HappyDays

Keep all of them out of this game. Make Landon Jackson active so Bosa isn't stuck getting 80% of the reps again. Call up Frank Gore Jr so Cook can get some rest too. The only thing that can go wrong in this game is someone important gets a new injury or aggravates an existing one.

Miami was one of the worst games I've seen him play. He was getting beat a lot. I know Tyreek Hill is a tough matchup for any CB but I'm not used to seeing Benford getting dusted as much as he was in that game.

That's just stats though. If you've watched their games this year, Herbert has made elite game winning plays, in particular against KC and Denver. That's been the knock on him. He can stand tall in the pocket and make all the throws, but can he make the big play in the big moment? This year he's making those plays. This is also the first year where I've seen him realize his legs are a weapon. In the past he's been hesitant to take off even with wide open space in front of him, but this year he's giving defenses that one extra thing to worry about.

I usually just scroll on past this stuff but this is the worst take I've seen in a while, from one of the guys that started Football Outsiders: In case you can't see the whole tweet:

In that scenario they're likely playing at LA or at Baltimore before they come to Buffalo, after having to play with full effort down the stretch of the season just to stumble into the playoffs at all. All that after spending multiple seasons in a row on deep tiring playoff runs. Meanwhile we'll have just rested everybody for 1-2 weeks. If we can't take the Chiefs out under those circumstances that is the final nail in the coffin on this coaching staff. The WORST case scenario is that they take out another top AFC team and then limp into Buffalo. That is an outcome we should be rooting for!

I want the Bills 1st Super Bowl win to be as easy as possible. Screw all the narratives. Get the monkey off our back. I think part of what makes the Chiefs great is that ever since they got that 1st Super Bowl they're not feeling any pressure. All of the pressure is on their opponent. I'm very confident that if Allen wins his 1st Super Bowl this year he'll win at least 1 more, maybe 2-3 more, before he hangs it up for good. That 1st one is going to be the trickiest one.

People say he's a locker room problem and that's probably true, but if the Eagles sign him nobody will bat an eye. He was PFF's 13th ranked safety in 2024 so it's not like he is washed. I would like to have a player with that kind of edge on defense. A psycho that makes the opponent hear footsteps, and he would be a great chess piece for our team if not a full time starter. But realistically there's no chance we will add a player like that. Yeah but if you approach it right this becomes a positive. I think every Super Bowl team has a couple jerks that you hate to root for. Anyways it's a moot point. The Bills will not be the team making that call.

I'd be more open to this argument if the problem wasn't a continuation of something that persisted for the whole season last year. At a certain point it's no longer something you can excuse away, it is a legit trend that shows no signs of getting better. Could it get better? Of course, I don't think there is anything inherent to our defensive roster that means we are doomed to a high 3rd down conversion rate. At this point I would even be okay with just getting to average in that area. But we're past the point of believing it will get better. They have to show measurable and consistent improvement or it will remain a concern. What I really didn't like about the Miami game in particular is there were at least a couple times where Babich directly was the reason for the failure. There was a 3rd down where Benford was somehow the only DB in the area of two WRs along the left sideline and Tua just easily threw to the one he wasn't covering. The end of 1st half sequence in particular was awful for Babich - I blame him personally for the Dolphins last 3rd down conversion on that drive and for Waddle's TD. That can't happen. Your DC can't be the primary reason the opponent puts 7 points on the scoreboard. And I'm not being nitpicky with these examples, it's not like he called a blitz and the QB beat the blitz and you just have to tip your cap, these are situations where the defense was just not in any kind of position to even have a chance of stopping the play.

3rd down defense is essentially the same as last year, 44.39% last year to 45.00% this year. But it's only that low because we held the Jets to 0 for 11. Against the Ravens and Dolphins combined it was 61.53%... So the biggest problem from last year appears to have gotten, shockingly, even worse. I know they have instituted some schematic changes to the defense and I worry that they only made those changes for the sake of change without a real plan in mind. This is by far the biggest concern moving forward and we probably won't get real clarity on if it's getting better until after the bye week.

This week Dolphins fans are complaining about Josh Allen finger guns, and about how the league screwed them by blowing the whistle after he supposedly fumbled the end of half kneeldown. That's what it's like to root for a bad team. Not that I can act innocent, I used to get mad about all sorts of dumb crap when the Pats were dominating us.

I need to see it to believe it with that crew. Let's not get too crazy because they lost to a legit division opponent followed by the Super Bowl champs, while down their most important skill players. They definitely do not have the same mojo as last year but they are still going to out coach their opponent on a weekly basis and that means volumes in a league where roster parity has never been tighter.

I'm probably whistling past the graveyard here but there are reasons to feel good about beating Baltimore in Buffalo in late January. Derrick Henry looks like he is slowing down a bit, he'll have just turned 32 and he'll have another 180 carries worth of miles on his legs. Our gap discipline will be better in our next matchup by default. The pressure of always choking in the playoffs will be on them and they'll be in our house. I'm not quite as scared of that prospect as I was two weeks ago. The real key is to avoid having to play both KC and Baltmore en route to the Super Bowl. You're going to have to beat one of them to get there, no avoiding it.

That would be a dream but I don't see it. Even if they lose next week, I only see 3 more losses on their schedule. Lions, Bills, 1 of the Broncos x2 or Chargers. 11-6 gets them into a wildcard spot. The realistic dream is KC at Baltimore in the wildcard.

KC. We already have a tiebreaker over Baltimore and KC is likely going to get much better when Rice and Worthy are back. Keep stacking those losses and get them in the playoffs as a wildcard team.

Just a wild sophomore slump.

That just isn't true anymore. The guy threw 41 TDs last year and you don't think he did that throwing into some tight windows? This is like when people still call Allen reckless with the football. We have to adjust our perspective when players improve. Lamar is pretty clearly the 2nd best QB in the NFL right now IMO. But it turns out the Ravens weren't the super team that everyone thought. Their OL has problems in pass protection, Starks is making rookie mistakes, their front 4 just isn't talented enough, their CB2 is still a big question mark. I think their coaching has a lot to answer for as well.

He does seem noticeably slower this season (except when the opposing defense gives him a monster truck sized gap to run through). And he's not getting any younger as the season goes along.

Yeah and KC racking up losses while Rashee Rice is out is important too. They are a team that could easily get hot in the back half of the season so you want them to fall behind way behind in the AFCW.

My brain says yes but my heart is going to root for KC to get embarrassed

The reason that it was a great play call is they didn't care about the potential criticism. They called a winning play and trusted their guys to execute.

Ravens or Chiefs are going to be 1-3. Just crazy.

Week 1 for the Lions feels like a million years ago

Bad case of fumbleitis

Could have ran it or hit the wide open pass on the move. He did neither.