Success

Could be back to the '90's w/ the Bills and Phins competing annually for the division title. Hope the outcome is the same there. The silver lining is that the Patriots will have a hard time getting past 3rd place for quite a few years, especially if BB ends up retiring.

That Tampa line is formidable - and as you get deeper in the playoffs, defense and the ability to pressure the QB always seem to be bigger & bigger factors. I think I also saw that KC now won't have either starting tackle for the game. Tampa could definitely pull it off. It's also hard to match a QB who has such a ridiculous amount of SB experience. Ugh. I really don't want either team. I don't even care about Brady that much - but I can't stand that most Patriots fans will see it as a "win" for them if the Bucs are champs.

It's probably my rationalizing mechanism, but I have come to see the loss as almost necessary for building a long-term contender. All of the underlying concerns I had about the team were exposed on Sunday. Mainly, how one-dimensional we are. While you can still win a championship like that, you generally need more luck to do so. I'd rather go into the Super Bowl with more balance and just with a better overall team. I think KC showed very starkly what the Bills need to work on. I also think the way we lost will lead to more aggressive offseason moves and even more of a sense of purpose heading into next season, which could result in a more sustained and dominant run.

It seems almost likely at this point that he ends up in the division. The difference between the AFC and NFC at the QB position is becoming lopsided. I wish he'd end up in the NFC, if only for a little bit of balance. The AFC is looking brutal in the years ahead w/ the # of good & great young QB's.

True - though I always saw the Pats as our biggest rival prior to this year, and they owned the Bills for 2 decades. I guess I'm thinking more from a one-sided perspective, and who our biggest obstacle is. I almost forgot the recent Chiefs games during the drought - the Tuel pick 6, and then the fumble at the endzone a year later, both of which likely turned wins into losses. Gotta beat that team. I'll be very interested in the game next season. They're definitely a measuring stick for us at this point.

I feel like people are giving up on Knox a little too quickly. I still see all kinds of potential there.

It happened pretty quick, but I see KC as our biggest rival now.

I didn't realize it at the time, but BB was kind of daring him to run. We were just so caught up in what got us there - especially after the video game against the Raiders. Thurman probably could have broken 200 that game if we went that route - and it wouldn't have been 40-20 in TOP. But no one played well. That 10 minute drive was a clinic in how not to tackle.

I can't root for Brady. But I will celebrate either outcome. That's sort of a rarity.

As the week rolls on, I'm starting to think that this was the best outcome. Maybe it's my rationalizing mechanism taking over. I let myself come to believe that we were better than we are - understandable given how we were in December. But facing playoff defenses like the Colts & Ravens, we were starting to get a bit exposed. We've seen it a few times through the years - an offense that seemed unstoppable all season getting smacked when they run into a good D in the playoffs. The 2001 Rams and 2007 Patriots come to mind. You just can't fake your way to a SB win with a middlin' defense. When all you are is a high-flying offense, you have no Plan B when that offense isn't clicking. I think we'll look back on playing the Chiefs & losing like we did as the best thing that could have happened. Beane is already on it. He'll make the changes we need to make to become a championship team.

We played a video game offense. You HAVE to play it safe w/ the personnel we have. Try to take away the big play and go bend/don't break. Play overly aggressive, and chances are that the game would have been over even sooner.

We're a better team than Cleveland - but they have a better defense. I'm old school, so buy into the old adage that defense wins championships. We were too one-dimensional to win the SB without some real luck. I think the Bucs would have been a bad match-up for us. Part of me is actually a little relieved - I want the team to have just a little more balance when we finally do make it to the last game.

I saw that KC is missing their 2 starting tackles. That could be very impactful w/ the pass rushers that the Bucs have. Mahomes didn't have to deal with too much pressure from the Bills.

It really wouldn't have occurred to me to go to the Ravens board last week, and talk about how I thought the Bills were set up to be just as awesome for years into the future.

The Chiefs message board is the 1st in internet history (at least in terms of sports) that I won't visit anymore. I like to check out other fans boards, particularly teams we are playing or have played. I went there once after the game on Sunday, and won't go back. It redefines "toxic." Just an unpleasant place to spend time, even just as a viewer. No other board like that I can remember. The Pats boards are bastions of positivity and humility by comparison.

I was kind of thinking this. It's more of a perception thing; if the Chiefs win big, the perception will be, "oh - no one was beating that team this year, they're just too good." I think the reality is more that it's about match-ups. The Bucs might just match up better to them. I think it will actually be a competitive game. Championships tend to be a little more about defense, and the Bucs have a better one. Looking more at the Bucs, I also think they would have been a tough match-up for the Bills.

They can stay competitive as long as they have Reid and Mahomes - not unlike BB and Brady. But they won't be a video game much longer. I'm curious how they handle a few SB wins, too. I don't think they have the psychotic driven thing that BB and Brady had, where they were just never satisfied. I could see the Chiefs getting a bit happy if they win next Sunday.

It's very easy to look at how that game transpired, and think we have miles to go to catch that team. They're at a plateau right now, while we're still climbing. Our trajectory is up. At best, theirs is level - but likely inching down, if not next season than the season after. They can't keep some of those difference-makers, and everyone knows it. I think just a couple of players could have turned Sunday into a win - notably, an impact pass rusher, and a genuine starting RB (no disrespect to Motor, but he's not a 30 carry a game guy). It doesn't seem like it, but a few plays could have really turned the outcome of what happened. We'll get there. It's rare you knock the bully off the hill w/ the 1st attempt.

Exactly. The most common sentiment I've seen from them is along the lines of "even though we didn't make the playoffs, I feel like we're in the Super Bowl!" Not acceptable. Go Chiefs.

Reid and Mahomes don't have that psycho drive like BB and Brady did. I'll root for them because I think it benefits us. They're more likely to get happy about winning 2. Not that they won't keep striving, but it will take some edge off and I'd bet they get sloppy.

It is hard, hard, hard to root for KC. I heard people talking about the "new money" nature of Chiefs fans, but didn't really see it until this past week. Man, are they a bunch of brats (and I know, I know - a few people on the internet don't represent all fans. But they're awful). But root for them I must. We're talking 20 years of my life here. I'd probably root for Voldemort over Brady.

I'd prefer that they didn't get cute w/ this. Sign him asap, and pay him a lot.

Davis was a great find in that draft. Fun to watch and can be a legit #2.

The ONLY thing that's harder these days is the internet. One thing I think I'll always be grateful for is that we didn't have that back in the SB days. It would have been unbearable (or, I would have just stayed away from it, as I have this week except for this board).

I'm not a big fan of cliches like "you have to knock out the champ." They completely oversimplify something as complex as situational football. We were up against a superior opponent. I understand reverting to more conservative calls in some areas - I had no issue at all w/ the FG right before the half, and with playing more of a prevent D. There were other calls I had some issues with, but McD knows a lot more than me, and he has earned my trust as a fan. It's always fun for pundits to play HC in hindsight.