Success

ESPN is doing some good stuff right now. It has been MANY years since we got these kinds of in-depth stories about the team & fanbase.

I wonder how long it will be before I can approach a Patriots game more like a "regular" sort of game, and not with a pre-programmed feeling of dread and doom.

I really wanted to match that 56 point total they had against us in 2007. Oh, well. Gotta settle for 49.

To win tonight, BB has to use the same strategy he did as DC for the Giants in '90 - keep Allen and the offense off the field. They're capable of doing that. In the games that they won - from what I saw - they were able to grind out long, time-consuming drives, with Cam picking up key 3rd & shorts with his running ability. The Bills defense is playing much better, and they need to shut that down. If we can keep the TOP at a relatively even split (at minimum), the game shouldn't be that close.

They should stick w/ Darnold. He can be a very good QB and still live up to his draft expectations - they have given him almost nothing to work with, and he needs better coaching. They'll probably still draft a QB, though.

New England is still a division rival, and more importantly, they still have the greatest coach of all time. I feel like it's conventional wisdom now that it won't be close tonight - I definitely hope that's true, but I'm ready for anything. This could be a kitchen sink game for BB - he surely doesn't want to get swept, and will likely pull out all of the stops. He's been able to contain Allen so far in their match-ups. That was also true of Peyton Manning and a lot of good & great QB's over the years - but eventually, the great ones like Manning figured him out. I'm hoping Allen has that kind of moment tonight.

Not to be all hot takey - but are we sure that KC is that scary?

Yeah - I'm w/ the "anyone but the Ravens in round 1" crowd, for sure....

I'm getting a bit tired of the greed. Am I off on that? Is there something I haven't read about where owners and the NFL in general is struggling financially? Because all I see is a bunch of super-rich dudes who can't possibly spend the money they have, wanting more money. I don't like that the Bills wait over 20 years to get the 2 seed and still have to play on WC weekend, and I don't like the idea of 17 games.

Fitz is easily one of the most entertaining players in NFL history. Legend.

I remember when New England had a sense of humor...

The Patriots aren't a bear anymore. They're a smaller mammal - not sure which, but it's one that can't score TD's.

BB can still out-coach anyone. Problem is, he can't out-GM anyone. He'll outsmart himself in the next few drafts, like he always does. Trading down, going for D3 "gems" that he thinks only he knows about. He may get lucky here or there, but he very likely will NOT find the QB he needs. With Miami on the rise, and the Bills already there, it could be a long stretch of wilderness for NE now. They are looking at a major rebuild, and BB might retire before it even comes to fruition. The only move that I could see making them competitive next year would be getting Stafford somehow.

Anyone remember when the Jags were new to the league, and Denver had a similar layoff before they faced Jacksonville in the division round? That goes back a ways - but teams can get rusty. Here's hoping.

On their boards & on twitter, it's almost consensus among Pats fans that they're "glad" it's the Bills winning the division, and not the Jets or Phins - and that we're their "least hated" division rival. This troubles me. A good blowout to complete the season sweep will be a good start toward rekindling some solid animosity.

Winning the division, watching the Pats get eliminated from the playoffs, being favored to sweep them and give them their 1st losing record in decades - it's everything I thought it would be & more. Weird to say in 2020 - but life is good.

I hate using "Billsy" these days, because we've transcended that - but it is pretty Billsy to get the 2 seed in the 1st year where that doesn't mean a bye...

Get yer brooms ready.

Jets should stick w/ Darnold anyway - a good coach could work wonders for him.

It's been so long - I almost have no idea how to react. Best to just drink.

Voldemort has been defeated.

It might take the reffing community a few years to unlearn 2 decades of constantly favoring the Patriots....

I said I like our chances. I haven't crowned anyone.

I checked that thread. It's actually alarming how fans can so quickly transition to Patriot-level condescension after just 1 Super Bowl. They're convinced that there is no way the Bills could go into Arrowhead in January and beat them, since they had such an "easy" time w/ us in the last game. It's the NFL - the Jets beat the Pats in the playoffs after losing 45-3 in the regular season. I like our chances at KC in the playoffs. At worst, that game is a coin flip.

Great write-up. Watching Allen to Diggs is an almost transcendent experience as a football fan. They're just locked in. But watching Allen just in general is jaw-dropping at times. He just keeps getting better - in his accuracy, decision-making, release - all of it. His ceiling is still out there somewhere. I think this is a guy who could be in the GOAT conversation before all is said & done. I know that sounds homer, but he has those intangibles, and the work ethic to make it happen. As for the Bills, it's nice to see them not falling in the same old patterns. I listened to Bill Simmons' podcast last week, and both he & his guest agreed that every time in the past when the country started talking about the Bills and expectations were high, the team would come out flat and lose. They predicted that for the Broncos game - and we end up with what can only be called a massive statement game, on national TV, to win the division for the 1st time in a quarter century. Life is good.