. For what it's worth, Joe Marino on the Locked On Bills podcast said Pouncey has been performing at an average to below average level for the past couple seasons now. I'm sure he's better than his back up would have been, but hopefully Oliver and Butler can win that match up. Pittsburgh's O-line overall isn't close to being the dominant unit it once was especially at LG, C, and RT.

RE: the above posts about Big Ben getting the ball out quick, getting hands up into throwing lanes will be huge this week. I hope to see at least 3 batted passes at the LoS from our defensive line and an INT as a result.

Great point, Daboll does a solid job mixing run and pass out of those 3 and 4 WR looks to keep the defenses guessing. And sub-package or not, Pittsburgh is going to have less talented and experienced back up ILBs on the field who we need to take advantage of. In this game, I'd hope to see more of Knox and Lee Smith lined up next to Darryl Williams to help block TJ Watt with the occasional chip and slip for a TE screen. TJ Watt might be the DPOY this season, but if he has one weakness, it's his size (6'4" and 252 lbs). I'm sure this is overly simplistic and Watt being a bit lighter allows him to be so quick and agile, but I'd use Williams and a TE to just pound him into the ground on every play and hopefully tire him out. Then use every misdirection/jet motion/RPO trick we have in the book and make it difficult for those LBs to trust their eyes and stay disciplined in their gaps.

For sure, the Pittsburgh defense still has a lot of talent and veteran experience especially up front (TJ Watt is probably the DPOY this season and I believe Stephon Tuitt and Cam Heyward are criminally underrated). However, you could make a strong case that they could be missing three of their top six players from the start of the season (Watt, Dupree, Heyward, Bush, Haden, and Fitzpatrick) depending on Haden's availability. Add to that the losses of Spillane and Vince Williams and I think suddenly the middle of their defense is super vulnerable and our chances of being more balanced on offense, having success in the run game, and then getting chunk plays off of play-action are significantly better. Double Watt all game and play all sorts of RPO/screen/jet motion mind games with their remaining LBs as you said to test their eyes and discipline. If Haden does miss this game, then I'm really confident in our WR match ups as well (I'd guess Diggs against Nelson, Davis against Sutton, and Beasley against Hilton).

The addition of Vince Williams to the COVID list yesterday is a tough one for them as well on top of the Devin Bush/Robert Spillane injuries. I typically think of him as just a solid but not spectacular guy in their defense (he didn't really jump out to me on film in the games I watched and they have several more talented players), but Williams actually leads their team with 63 tackles and is 4th in the NFL with 14 TFLs along with 3 sacks and 2 fumbles recovered. Our old AFC East foe Avery Williamson is just about all they have left at ILB. Wonder what is up with Claypool not practicing with an illness as well...he's the guy that scares me in their offense. I think we actually match up against Connor, Johnson, and Juju really well.

Agreed and agreed. The more I think about this game, the more I like our chances (usually I'm the opposite lol). The Steelers will be playing their third game in 12 days and there's a real chance we could wear them down in the second half. Then once they're winded with hands on hips, play Renegade on a loop and crush them!

First off, what a dominating win in front of a national audience on MNF. I thought we outplayed and outcoached the 49ers in all three phases of the game and the score line flattered San Fran in the end. Josh Allen consistently roasted a strong and intelligent SF back seven in both zone and man coverage, extended plays with his legs, and made zero significant mistakes. Stefon Diggs and Cole Beasley were un-coverable and their elite route running is a joy to watch. The defense stood tall, gang tackled, and took the ball away at big moments in the game. Lastly, Sean McDermott continues to impress me with his aggressiveness and gameday management. A complete team win to get to 9-3 and end another much-discussed losing streak from the drought years on MNF. Looking ahead, we're at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers who are coming off their first loss to the Washington Football Team (the WFT name is still hilarious LOL). Same as the previous weeks, I wanted to do an amateur deep dive/scouting session into the Steelers' last three games based on their game highlights (granted it's not the All-22 film but still nearly an hour of tape) and then list some keys/X-factors for our matchup this week. Anyways, hope you enjoy/find this useful: ***Offensive and Defensive Ranks are based on Football Outsiders' Defense-adjusted Value Over Average statistics*** https://www.footballoutsiders.com/dvoa-ratings November 22nd- Week 11 Win AT Jacksonville (the Jaguars had the 25th ranked offense, 31st ranked defense, and 13th ranked special teams after Week 11, current record: 1-11) by a score of 27-3: Ben Roethlisberger- 32/46 for 267 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 INT. Got away with a potential pick-six that hit the Jags FS Jarrod Wilson in both hands early on, it looked like Ben locked onto Eric Ebron and never saw Wilson jump the route. Started to heat up in the 2nd quarter and showed beautiful touch on the TD pass to Claypool. The passing game seemed to focus almost exclusively on throws outside the hashmarks, I didn't notice many targets to the middle of the field at all. Threw an INT in the end zone to end the first half, wasting an FG opportunity. Found Ebron streaking up the seam for the second TD late. JuJu and James Washington only had a combined 5 catches for 31 yards which surprised me. Steelers Running Game- James Conner (89 yards and 6.8 YPC) was able to break some runs to the outsides and had an excellent misdirection run to pick up a 3rd-and-10. Snell was used sparingly mostly near the goal line (15 yards and 2.1 YPC with a TD). Similar to the above, the Steelers appeared to run off tackle and didn't have success running inside. Chase Claypool- 59 yards and 1 TD. Got a step on the Jags CB and hauled in the long TD pass in the 2nd. Drew two big PI calls as well on deep shots. I have to say the Jags coverage and CB matchups on Claypool were beyond terrible though, it was as if they hadn't watched any game tape on him at all. Diontae Johnson- 12 catches for 111 yards. Showed amazing concentration and coordination to bring in a tipped pass down to the one yard line. An underrated weapon who keeps the chains moving. Eric Ebron- his struggle with drops continued early, but made a great TD catch down the seam late in the game to really put it away. Steelers Run Defense- Mostly a solid effort, but missed some tackles and were gashed for a few long runs by James Robinson (73 yards and 4.3 YPC) who is a sneaky awesome rookie. Steelers Pass Defense- Steelers were very fortunate to face Jake Luton (16/37 for 151 yards, 0 TDs, and 4 INTs) in just his third career start rather than 'MinshewMagic'. Dupree (out for the year) was so quick off the ball and made a great play batting down a pass on 3rd down to kill a Jags drive in the 1st. Steelers brought an effective CB blitz with Mike Hilton off of TJ Watt's side that hurried Luton into a bad throw. Luton drove the Jags down to the red zone just before halftime, but his pass was batted up into the air and picked off by Minkah Fitzpatrick (who else? I've never seen a player who just always seems to be in exactly the right place for a batted pass so frequently). Luton then sky-ed a pass over the middle that was easily picked by Terrell 'Second Best' Edmunds, underthrew another INT to Edmunds in the 4th (nice play/higher level of difficulty on this one), and bombed a fourth and final INT on another overthrow to Fitzpatrick. It's safe to say that Luton's footwork was an absolute dumpster fire as he wasn't even under that much pressure on those throws. Dupree and Tuitt both got a sack, Watt was surprisingly kept rather quiet. Miscellaneous- Jacksonville drove down the field and kicked a FG on their very first possession to go up 3-0...and then didn't score again. Weird, wonder how many times that's ever happened before. Jacksonville then attempted an onside kick (by WR Keelan Cole no less) which the Steelers recovered. Boswell missed his first kick of the game and has been uncharacteristically streaky this season. Staying with special teams, it's hard to believe after his shaky hands with the Bills, but Ray Ray McCloud is Pittsburgh's primary KR/PR. Showed some questionable decision-making on his punt returns. The Steelers seemed to be stuck in 3rd-and-long a lot, but the Jags defense allowed them to convert too often. Committed 6 penalties for 42 yards. December 2nd- Week 12 Win at Home vs Baltimore (the Ravens had the 24th ranked offense, 7th ranked defense, and 2nd ranked special teams after Week 12, current record: 7-5) by a score of 19-14: Ben Roethlisberger- 36/51 for 266 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. Threw an INT in the end zone on their first drive on 4th down. Made a nice throw to the corner of the end zone to hit JuJu in the 4th. Again appeared to take profits on the outside and aside from a few targets to Ebron, ignored the middle of the field. Wasn't sacked at all using a quick release, but this is still impressive given the talent in Baltimore's front seven. Steelers Running Game- No James Conner in this game as he was added to the COVID list. Snell (60 yards and 3.8 YPC) showed great second effort on some key runs and Tomlin trusted him to pick up the first downs on the final drive. Maybe his best game of the year. Diontae Johnson- 8 catches for 46 yards. Slower day by his standards, but made some clutch receptions on third down. JuJu Smith-Schuster- dropped at least 2 balls in the first half, but pulled off a Derrick Henry-esque stiff-arm on a nice catch and run late to remind everyone how strong he is. Caught the would-be game-winning TD pass on a good mesh route later in that same drive. Eric Ebron- 7 catches for 54 yards. Had an excellent contested catch in the first half, but again lost concentration on another big drop in the red zone. Steelers Run Defense- Stacked the box with 8 defenders and held the Ravens to 10 first downs because they didn't have to respect the Raven's air attack. Put in a really strong shift limiting Baltimore's RBs, but were susceptible to designed QB runs and scrambles by RGIII (68 yards and 9.7 YPC) who had his longest run since his rookie year and McSorley showed off his wheels too. The Steelers did an excellent job of forcing the Ravens into some unfavorable 3rd-and-long situations throughout the game. Steelers Pass Defense- For the second week in a row, Pittsburgh lucked out against two back up QBs in Robert Griffin III (7/12 for 33 yards and 1 INT) and Trace McSorley (2/6 for 77 yards and 1 TD). Joe Haden successfully baited RGIII the way Richard Sherman was trying to bait Josh on MNF and jumped Hollywood Brown's dig route for an early pick-six. Had a huge pass break up to prevent a Ravens TD with :00 on the clock to end the first half. TJ Watt got a couple free runs at the QB and predictably sacked RGIII twice (the Bills better not let this happen!). Got beat on a late 70 yard TD pass/catch from McSorley to Brown. Cam Heyward got a sack as well. Miscellaneous- Recovered a fumble from an untouched botched handoff by RGIII at Baltimore's 20 yard line 3 minutes into the game, but couldn't turn it into points. McCloud was hit and fumbled on his first punt return, giving the Ravens the ball on the ten yard line and resulting in a Gus Edwards TD. Boswell missed the extra point on the Haden TD and wound up on the injury report with a hip ailment after this game. December 7th - Week 13 Loss at Home to Washington (the Football Team had the 28th ranked offense, 4th ranked defense, and the 17th ranked special teams after Week 13, current record: 5-7) by a score of 23-17: Ben Roethlisberger- 33/53 for 305 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 INT. Nearly picked in the 4th throwing into triple coverage, he seems to be locking onto guys a bit more than in the past. Threw 2 nice TDs and took some shots to Claypool which resulted in some chunk plays. With the game on the line, Montez Sweat batted a pass up in the air that was intercepted by Jon Bostic, sealing the Steelers' first loss. Wasn't sacked again and seems to be releasing the ball really quickly as others have mentioned in the game week thread. Steelers Running Game- No James Conner in this game as he was still on the COVID list. Snell got stuffed on 4th-and-goal from the one yard line and the Steelers three RBs combined for just 21 rushing yards (!!!!). There is a big drop off after Connor in terms of talent at the RB position. Chase Claypool- Got separation to haul in a deep pass down to the five yard line that should have resulted in points. Drew another significant PI call as he's just too fast and physical for most CBs to track in single coverage. Diontae Johnson- 8 catches for 71 yards and 1 TD. Ran a nice corner route to beat Kendall Fuller for the touchdown. Is actually leading the league with 10 drops though. James Washington- after a previous two games in which he was very quiet, Washington showed what a vertical threat he can be (80 yards and 1 TD). JuJu Smith-Schuster- another drop on 3rd down that ended Pittsburgh's first drive. Safety valve for Big Ben once the game was tied in the 4th and helped pick up multiple first downs. Steelers Run Defense- Did a great job stuffing a jet sweep on 4th-and-1. After Gibson's injury, WFT essentially abandoned the run game and were held to 1.6 YPC when they did run. Steelers Pass Defense- For the first time in 3 games, Pittsburgh had to face the opposing team's ideal starting QB and it showed. Alex Smith didn't do anything mind-blowing, but took care of the ball and managed the game well (31/46 for 296 yards, 1 TD, and 0 INTs and good for him by the way, great story and comeback). Robert Spillane came free on a delayed blitz and sacked Smith, Watt and Tuitt got a sack each as well. Old friend Logan Thomas (9 catches for 98 yards and 1 TD) seemed to get loose and cause problems for Pitt's LBs and safeties. Cam Sims (5 catches for 92 yards) caused a lot of trouble after the catch as well. The Steelers did a great job shutting down McLaurin to be fair, holding him to 14 yards. Miscellaneous- The Washing Football team lost Antonio Gibson, their stud rookie RB, to an early injury and were still able to win. Pittsburgh committed 6 penalties for 45 yards. December 14th - Week 14 Pittsburgh Steelers (current record: 11-1, 17th ranked offense, 1st ranked defense, and 12th ranked special teams after Week 13) Away To The Buffalo Bills (current record: 9-3, 7th ranked offense, 16th ranked defense, and 5th ranked special teams after Week 13) Bills On Offense- Pittsburgh is really stout up the middle in the run game, but have been prone to outside runs and running QBs. The Bills need to continue to take good care of the ball and win the turnover battle as Pittsburgh (led by human ball magnet Minkah Fitzpatrick) is so opportunistic and seem to make a play on every fumble and batted pass (they have benefited from some serious luck/bad play by the opposing team in this department IMO but still). As other posters have astutely pointed out, Pittsburgh has been extremely fortunate in facing some of the league's worst QBs and back ups and I believe the Bills should be able to win through the air. Joe Haden is in concussion protocol and he is far and away their best CB. No one on their roster can hang with Diggs even at full strength, but if he can't go and Steven Nelson is a bit rusty coming off his knee injury, the Steelers will have a big problem covering our receiving weapons. I also believe Beasley and Knox could have success in this game based on what I've seen particularly over the middle. The losses of Robert Spillane and especially Bud Dupree should hopefully allow us to chip and double TJ Watt limiting his impact on the game and give Allen the time to pick apart the Steelers' secondary. Bills On Defense- Big Ben is getting up there in age and hits taken, but he still has some great weapons to throw to. Chase Claypool (a guy I pounded the table really hard for in the draft) looks like a potential star and is the main big play threat. Diontae Johnson is an underrated player who makes that offense tick. That's before we even get to JuJu and Washington who are both capable of big games and have just been a bit inconsistent lately. Combined with Eric Ebron, that's a versatile arsenal of receiving weapons, but in some ways, I think our strengths on defense match up well with their guys and Pittsburgh lacks elite speed (put another way, I think our defense matches up better against their offense than the one we just faced in San Francisco even though Big Ben >>> Nick Mullins). Pittsburgh has been plagued with drops recently though. Their run game has been downright awful recently, but should get a big boost getting James Conner and perhaps Maurkice Pouncey back this week. If the defense can continue their form that they've shown against the Chargers and 49ers, I think we can limit a lot of what Pittsburgh wants to do. On Special Teams- McCloud is a liability in the kick and punt return game and hopefully we can force a turnover here. Boswell is a doubt for this game with his hip injury. The stats show that the Bills should have the advantage on special teams and now would be a great time for that defensive or special teams TD that @Stank_Nasty has been asking for! Alright thanks for reading! I enjoyed putting this together and will look to do so each week moving forward. Tough game (Pittsburgh is 11-1 for a reason and I think they're a well-coached veteran team with some exciting players) and I really wish BillsMafia could be at the stadium for this one, but the Steelers have played a soft schedule thus far and I think they are facing us at the wrong time coming off their first loss. The Bills offense is clicking, the defense is rounding into form, and our special teams has been very solid. The Bills are also relatively healthy while Pittsburgh has suffered some key losses (Haden being out could be a potential game-deciding loss IMO given his talent/football IQ and the CB depth behind him). Time to show out again on primetime against a favored opponent and take another big step towards winning the AFC East! All the best, stay healthy, and Go Bills!

Funny that Greenlaw made that comment. He's meant to be one of the ascending young and rangy modern day LBs in the NFL and unless I missed it, I didn't see his name mentioned in connection with one good play in this game. Singletary beating him to the outside on 4th and short is the main play that comes to mind. Warner is still an absolute monster, but we did such a good job playing keep away from him.

Bud Dupree is a huge loss for the Steelers as well. One small complaint I have with Daboll is that he doesn't give enough respect in the game plan to elite defensive line players on the opposing team. A few times per game, you'll see a Gabe Davis or Tyler Kroft being asked to single block a Joey Bosa/JJ Watt/Myles Garrett and these guys have had a huge impact and have wrecked or nearly wrecked the game. We've caught a break with Dupree out with that unfortunate injury and I like to see us chip or double block TJ Watt on every play. The Steelers defense is strong, but limiting Watt's impact gives us the best chance to score points. It sounds really simple, but we haven't been able to stop that level of elite edge talent over the past couple years and I hope we'll adjust.

Riverboat Ron 2.0? Rivera was known as a conservative defensive-minded coach for a few years and then morphed into a more successful and aggressive leader who was an asset on gamedays rather than a hindrance. Who was his DC? Sean McDermott.