CincyBillsFan

The one thing the Bengals don't have that the Bills do is a reliably healthy Allen. Burrow's injuries have messed up a couple of seasons. But your point is valid and may reflect the fact that the NFL is again undergoing a transformation and is rediscovering the importance of a running game and a bend but not break D. Which makes yesterday's result all the more frustrating as McD's supposed strength is on the defensive side of the ball and that is what failed spectacularly on Sunday. So now the question is whether or not it was a one off disaster or a sign of things to come.

Funny you should say this. Did you notice how in the post game interview McVay was over the top in his praising of Allen? My first thought was that when Stafford retires in 2 - 3 years McVay is setting up a situation where he could entice a 30/31 year old Allen to come play football for him. Yea I know there's a contract in place but by that time if the Bills haven't gotten over the hump and we're still having this same discussion.............................

I don't get this. They are bunched up to do the tush push how is he going to roll out and why would a TE be running a pattern? Aren't the TE's driving their heads into D linemen belly's? Allen just can't change the play that the O Coordinator calls in that situation with the tush push personnel. Are you trying to insinuate that Allen screwed up here?

And as you note even as bad as they played the chance our D stops the Rams from getting that 1st down was always going to be much better then the chances of recovering an onside kick.

It's hard to take what the ***** TV refs say seriously anymore. There is a real problem with NFL officiating and it's going to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs if they don't get a handle on it.

Did all the worry warts about having to play the Bengal's in the 1st round of the playoffs not just watch that game? A BAD Dallas team playing with a bad back up QB was about to get the ball on the Cincy 45 yard line with the best FG kicker in the league and under 2 minutes to play. But a remarkable bit of bad luck and bad play by the Cowboys special teams hands the Bengal's the win. And don't forget that Dallas has been absolutely horrible at home. IF and it's a huge IF, the Bengals make the playoffs and have to visit Orchard Park wild card weekend the Bills will win by 2 - 3 TD's.

Aikman is a world class dork.

Interesting post for a "Bills" fan but I'll bite. My point was that the Lions had to worry about Buffalo's high powered offense which has scored 30 or more points the last 7 games. Throw in the Lions injuries and I'm surprised you don't thin the Lions would be worrying about the Bills offense and Allen. BTW, I wasn't even talking about the Bills D or McD in my post.

As Burrow and his WR's have shown in two games. Nice summary but I would point out that Rogers was way past his prime and no longer elite by any measure; Jackson has a unique style that McD's D does a good job against and the 4 wins against KC have been more the result of Allen playing great.

I've come to the conclusion that it is almost entirely due to Allen. The QB is so critical to NFL success and he is the best playing. He elevates those around him as even a casual glance at the numbers put up by Brown, Beasley, Foster, Sanders, Diggs, Davis, Hollins, Shakir, and others reveal. I don't know whether McD is wasting Allen's best years or is creating a foundation that will see multiple Super Bowl wins in the next 5 - 7 years. I go back and forth on this topic. IMO this is a big year one way or the other as the Bills appear to be set to greatly exceed preseason expectations (13 - 4; division title). But if the playoff exit happens in the Divional round following a similar pattern as past years then next season should be the make or break one for McD. Either an AFC Championship appearance or McD is gone and a new coach put in his place.

These are also the places where we do miss Kincaid.

Agree. Go 13 - 4 and we lock up the #2 seed. Sure beating Detroit is great for bragging rights on the national stage but beating the Jets and NE twice is mich more important.

Correct in the long run this should not exert a big negative impact on the season. Even with a loss at Detroit the Bills are still in a great position to go 13 - 4 and lock up the 2nd seed. But in the short run it is concerning to see some of the same old problems manifest themselves in another ugly loss.

And on any of those three passes from the one Allen could run it if he sees an opening.

I remain agnostic towards McD. You can't deny the winning culture he has built in Buffalo: * 6 straight 10 win seasons * 5 straight 11 win seasons (I'm assuming we win at least 1 more game) * 5 straight division titles * 4 straight seasons winning at least 1 playoff game and likely soon to be 5. These are not small things particularly with respect to the 18 lost years before McD showed up. BUT............................. To many times McD has messed up the end of a game at a critical moment; and his expertise is the defense and it's been repeated defensive collapses which have prevented the Bills from advancing to the Super Bowl. So I remain in a wait & see mind set. McD has done a great job this year and if this loss was a one off I can live with it.

And if they got Baby Jesus at QB they would B word that he didn't walk on the water fast enough.

Yes

He enhanced his chances with that performance. And he would trade it all away for just one more defensive stop.

Allen was as close to perfect for a QB as you can be. Didn't he have a record setting EPA & Fantasy score? Allen had a 117 QB rating and an amazing 90 QBR.

I just can't believe you are saying this after what we just watched. The expectation of perfection from Allen is flat out crazy. It's insane and is not seen at any level of football by any other QB. As good as Stafford played today, and he was magnificent, he also missed some passes and left some plays out there.

Sorry but I can't utter a single bad word about the Bills Offense today. They scored TD's on 2 of their 4 first half possessions which is solid. In the 2nd half they scored TD's on 4 out of 5 possessions. The Bills D was terrible and the special teams not much better and that's were the discussion ends IMO.

And the Bills scored TD's on 6 out of 9 possessions with only one three and out. The defense was beyond bad today.

And the Detroit defense has to be very concerned about what they're about to face in the Bills offense - it works both ways.

The answer is absolutely it will show up as it has in every year the Bills have been in the playoffs in the Allen era. By my count there has only been ONE elite defensive playoff performance by the Bills since 2019 and that was against Baltimore.

I will say this having clinched the division I'm not taking this loss all that hard. It's a non conference game and our chances to lock up the 2nd seed are still very good even if we lose to Detroit nest week. The offense showed that they can be lethal and we'll be getting 2 more key pieces back soon. I also trust that McD will fix the issues with the D and they will play better going forward. For now I'm viewing this defensive performance as a one off resembling the inexplicable offensive melt down we had against Jacksonville a few years ago.