Success

You have to look at Brady's whole season. He started out very well, but then only played well sporadically as the season wore on. The 2nd Bills game was his best in the latter half of the season. I have never seen Brady play like he did most of this season - over & underthrowing receivers, bailing on plays too early, missing wide open guys. It was actually a joy to watch at times. He's in decline, and it's not going to get better. Reports are coming out now that he had 2 nagging injuries he was dealing with most of the season. Those aren't things that will improve with age. Like most great athletes, he's hanging on too long. He should have gone out after last years SB win, on top. He won't hurt his legacy by sticking around, but he'll hurt whatever team he is with. I hope the Pats do re-sign him, and I hope it's for a few years. He 100% does not scare me anymore - he's just not that good now. There is a reason we don't see many 43 year old players in the league.

That was an enjoyable read. Does anyone know if Waddle is back next year, or was that just a 1 year deal? I feel like the D is just about set - hoping that they devote most of the offseason moves to O-line, WR & RB. Spot on w/ the injury situation. I don't ever remember a season as healthy as this one, and I go way back. I hope that can continue. The Bills should be division favorites heading into next season. The media will probably give the nod to the Pats if Brady returns, but that's obligatory. We'll be the better team.

The 4th & 27 was similar to Josh's lateral - basically, 2 "playoff rookie" mistakes, where the lights did seem to be a bit too bright. Both were very uncharacteristic based on what we've seen from McD and Allen all season. I'm not that concerned long term, but both were alarming while watching the game.

No way I'd want Brady now, on a few levels. Not necessarily because of my feelings about him or the Pats - I'd probably take that deal 5 years ago. Maybe this is crazy, but I think Allen will simply be the better QB going forward.

I lurk a bit on the Pats boards. I think one of my favorite things right now is how delusional they are about the future. I guess that happens w/ 20 years of winning. One poster was saying how everyone wrote them off in 2010 also, and they want on to win 3 SB's. Everyone was chiming in that they'd do the same thing again, and that the dynasty was far from over. All they need to do is "load up the offense" with top talent, as though that's the easiest thing to do w/ fairly limited cap space. One guy tried to say "yeah, but Brady was 32 then, and he'll be 43," which was only met w/ a few "pliability" comments. I have a feeling the next few years are going to be really fun. Not just watching the Bills win, but watching a younger generation of fans who have never known losing try to cope w/ the drop-off that's coming for that team. The latter is a more petty feeling, but can be satisfying as well.

This is a great thread. The 2019 season really took me back to the heady days of the '90's. Making the playoffs changes the holiday season completely. The sun's a little brighter, I laugh a little harder, and I drink to celebrate & not to forget! Even though we only got one game this time, this past weekend was awesome. Not being able to sleep on Friday, all of the anticipation on Saturday, and then a really fun game until the end. I even had a few moments around halftime where I was able to genuinely relax and take it all in. And the best part is that this is just the start. We all know it - they're building something special w/ this team. Good times ahead.

Nothing unfair about that, and I wouldn't tell fans that they can't criticize. I would just hope that the criticism is reasonable and based on the understanding that the QB position is one of the biggest learning curves in sports. Yes, you can have a Mahomes - but the league is also full of guys who took time to fully grasp it. I'm not suggesting he's close to Peyton Manning, but Manning was embarrassed by BB in his 1st few playoff runs. Then, he figured things out and got the best of that rivalry in the 2nd half of his career. In general, I think fans write players off much too early. Look at Shaq, and how most of us now hope he gets re-signed. To me, Allen has shown incredible potential in the short time he has started. I don't expect a QB at this stage of their career to be a fully realized player.

"Not going to win in this league?" Newsflash - he already led us to our greatest one season win total in over 2 decades. And he probably wins his 1st playoff game at 23 if the ref calls helmet to helmet, or doesn't call a phantom illegal block, or if 2 defenders can sack a QB w/ a clear shot. You talk as though good QB's don't make mistakes. To use an old phrase, you're letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. Allen is a winner. He pulled games out in the 4th quarter, on his own this past season. We haven't had a player as exciting or purely talented in years. I guess that makes me an "apologist," but my eyes are wide open.

Oh, no! People in the sports media laughed? How will Allen ever recover? How do we as a fan base rise above this scathing indictment from such worthy professionals?

I guess I'm a homer - I thought Allen was pretty great for his 1st playoff game, at 23, on the road. The grounding & sack plays were tough, but not crazy bad - guys came through completely unblocked. In the years ahead, Allen will anticipate that more; that's very fixable. The lateral (which didn't affect the outcome one iota) was the only real headscratcher, and completely uncharacteristic of Allen. There is nothing to compare it to in any of the other games he has played. I can only think it was a combination of things - no timeouts, frustration that he was unable to make anything happen in the 2nd half, feeling more desperation than the situation warranted. No excuses, but I go back to him being 23, and being pretty cool-headed for most of the time we have watched him play. This is a guy who was one of the league leaders in 4th quarter comebacks this year. And prior to all of that, he played like a champ. The 1st half was something to behold - he had overcome his issue of coming out w/ too much adrenaline, and played great football.

That's the thing I love the most - this isn't some thrown-together, 1-2 year window team w/ older FA's - we're built to last. I can't wait for next season. I think this could be one of the top teams next year.

It's a team game. I think Brady is the GOAT, but I can't stand it when people make that argument based on rings & wins. What if they had switched places? Brady had the best coach of all time; Manning had one very good coach in Dungy, then 4 coaches who were mediocre or downright bad. The playoffs are the ultimate coach filter - you don't see a lot of bad coaches advancing far, and it's extremely rare that a bad coach wins a super bowl. I also take issue w/ people who call Manning a "playoff choker." He did something Brady never experienced: down 21-3 to his biggest nemesis, in the AFCCG, with the weight of so much playoff failure on his shoulders, he led an incredible comeback to take that game. Most QB stats get worse in the playoffs - better defenses. Manning wasn't "bad" in the playoffs. He just got their a lot.

Well stated, and it's nice to see a rational point of view. This was Allen's 1st playoff game, and really the 1st "earned" one for this team. Given that, they came out as poised as can be, especially on the road against a team that was just about their equal. Booger kept talking about that (a bit too much for my liking), but their near flawless execution in the 1st half made some of the mistakes of the 2nd half seem more egregious. I've seen "collapse," "choke," "lights were too bright" and all of that. That's not how I saw it. As Watt said, the Texans just needed a spark, and they got that. That's how football games are - they reclaimed the momentum in the 2nd half, and held onto it, as a home team probably should. I can't think of one mistake that we made that really cost us the game. Everyone makes a big deal out of Allen's lateral, which was alarming & very uncharacteristic, but it didn't change a thing. Nor did the grounding & sack on the previous drive. It was a 50/50 game, and we came up just short. There is no rule that when you have a 16-0 lead with close to a half left to play, you win. And it doesn't mean you "choked" when you lose a game like that. Credit to the Texans for being mentally tough and fighting back.

The Titans goal-line stand was one of the more exciting playoff moments I've seen in awhile - and not just because it was against the Pats. That's how you take a game; you can't back into it.

Saturday felt like the end. I'm not even so sure BB is all that, anymore. For sure, he WAS. But remember when we all felt the same about Shula, and then the league caught up w/ him? I kind of see that w/ BB. His gameplans the past 2 weeks were genuinely bad, and his in-game decisions mystifying. It's not even opinion that he was outcoached in both games, by Flores and Vrabel. He really doesn't scare me anymore. As for Brady, who cares if he plays for the Pats, someone else, or retires. He was definitely NOT scary this year, and especially over the past month, and he's going to be 43. I agree that the dynasty is done. It wouldn't shock me at all to see the Pats end up in 3rd or 4th place next year.

That's where I'm at. I thought going into Saturday's game that it was about 50/50, and thought I was prepared for the loss, but the circumstances really changed how I feel about it. Having a 16-0 lead, then the refs at the end - it felt like a gut punch, and I'm still working through it. I also feel like the playoffs are wide open this year, and the Bills could have made a real run. On the glass-half-full side, we made great strides, and I have a lot of confidence about the future. I'm more bullish on Allen than a lot of fans, and think one of the silver linings of the way we lost is that it will fuel him to work even harder this offseason, as he has stated. I also think Beane knows what he's doing, and that he'll make the offseason moves that are needed to push this team over the top. We probably won't be in the media, but we should be favorites to win the division next year. So, to the OP's question - there is absolutely no fan I'd rather be than a fan of the Buffalo Bills. Is it September yet?

Sorry if there was already a thread on this, but I didn't see anything. One of the big positives yesterday was Hausch MONEY. He drilled everything with room to spare, and that last one to tie the game was the most clutch kick I've seen from a Bill in many years, with so much on the line. That was not an easy kick, and he nailed it. I think I also saw a stat that he made 19 of his last 20. Not bad after all of that mid-season doubt. If the refs don't make that bogus call on Ford, I think he hits that game winner, even though it would have been a long one.

We were a WC team, and we hung with a team at the same level through overtime, at their house. Barely lost a 50/50 game. That’s about what I thought we were. Sure, I dreamed of going further - which we could have, because we can hang with anyone. But that’s a big part of who we were this year- when your ceiling is just being able to hang, you need the breaks to go your way in every game to come out with a win. Likely not going to happen in 4 consecutive games. We need to become a team that can do more than hang. We need to dominate, at least a little, and put games away earlier. But we weren’t pretenders.

I love the internet. I love coming to boards like this one, I love the instant news & updates on things that interest me, I love having so much available to me - at my fingertips, all day, every day. But if someone said that they could take things back to a time before it existed, and that all I'd have to do is give the word, I'd say "do it!" and wouldn't even think about it for a second.

Fair enough - I can see the perspective there. I just think if I was a Saints fan, after last year, I'd want to see a clean TD to beat my team this time around.

I disagree, strongly. Did you see the top view? It was a textbook push-off - he extended his arm fully, and that's the reason he got separation. I'm all for letting 'em play, but that's a penalty, and it was one that won the game.

Saints fans must feel like the officials have it in for them - even worse than us. That game winner was a push off. The guy extended his arm to create separation, and it was clear as day on review.

Ya know, lost in all of the giddy celebration about the Pats demise is the fact that the most obnoxious opposing player in my lifetime had the choke play of the year by dropping that 3rd down pass from Brady - which was right on the #'s. Nice goin', Edelman. Made the evening that much more glorious.

That's a clear push-off. Won't be overturned though. Man, do I feel for Saints fans. On the flip side, I'm happy for Cousins - he takes way too much criticism.

Saints fans are approaching '90's-level Bills fan heartbreak. Maybe they can make a stand here....