Ray Stonada

I guess I should know this, but is Bryan Cox Jr the son of Bryan Cox the LB from the Dolphins, who we used to tangle with in the 90s?

Yes, agree with that about the WRs (though Beasley had already broken his fibula). I also feel like we could have just used a minute to catch our breath after an intense regular season. But I take your point: the jury is out on playoff byes. Somehow I feel like this year's Bills team would have benefited. Maybe I'm looking for reasons to feel we aren't that far away from the Chiefs.

Something I haven't seen discussed much: Obviously, after the Cards game, the Bills crushed through the regular season. But, at 13-3, we had no playoff bye week to rest up. Instead, we had to go right into a tough game with a very well-coached, well-balanced Colts game, and then a very intense game against Baltimore. By the time we got to the AFC championship, we didn't have much gas. Meanwhile, the Chiefs had TWO weeks off: first they rested their starters in week 17, then they got the only bye. It's an underappreciated reason for how much fresher they looked than us. If we had rested the starters against the Dolphins and they had won, we'd have played them again the next week and probably won easily. That could have made a big difference against the Chiefs. If we're in a similar position next year, maybe McDermott will give our starters that week off, to rest and get ready for more intense postseason football.

"We need another Thurman" is pretty far-fetched. However, maybe it's not too much to ask for a running back who is 1) instinctively able to hit the actual hole, instead of running into his blockers or into the gap that is filled and 2) reliable in catching the ball on swings and screens. New England has had 1-2 of this type of back on their roster for the last 20 years. If we get one, it will be a huge upgrade.

This is cool. I am actually a Chiefs and Mahomes fan too, ever that 54-51 Rams game. I had never seen a young QB play like that, Mahomes is already like Brady got in 2007. Last year I was pulling for them against the 9ers. It's good to see it can go both ways. That said it's tougher for me to think well about the Chiefs right now because the game hurt pretty bad. But I think you'll romp in the SB.

I mean, I get it, it hurts to lose and even more, this is the first time in months another team has been clearly superior to us. But still, you gotta have faith...

Not sure if we need to find an MVP-caliber back like Thurman. I agree that is not likely. Just a good solid back who has sure hands out of the backfield. We need to make checkdowns more a part of our offense to make life easier for Josh.

Mahomes is a cut above right now, agreed. But they won't be there every year. Cap, injuries, too many factors conspire to keep a team from having no off-years. And, if we had a great running back who can catch swing passes out the backfield when our receivers are blanketed, we can beat them.

PS the level of negativity of some fans, after our best season in 30 years, surprises me. It's like the negativity is hard-wired no matter how well we do. If some of you were running a team, you'd be blowing up your team after every loss, cutting guys who had one bad game, and generally running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

I agree 100% with the OP. We had an amazing season, 13-3 plus two playoff wins, exceeding ALL expectations, learned how to win in playoff football, Allen is 24, AND we plenty to work on and improve. In two weeks it will be clearer, after KC waxes the Bucs, that we lost to the best team. But KC can't do it every season. The Pats run was 9 Super Bowls in 18 years, meaning there were 9 seasons where they got beat in the AFC. We will beat KC or someone else will, or they'll have injuries or an off-year. To me there is every chance Buffalo brings home that ring in the next five years. LET'S GO!

For whatever it's worth, I know we all have gut feelings and they are all different, but here's mine: We are gonna play an outstanding football game today!

Got a feeling Brady will show out and prevent GB from rolling, and the Bucs sneak it out. If it gets tight, Rodgers is 1-3 in NFC Championships... Let's see!

WE HAVE WAITED 27 YEARS FOR THIS DAY. I feel so proud of what the Bills have done this year. Thank you, Buffalo Bills, from top to bottom. And it's not over yet... two more games... LET'S GO!!!!!!!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/01/22/stefon-diggs-buffalo-afc-championship/ Stefon Diggs wanted a new start. The Bills needed a spark. Now the NFL is on notice. By Barry Svrluga Sports columnist Jan. 22, 2021 at 11:14 a.m. GMT+1 The third day of the 2015 NFL draft was about to unfold, and Stefon Diggs’s name remained uncalled. Michael Locksley, his offensive coordinator at Maryland, fidgeted. He knew Diggs’s pride and Diggs’s competitiveness. He knew with three rounds and 99 players already gone, Diggs would be seething. “I was agonizing right there along with him,” Locksley said. “I remember thinking, ‘We got to do something to get his mind off this draft.’” So that Saturday morning, the draft’s final day, Locksley grabbed three things: his son Kai, who was then a high school quarterback, some footballs and a boombox. He told Diggs to meet him at Maryland Stadium. They went down to the field. They flipped on some music. And for two hours, they caught passes. “That’s how he cleared his head: working out, catching balls, running routes,” Locksley said. “He needed to work.” .......

Has anyone seen an update on Clyde Edwards-Helaire?

Alright! Finally caught up and finished all 73 pages of the thread. What's amazing to me is that after all the discussion and so many takes, so many talking heads, there is no clarity at all. If the Bills win 38-17, I won't be surprised. If it's a shootout decided by 1-3 points, I won't be surprised. If KC beats Buffalo by three scores, I won't be surprised. Anything could happen (except maybe a 7-3 game). The teams are really closely matched and both are explosive. Am I the only one who is finding the minutes ticking by unbearably slowly till Sunday?

I think so too, my only nightmare is returning to the Super and losing (to a rolling Pack, for instance). That would be tough.

Bills 32 Chiefs 22

So much great stuff in this thread. I think the 1988 season, when we broke out and lost to Cincinatti twice including in the AFC game, our team was not as far developed as the 2020 Bills. We were a defensive team that year and the offense found itself the next year, really in the playoff game against the Browns. We lost on the Harmon drop, but something clicked there. In 1990, I was at the 44-34 game against the Dolphins and the 51-3 game against the Raiders. I remember how long we chanted Howie Long's name up in the upper deck, after he'd talked trash about the Bills before the game... That season we got a sense of destiny going, especially in the Denver game where Biscuit started us off scoring three times in 90 seconds and we just exploded. Suddenly it was like the team knew it could do anything. The 2020 Bills had those moment against the Rams and Seahawks, this year. By the time we got to the 49ers and Pittsburgh, we knew we could do anything. This team is different in a lot of ways, but the biggest one is that that 1990 team had THURMAN THOMAS. He was just an incredible spark plug, and drove the team with his will more than he gets credit for, and should have won Super Bowl MVP of course (win or lose). This 2020 team has already won 2 playoff games and is only in the AFC championship. Grueling. The prior year similar to that is of course 1993, when we were a wildcard and won the comeback game. The great news, to my mind, is that like the 1990 team we have broken through. Our guys know we can beat anyone now, we are in control of our own destiny, and that knowledge/feeling usually lasts for a while... for multiple seasons to come. LET'S DO THIS.

In some article recently, didn't Thurman mention the group chat the 90s guys have, that goes nuts during this team's games, and he also said Bruce Smith keeps calling him during games without much to say but very excited. One of the cool things about the current Bills is how the 90s team seems to love and root for them... I think they're on the magical ride with the rest of us!

This feeling the OP had was on the MONEY. Keep sharing these feelings!

Welcome to the AFC championship game, everyone... I sat in the endzone for the last one, 26 years ago. Thurman ran for 186 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Bruce Smith sacked Montana to end the threat against... Kansas City! GO BUFFALO

Feels like everyone nationally is picking the Ravens. I like it. They’re gonna have to learn the hard way... We are gonna roll. I can feel it in the air. They can not stop DIGGS, and Allen is shredding everyone elite defenses included. We have no fear of this defense or any defense. We will elevate and they can't match it.

31-20 Bills They can't stop our 4 wide set. They make big plays but not enough and we've played great defense all year when we really needed it.

About age, 61 is not that old these days. He's got potentially 10-15 years of coaching left. Marv certainly did an incredible job in his 60s (on his second go round). Andy Reid is 62 or 63 I think and on his second go round and is doing pretty well too. (And of course, Belichick got a second chance and now he's getting a medal for cheating his way to the top.)