Logic

Just four skill players to one side of the field, one to the other. Creates advantageous spacing for the offense and, as the video points out, sometimes puts the defense in a bind or limits what they can do. I, too, would be intrigued to know what teams are using it the most, and the most effectively, since Orlovsky mentioned that it was on the rise this season.

It was a bad call not to run QB sneak there. You're right. I'd have run it, and then if it failed to score, I'd have hurried to the line and done it again. Two tush pushes in a row from the 1 was almost certain to score. Bad call by Brady. HOWEVER.... That was arguably the only bad call in an otherwise elite game for Joe Brady. The variety of runs that they used, the sequencing and layering of the passing game, the way they had the Lions defense on its heels all game long. All in all, it was a masterpiece of offensive gameplanning and playcalling. And oh, by the way, they scored 48 points against a top 10 scoring defense on the road, in front of a fired up home crowd, and have achieved the rare feat of scoring 30+ points for eight games in a row. So yeah, you're right, it was a dumb playcall. But if your major reaction after the game is to point out the one dumb playcall rather than the 4 quarters of brilliant playcalling, I don't know what to tell ya. No one's perfect. But Brady was about as close to it as an NFL OC can reasonably get yesterday, and one bad playcall doesn't change the fact that he deserves kudos for the job he's doing.

The Thigh Doctor guy on Twitter (who I've since come to understand is not universally trusted) believes its an AC Joint sprain in Allen's right (throwing) shoulder. Again, probably best to believe the words straight out of Allen's mouth and the fact that there is no other chatter anywhere about Allen's right shoulder being injured over this random "doctor" on Twitter. Nevertheless, just reporting what I read. Don't shoot the messenger.

The Buffalo Bills are the only team in the league for whom the FANS are arguably the most famous, well known aspect of the team. Sure, you can say that's because they haven't won any championships in the Super Bowl era, but nevertheless, the fact remains. Ask anyone, whether they're knowledgeable about football or not, what they think of when it comes to the Buffalo Bills, and most are gonna say "I know their fans are crazy". Or they'll mention "Bills Mafia" or tables being broken or the tailgating. Bills fans are next level passionate DESPITE a history of heartbreak and no championships. Steelers and, nowadays, Chiefs fans cannot say the same. Packers fans cannot say the same. I'll grant you that Lions' fans loyalty matches our own, but they lack the gameday atmosphere Buffalo has. The combination of fan passion (particularly despite a losing history), loyalty, gameday tailgating and stadium experience, and things unique to Bills fans ("Bills mafia", tailgate rituals, the tables, charity donations), how well they travel to other stadiums, make them -- in my admittedly biased opinion -- the best fans in football.

Mack Hollins' under-the-radar value to the Bills offense, summed up in a short clip of just one play:

People acting like there won't be serious wind mitigation in the new stadium and like the field won't be heated. Also, to reiterate: in the past three seasons, the Bills are 23-3 at home. TWENTY-THREE AND THREE. The Bills ALREADY have an elite home field advantage!

Agreed. Historic. Not unreasonable to argue that they're the best offense in team history. I remain worried about a frigid and snowy Buffalo playoff game neutralizing their passing game advantage. I know, I know: the 49ers game. Still, I can't shake the visions of Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt or Derick Henry and Lamar Jackson running wild, our pass rushers failing to impact Mahomes or Jackson whatsoever due to bad footing in winter weather a la the Bengals game, and Josh Allen lasers bouncing off of frozen Bills WRs' fingers. Clearly, I have a bad case of LBFT: Lifelong Bills Fan Trauma.

Damn. I hate late kickoffs. I really wanted it to be a 10am deal.

Indeed. The Bills' historic offensive production this season makes me think of Beane's offseason quote: "let's not forget we can throw to tight ends and running backs, too. Last I checked, it's not just receivers that can catch passes". I laughed at the quote as being silly at the time, but now the joke's on me. All three running backs and both tight ends contribute to the passing game in a big way. But as far as pure wide receiver production and viability, Kirby is right: just average. Shakir is a great security blanket for Josh. Cooper is more or less a low end WR1 at this point in his career. Coleman has shown promise and may eventually turn into a viable WR1. All in all, the pass catching corps as a whole (taking into account all positions) has been good, but the wide receivers are essentially who we thought they were.

It's really hard to compare positions and eras. OJ had incredible production even though there was NOTHING around him and opposing defenses knew it was coming. Bruce Smith is the all-time NFL leader in sacks despite playing primarily as a 3-4 DE for much of his career. Josh is doing unprecedented things at QB, but in an era where QBs are very protected and offensive production is very much promoted/encouraged by the NFL. All things considered, I'm going with Josh. I think he'll go down as the best dual threat QB in NFL history and, when it's all said and done, one of the top ten greatest quarterbacks that's ever played the game of football. To me, given the importance of the quarterback position and the fact that Josh is likely to wind up the Bills franchise's all-time leader in both touchdown passes AND touchdown runs, I'm voting Josh.

So long as it remains healthy, the offense appears poised to handle playoff football. The defense -- as it always seems to be in the playoffs under Sean McDermott -- is the issue. We just saw them give up 40+ points in back-to-back weeks. And yes, I understand the circumstances of injuries and going against great offenses. Nevertheless... Can the defensive line consistently generate pressure? Can Matt Milano round back into his pre-injury form? Can our starting safeties and corners stay on the field? On top of that, the only other thing I could see being an issue is bad, snowy weather, which could neutralize the playing field and somewhat neuter the Bills offense (49ers game notwithstanding).

OJ and Bruce would be the only two previous ones in Bills history, I think. Josh, OJ, Bruce, and Kelly is probably your Bills Mt Rushmore, though I'd understand the argument for Thurman over Kelly.

Unstoppable at home? You mean like...

This is insane

48 points, 0 targets for Cooper. And ya know what? It's fine. Last week he was a big part of the offensive success. This week, he was not. At least not in a tangible way. I'd have to watch the All-22 to know if he was commanding extra defensive attention. But the Bills, by acquiring him, were not saying "you're going to be the new focal point of our offense". They've shown that they're going to stick to their "everybody eats" mantra, spread the ball around, and there will be a new offensive hero every week. Even Khalil Shakir was not All-World against the Lions. He had a good day, but not a great one. Coleman had ONE catch. Instead, we had big plays by Cook, Johnson, Davis, Knox, Kincaid. In fact, reading that list back, it seems clear to me: The Bills felt they could exploit the Lions' linebackers. And exploit them they did. Cooper or no, everybody eats. Prime Jerry Rice could walk through the door tomorrow, and I still think: "everybody eats". It's why Brady's offense is working so well right now and why Josh is playing so free. He can just execute the gameplan and find the open man and not have to massage any egos. It's working.

As I saw on Twitter last night: The Bills scored 48 points and didn't target Amari Cooper a single time. Simply amazing. As one of the most outspokenly irritated and flummoxed people on this forum all offseason with regard to the receiver room: Holy *****. What else can I say about this offensive production? Just....holy *****.

I'm with Kyle Brandt. It was the Lions admitting they knew they couldn't stop the Bills offense. It was them saying "we have a better chance at recovering an onsides kick than we do at stopping the Bills from scoring".

I get your point, but I respectfully disagree. Josh Allen has been doubted, ridiculed, laughed at, and insulted his entire career. He has had to fight, claw, and scrap to get where he is. You all already know the story -- the no college offers, the 1,000 letters he wrote, the "if Josh Allen succeeds, he will have outsmarted basically all regular humans and the entirety of math itself" article, all of it -- so I won't go into more detail on it. But make no mistake: If we're talking about legacy, if we're talking about going down as an all-time great and a first ballot Hall of Famer, Josh Allen DOES need to win an MVP award. He absolutely does. Not only does he need it for his legacy, but he deserves to win it. For the work he puts in, for the way he has transformed this franchise, for the way he lifts up an entire region, for all the good he does in the community. He deserves it. Aside from needing the award to help cement his legacy, and deserving the award, I also just WANT him to win it. He's a good, kind, funny, genuine, selfless, awesome person and an All-World golden retriever lumberjack space alien with a howitzer for an arm, and *****, I want him to have an MVP on his resume. So yeah...I get it. It's all about a Lombardi. I'm sure Josh Allen would say the same thing, and I'm sure coach McDermott would say the same thing. But I, as a fan, don't have to say the same thing. I can admit it: I WANT JOSH ALLEN TO WIN THE MVP AWARD. I want it badly.

Well...when are you suggesting to rest them, exactly? Certainly not for the last three games of the season? That would be insane. Either way, I'm not resting anybody right now. The Bills are so in sync, so in tune, playing so well, and in such a groove, that I'm not doing anything at all to disrupt that chemistry. Nope. Further, Josh Allen deserves to win his first MVP. He deserves it. I'm not taking away his chance to do so by resting starters or resting HIM until at least the last game, and preferably on the second half of that game. Play your guys. Fight for seeding. IF, in the last week of the season, there is nothing to play for, you can rest them then. Not a minute before.

All that's really on my mind today is this offense and this quarterback. There were tons of things about the game that mattered. Those first. - Getting off to a fast start was HUGE - Ed Oliver (most pressures by a DT in a single game this season) and others collapsing the pocket in the first half - Run defense came to PLAY! When was the last time you remember Gibbs/Montgomery being bottled up like that?! - Johnson and Knox making fingertip catches on slightly overthrown balls in two HUGE moments. If one or both don't succeed, it's possible the Bills lose. Game of inches. - Offensive line showed up. After our running game was completely stymied last week, this week, our guys were ripping off six yard runs with ease - Three-headed running back stable is very good. Each offer something different - Speaking of which, a special shoutout again to Ty Johnson. As Josh Allen said: "Best third down back in the league". Sounds crazy, but is it? - Hats off to Kaiir Elam. Not a perfect game, but he was not a liability out there. Acquitted himself well - Good thing the team got off to a fast start, because our MASH unit defense was just barely hanging on by the end - Joe Brady was an another level. He used the QB run the most effectively I've seen it used all season, and the Lions D was on its heels all game - Loved how aggressive McDermott/Brady/Allen were at the end of the game on offense. Elite coaching there - You just knew early on that this was gonna be one of THOSE games for Josh. Historic stuff But all of that said -- the defense being amazing and then having to hang by the skin of their teeth, the high degree of difficulty on the fingertip grabs, the play by both lines, the onsides kicks, etc, etc -- it still all comes back to this QB and this offense. The Bills, with eight straight games of 30+ points have joined elite offensive company. The Greatest Show on Turf Rams, the Brady/Moss Pats, the Manning Broncos....and the 2024 Buffalo Bills. That's the list. It is not hyperbole at this point to say this at least MAY BE the greatest offensive season in Bills history. Certainly Brady is playing a big part in that. Certainly our offensive line and Kromer are playing a big part in that. Certainly our unselfish group of skill players are doing their share. But the main reason for it? We all know. It's #17. The greatest quarterback and, I would say, greatest overall football player on planet earth right now. He's on another level. He's the MVP. He's the catalyst for this absolute juggernaut of an offense. With this QB playing this way, and with this offense scoring at the frenetic pace that it is...they can beat any team in the league. They have ALREADY beat the best team in the NFC and the "best" team in the AFC. They've just gotta stay reasonably healthy and keep it up. If they do? It is not unreasonable at all to suggest they have what it takes to hoist the Lombardi.

As I've seen pointed out elsewhere: This is a PARTICULARLY egregious situation, because of the specifics of that 49ers team. Ward coming back after the death of his daughter. Trent Williams coming back after the death of his son. Multiple guys battling injury to get onto the field. An absolute MUST-HAVE game against a division opponent. This is different than retiring at halftime early in the season. This was BAD. The 49ers are right to cut ties with him immediately, and the only reason he hasn't been cut yet is that Shanahan says they're working through it to evaluate all their options (suspension vs release, contract money related things). Whether or not Campbell realizes it, he likely just put an end to his NFL playing career.

Ah, okay. THAT I can get on board with. Sorry, I misunderstood. Seeing Oregon in the Big 10 is still so weird to me...