Success

Great thread, and an excellent perspective on this. As a football fan, I can marvel at that play. It was the best play of the year, and really, one for the ages. And I don't call it lucky, just as I never called the Giants helmet catch lucky - both were just superior efforts from the WR's. It felt like the end of the world when it happened. But then it's like, oh yeah - we're in 1st place, and undefeated in our division, and it's mid-November. And this is a great team. And we have a clutch QB. It's all about taking care of business now. We have to beat the teams we should beat. As long as we get to that Miami game with no major hiccups, we should be able to secure the division with a win over them (which is how it probably should be), and may not even need that. It's a good time to be a Bills fan. Not necessarily yesterday or today, though.

I don't know where anyone is getting that Miami's only potential loss before us is KC. They've been playing well. But this is the NFL - and they're not the '07 Pats. They're starting a rookie QB and will have some unexpected setbacks.

It's a perfect time for a bye. Our post-bye schedule isn't easy - but there are a lot of games we should win. And we have to win those. The way the Phins are playing, I'd expect our rematch w/ them to decide the division.

To play the hail mary better, he would have needed wings.

Great write-up, and the thread title sums it up. It's a bummer, but it's not any kind of huge setback. We're in 1st place in the AFCE and still have an undefeated record in the division. The upcoming schedule is tough, but we have a bye to get healthy & gear up for a good stretch run. I thought Allen was out of sync all day - he never found his groove until the very end, and that might have just been more "4th quarter Josh" than any kind of groove. He really is clutch. We're in the thick of a tight division race in mid-November, and have the advantage. I'll take that any ol' day.

I really can't stand that team.

Pats got a break w/ this weather. Hate to see them stick around. Obviously still a long shot for them, but man, would their fans be impossible if they pulled the division out this year. I'd have to quit the interntet.

Only thing that's gonna cheer me up tonight is a Pats loss. I don't need the Pats hanging around in the division....

Can anyone explain why the nation is celebrating like the Bills are the Patriots and won 6 Super Bowls? People are jubilant that we lost this game - far beyond just being excited about an amazing play in a neutral game. It's weird. We just got through decades of one of the worst decades-long fan experiences in the history of fandom.

All of the youngsters over there don't seem to realize the complete domination the Dolphins had over the Patriots for decades - they're celebrating the hail mary like a SB, because Bills fans are "just so annoying" and they'd rather Miami win the division. I hope the Ravens put up a 60 burger on them tonight.

Toss up game. Some would say we got away w/ a few ourselves (Rams, Pats). It kind of evens out. Hate losing on a hail mary, but that's football. This is a test for a young team w/ tons of promise - how they react to it is literally everything.

I mean, we all need to watch it again. There really isn't much any of them could do. They were all right there - it was actually perfect coverage.

A bad team: derailed by this loss. They never recover. A good team: this is a good motivator, but tough. Rest of the season is 50/50. A great team: they love this loss. It's the touchpoint for utter domination for the remainder of this season, and well beyond.

Man, what is with Pats fans? They're all rejoicing because the Phins have a legit shot now. Are they all under 30? The Miami Dolphins OWNED that team for 2 decades. The Pats didn't get a win there for something like 14 years straight. I hope they get humiliated tonight.

I mean, that was a 1 in 100 throw. He wasn't even really aiming it. It was the definition of a hail mary. 3 guys in the endzone played it perfectly - there is nothing you can do against a perfect throw and catch. Hope we see them again in February.

That was a pretty even game. Feel like we should have won at the end - but it didn't w/ 3 minutes to go. Murray makes that throw perfectly 1 out of 50x. Not much you can do.

Refs are pulling out all the stops right now.

Refs took this game over.

Um....refs? We need a chance here. That was flimsy.

There is zilch to overturn that.

Looks like we are letting up - they are playing much more inspired right now.

Penalties can really change a game. Did anyone see that one on Knox? I didn't see a replay. Changed everything...

Why isn't that a flag? DB wasn't turned around at all...

You realize that Diggs stopped on the route...right?

Thank you, Dawson Knox. Man, was that tough.