FilthyBeast

I agree with this to a certain degree, but again was it being outmatched as much as the historical statistics say otherwise? I will say that I firmly believe we would have beat the Texans though had we played in at home in the playoffs a few years ago considering we should have won that game in Houston. KC won in Buffalo last year so that outcome probably would have been the same albeit closer just like the game in Buffalo was earlier in the season, and the 2017 team was pretty much a fluke and only 4-4 at home that season anyway so also don't believe it would have mattered against the Jaguars who went on to the almost beat the Patriots in the AFCCG. But again, the bigger reason the #1 seed matters now is that you only need to win 2 playoff games (which the Bills did last year) to punch your ticket to the SB.

This is pretty remarkable considering how bad our interior has been this year, specifically Feliciano.

Yes for multiple reasons: 1) You only have to win two playoff games to get to the SB 2) This team is under McDermott is 0-3 on the road in the playoffs 3) The way this team is built in the trenches no PO game is going to be easy as we saw last year despite making it to the AFCCG And yes there is a better statistical chance look no further than the Chiefs, in fact assuming they don't win their division this year and get in as a WC it will be the first time Mahomes has ever played in a playoff game away from Arrowhead on the road.

Miami is desperate but even if this gets done it's highly likely he'll be ready to start next week against the Bills. Also isn't the league basically waiting to suspend him? They pretty much said they didn't have to take action now because he's been sitting idle in Houston inactive every week.

That's my thinking too and you are going to go down and least go down swinging in that a blitz has a better chance of leading to a fumble/sack/INT than just standing there letting simply letting a team move the ball downfield at will hoping for them to make a mistake or get a FG instead of TD. Tannenhill has definitely been a better player since his dolphin days and taking over for starter as the Titans the last few years, but he's from elite and there's a reason why he was the most sacked QB in the league heading into mondays game. And had Allen not played one of his best games of the season we would have been blown out again by the Titans but even with said game we still lost.

It's funny not because Hart is a terrible player, but because Henry is still going to run wild playing with guys like this blocking for him.

It's honestly because of two guys, Henry and Tannenhill. And the latter is mystifying considering how the Bills dominated him when he was the Dolphins starter for many years.

I'm not a betting person but would pound the Broncos this week especially going against the Browns without Chubb, Mayfield, etc. I think they are missing half their defense too.

Here's something to also consider regarding the #1 seed. Even if the Bills get it, there's a high probability they could face the Titans again either as the #4 seed or wildcard in the divisional round Same deal with a team like KC or PIT who could make the playoffs as a wildcard and low seed that upsets someone in the first round. But at the end of the day homefield matters and it's the only path I see the Bills getting to a SB because they aren't going to win on the road in the playoffs IMO and McD is 0-3 in road playoff games for a reason.

Outside of Allen, he's done a great job finding quality starters/role players but I think the criticism (which I share) is he's not drafted any real stars/game changers especially on defense. And as others have mentioned, our best players on defense (milano/white) weren't drafted by him but credit for at least resigning and keeping them here.

This has been this teams pattern on defense for years now and not sure it's all on Frazier since McD also has heavy influence on that side of the ball. But it's mind boggling that they sit in zone and refuse to blitz when opposing QB's are moving the ball at will against them and simply believe that they will hold a team to a FG instead of TD every time. This is why I hate this scheme but something tells me that even if Frazier leaves in the offseason it will still be more of the same no matter who replaces him because of the head coaches philosophy.

In terms of oline, I think we are fine with the tackles assuming Spencer Brown pans out. But we need to move on from Feliciano and upgrade both guard positions. I think for a pass first team, Morse is a good center but he the finesse type of player I mentioned and not good enough against physical teams or for us to run the ball consistently. On Dline, yes that's where we need a real star. Maybe Groot will be that guy but right now it's just mostly role players/above average types on their good days. The good news is that Hughes and Addison's 1.5 combined sacks will be long gone after this season so we'll see changes by default there, at the very least in the draft. But if there is any way for Beane to make one major big money FA signing in the offseason it has to be on the dline.

I just mentioned this in another thread, but it's worth mentioning again... I think Beane has done a great job building a team that can rack up wins in the regular season, but this is not a team built to win in the playoffs because we have no bullies in the trenches. Just a bunch of finesse players that can get the job done for the most part but struggle mightily on both sides of the ball against physical teams that 'take it to you'. And we will no doubt see the Titans or a similar team in the playoffs and that's where our season ends IMO. So assuming we exit the playoffs early and/or don't reach the SB again this year, we'll find out how good a GM Beane really is because big time changes will be needed on the OL/DL in the offseason and not sure we'll have the cap space to successfully navigate that and can't rely soly on the draft to fix.

I think the biggest frustration with this team is that they look they are certainly built to be successful in the regular season, but not built to win in the playoffs because of their glaring weakness in the trenches. And if we do get bounced early in the playoffs and/or not reach the SB again this year Beane is going to have to understand that big time changes are needed and not simply believe that 'continuity' will magically change things.

I think Oliver has been fine, but he's really the epitome of what I think is wrong with this defense and why we won't win a SB with this group. There are no true star players on defense and a collection of mostly good players/role player types. In Olivers case he's simply not big enough in the trenches to be a consistent impact player and better suited to play DE in a 3-4 IMO where I think he could live up to his pre draft hype as a pass rush threat.

McDermott chose to go with both of them last night over the younger guys (Epensa/Basham) and you have to wonder how long he's going to give these guys and their 1.5 combined sacks on the season a pass.

Barring a complete collapse I'm sure the Bills will get plenty of media love again. In fact outside of clowns like Nick Wright, most of the national media still seems to believe in the Bills and said it was the right call to try and win instead of playing for the tie and overtime. Regardless it's still worrisome how this team performs against teams who play a physical style of football and we are 0-2 against such teams this year and there's a good chance we'll see the Titans or a similar team in the playoffs again.

They both made plays when they needed too though, especially Tannenhill last night who through for most of that yardage in the 2nd half. The Titans scored on 6 consecutive drives going back to the 1st half....again there's a reason why McD didn't opt for the easy FG to tie and play for overtime.

They've been great this year, but even the best secondaries will suffer with a lack of pass rush and that's when the Levy Wallace problem rears its ugly head as we saw last night again. Also what about White? Seems he's having somewhat of a mediorce year especially with all the holding calls he's having to bail himself out. Another item not being talked about enough I guess.....

He'll end up in KC or another contender is my guess. But considering Addison/Hughes have a combined 1.5 sacks through 6 games if I'm Beane I'd take a hard look regardless.

Bills will definitely lose another game nobody expects (i.e. simliar the Jets beating the same Titans team we just lost too). In fact if this team does have any kind of hang over coming out of the bye I'll be very wary of the back to back to road games against the Jets and Jaguars as a spot for that to likely happen. I also don't see us sweeping the Pats with both games against them later in the season and based on how they played against the Bucs and Cowboys despite losing I can definitely see us being a victim there. Either way things would have to completely go off the rails for the Bills to not win the division and make the playoffs. In fact they could go 5-6 the rest of the way and finish 9-8 and probably stlll win the division by a game or two unless the Pats get hot down the stretch.

This is something not talked about enough and IMO the reason why McDermott truly went for the win at the end of the game to stick it to Vrabel for basically disrespecting and trolling the Bills with that play. Either way if these two teams do meet again in the postseason I hope it's in Buffalo and I hope they somehow play with the same focus on emotion they did against the Chiefs last week because if not we'll lose yet again to them.

This is a good point I'm glad you brought up. Truly elite teams (SB caliber) will still find ways to win games when they lose the turnover battle. And no team is going to cruise through the season forcing multiple turnovers each game against their opponent. This is why I still worry about this defense against teams that aren't the likes of the Dolphins, Texans, etc. Yes they played great against the Chiefs that may be an outlier considering Mahomes and the KC offenses struggles thus far this season. But at this point not being able to stop QB's like Big Ben and Ryan Tannenhill is a major red flag going forward.

Anything can happen and it's still early, but I've felt all along the Bills are a good team with flaws and said flaws will kill a good team when it matters in the playoffs. And these flaws in question are visible to everyone and why we lost to the Steelers and Titans. I also don't believe Beane will do anything to address them if anything because he won't want to mortgage the future and we really don't have cap space. My gut feeling tells me that if the SB winner comes from the AFC this year it's going to be the Ravens. They simply look like a special team right now and Harbaugh is a proven SB winning HC that has continues to get it done year in and year out there. In the NFC it could easily be anyone from the field of GB/AZ/TB/LA/DAL, just a loaded conference top to bottom and I would not feel good about the Bills chances against most those teams in the big game. Next season will likely be the year the Bills win it all in their current window assuming we make the necessary tweaks with what cap room will be available to address current needs.

My whole point is that as of Ocober 19, 2021 the Bills are not the best team in the league (both record wise and tangible results on the field). Arizona looks like a real powerhouse if anything based on easy blowout wins on the road against the same Titans team, Rams (who many also see as a SB team) and Browns. Both the Browns and Titans are teams that are an obvious bad matchup for the Bills because of their physical style of play and the Cardinals dispatched both easily on the road with the games essentially over by halftime. Yes things can change, but again in a week to week league nobody can sit here and tell me unbiasedly the Bills are the clear cut #1 team in the NFL, or conference for that matter.