Ozymandius

We would've needed some turnovers and some deep bombs to Evans and company to connect (the only way it seems that Raven D is vulnerable). I would've loved the opportunity.

Well said. If the Bills take a 33-20 lead, they win because they would have gotten the sacks and turnovers to seal it. Royal's mistake stands out to me as the biggest and dumbest play of the season unless the Jets and Broncos finish 10-6 and make it irrelevant. There are plenty of medicore-to-pretty-good teams that would've blown out the Titans yesterday at home. New Orleans comes to mind. Dallas. Denver. Jacksonville. Tennessee themselves. Pittsburgh. Cincinnati. These are all teams that can run the ball consistently or would've found a way to finish those drives with TDs somehow. Yes, the defense needs to be upgraded but it was the offense/Royal that lost this game. Matchups dictate responsibility. The Bills defense had a poor matchup. The Bills offense had a good matchup but kicked field goals.

Your "few thoughts" are always a delight to read, Bill. Merry X-mas bro.

Gawd, if not tapping his toes cost us a playoff spot... that's just unforgivable. I might murder him. Go Jets! Beat the Phags! Go Broncos next week! Make our loss to Tennessee irrelevant. Pleeeaaaaase

Yep, these are the choking Bills we've followed all our lives.

Someone in the stands should stick a shiv in Haynesworth.

Against the wind, we have to get pretty close. And I don't really trust Lindell to boot a make-it-or-lose kick through.

We need to hold them to a field goal to allow the offense a chance to win it with Lindell.

Bills still have the lead. If we can't hold it at home, then we don't deserve the playoffs.

That's a bad thing.

That's a bad thing.

Baltimore spanking the Steelers means the Ravens will have something to play for next week as well. We gotta just beat the Titans and see how things play out.

Read the first post in this thread.

Updated original post to remove KC-Oak game. Thank you Chiefs! Now if the Bills beat the Titans, we are guaranteed to not be eliminated from the playoffs before Week 17 no matter what happens in any other game in Week 16.

Back on track thanks to Utah. Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii -7

Ooof, Rice got destroyed. Armed Forces Bowl: Utah -2

Thanks, ezbills. Great explanation as always. I will be rooting for Cincy as well. In addition to everything you said, I'd like to keep open the possibility of an AFC championship game in Buffalo (versus the Bengals).

I hear ya about being too drunk too care. Still, nothing too outrageous would have to occur if the Jets win and Cincy beats Denver. Pittsburgh would need to beat Cincy and then KC would have to win their last two (Oakland, Jax) and the Bills would make the playoffs provided we win OUR last two. For a lot of people, it'd be best to just root for the Bills and let the other chips fall where they may.

If everything we need to happen happens, we should have the SOV over Cincy. Buffalo victories with projected wins for those teams: 1. Miami, 6-8, vs Jets/@Indy..... 7 or 8 wins (Indy should have nothing to play for) 2. Minnesota, 6-8, @GB/vs Stl..... 7 wins 3. GB, 6-8, vs Min/@Chi..... 7 or 8 wins (Chi has nothing to play for) 4. Hou, 4-10, vs Indy/vs Cle..... 4 or 5 wins 5. Jax, 8-6, vs NE/at KC..... 8 or 9 wins 6. Jets, 8-6, at Mia/vs Oak..... 9 wins 7. Miami, 6-8, vs Jets/@Indy..... 7 or 8 wins (Indy should have nothing to play for) 8. Ten, 7-7, at Buf/vs NE..... 7 or 8 wins (NE should have nothing to play for) 9. Bal, 11-3, at Pit/vs Buf..... 11 wins Buffalo's projected strength of victory: 67 to 73 wins Cincy's victories with projected wins for those teams: 1. KC, 7-7, at Oak/vs Jax..... 9 wins 2. Cle, 4-10, vs TB/at Hou..... 5 or 6 wins 3. Pit, 7-7, vs Bal/at Cin..... 8 wins 4. Car, 6-8, at Atl/at NO..... 6 or 7 wins (NO might have nothing to play for) 5. NO, 9-5, at NYG/vs Car..... 10 or 11 wins (NO might have nothing to play for vs Car) 6. Cle, 4-10, vs TB/at Hou..... 5 or 6 wins 7. Bal, 11-3, at Pit/vs Buf..... 11 wins 8. Oak, 2-12, KC/at NYJ..... 2 wins 9. Pit, 7-7, vs Bal/at Cin..... 8 wins Cincy's projected strength of victory: 64 to 68 wins

A friendly bump.

The answer will be different depending on the person. If you are confident Miami will beat the Jets, root for Denver. If you are not that confident, root for Cincinnati.

Ugh on the over yesterday. Brady Leaf sucks as much as his brother. New Orleans Bowl: Rice -4

I obviously DO disagree. I already said I did. Yes, a person could've rationally predicted 4 wins or less. No, it does not make them irrational. No, it does not mean they have a lame attitude toward life. Yes it's absurd/stupid/insulting of you to say that AND to draw a line at a prediction of 4 wins to determine "football rationality"? What?? How?? I'd ask for your methodology of drawing that line there but I don't want to read War and Peace. Here's how someone could've rationally predicted 4 wins or less (and I'd estimate about a quarter of the people on this board DID predict that -- are they all irrational??) They take a 5-win team, which the Bills were last year. They see that team lose Sam Adams, Lawyer Milloy, and Eric Moulds, all players who produced for us even though they were getting older. They see those players are replaced by unproven journeymen or rookies, the latter of which can be RATIONALLY predicted to take awhile to adjust to the league. They see a brand new coaching staff come aboard and install brand new systems. They RATIONALLY figure there will be a one year adjustment period as the players get used to the new coaches and systems. This is RATIONAL. They see a young QB who will be entering his first complete year starting and RATIONALLY decide that he would struggle. Seeing all this, they predict less than 5 wins. It's not hard to understand. And it certainly isn't irrational.

Look, you've backed off your original claim. That's all I really wanted to see. What you HAD said was this: predictions they would only win 1 to 3 games were simply silly and say more about the predictor and their lame attitude toward life than about the team, predictions they would merely repeat their 5 win season of last year were not outrageous. That is absurd on two levels... (1) first, the "lame attitude toward life"??? and (2) the exactness of the claim. 3 wins = lame attitude, but 5 = fine and dandy. What is 4 then? Also: "If any semblance of rational football thinking was not the rational behind these predictions, then what do you think was?" I think it was rational football thinking. If somebody predicted 2 wins, they probably looked at the schedule and figured the Bills were worse than every team but 2. It doesn't mean they have a lame attitude towards life. It just means they were wrong.

LOL. Don't be a dick, dude. It's already absurd to claim to "know" a person just by their meaningless preseason prediction of how a football team does. But predict 3 wins, and you're a self-hating loser? And predict 5 games, and you're fine and dandy? Psychology is that simple and granular, huh? If someone predicted 4 games, are they unhappy, but only because their parents beat them?