Low Positive

How does he still have a job?

Do you want to know why Gregg Rosenthal said that? He is extremely invested in Josh’s failure. His was the hottest of draft night hot takes, where he called the Bills the biggest loser of the 2018 draft. He said that Josh Allen had an uphill battle just to equal Tyrod Taylor’s production. https://www.nfl.com/_amp/2018-nfl-draft-debrief-winners-and-losers-from-round-1-0ap3000000929261

And three of the four MMQB writers.

And what type of team is that? Against the Bengals, the Ravens play cover 2 or soft man coverage. In the last game, their nickel corner played over 95% of the snaps. Here's Joe Burrow after the Monday Night loss in Baltimore earlier this year: That's exactly what the Bills do all the time. Much like with the Steelers, Terrell Suggs is not walking through that door.

Because it introduces doubt into your own mind. Watching the Bills in the playoffs and the accompanying stress and potential for disappointment is something that many of us are still adjusting to.

What people here in Cincinnati say is that none of that matters if the Bengals just keep winning. I want people here to image the scenario if the shoe was on the other foot. They are in year two of being a contender. So, for the Bills its the divisional round last year. Remember the 2020 playoffs? We eked out a win against the Colts in the WC round. Then, we beat the Ravens thanks to a Taron Johnson pick 6 in our own endzone. We should have lost that game. But I don't remember any handwringing about the close win. No, we were on a run of good fortune. Now, we all know what happened the following week in KC. The Bengals had a similar run last year, where they won the their first playoff game in over 30 years in the WC round and then got tipped-ball INT to win in Tennessee. But then they went into Arrowhead and won. It seems to the team and the fans that they cannot lose in the AFC playoffs. And yeah, they lost the Super Bowl but only by 3 points. Most people here attribute this to Joe Burrow being a "winner," because the stats and the eye test tells you that the Bengals should be losing these games.

Just to add to this, 4 out of 5 of the Sports Illustrated MMQB writers picked the Bengals to win. And all the Bengals talk about is how they're "disrespected." But to be honest, what they know is that a road team always wins in the divisional round. I think that they are also required to pick an upset because it is one of the things that they're tracking in determining which writer "wins" their contest tat the end of the playoffs. They can't see the Jags or Giants winning today, so they had to pick an upset tomorrow. Regardless of what the Vegas lines say, it is easier to see the Bengals winning in Buffalo than the Cowboys winning in SF. The one guy that picked the Bills also picked the Cowboys. BTW, I'm not linking to this because it is just a table designed to generate clicks. I summarized the whole thing above, so I'm noting to give them the clicks.

But he smokes cigars and wears Gucci.

They are using recent games to reinforce pre-existing narratives, some of which go all the way back to the draft. Allen was inaccurate and struggled to read defenses. Burrow was accurate and a “winner.” Everything they’re saying this week goes back to those initial assessments because there is no bonus in sports talk media for admiring that you were wrong. The continued multi-million dollar per year contract of Skip Bayless proves this point.

I predict an underhand shovel pass for a TD that makes Nick Wright spontaneously combust.

Mixon is going to have a tough time in FA, not only because of his past but because his production at the NFL level is not worth the trouble.

Two guys from the LSU championship team, Higgins from the Clemson Championship team, Lots of guys from Ohio State (on Mike’s TV every Saturday), Mixon and Perine from Oklahoma who were on TV a lot because Baker. Boyd doesn’t fit that mold (Pitt), but at the time when he was picked he was probably Kiper’s best available. Bengals fans got their chest puffed out now, but everything I said above could have been said by a caller into Moe Egger’s show just two years ago.

I think the Bengals college scouting consists mostly of Mike Brown watching the College Football Playoffs and a few other bowl games. Kids better ball out in the first half, because there is no way that he's not asleep in the Laz-Y Boy by halftime. There used to be rumors around here that the Bengals used Kiper's draft guides as a scouting department. But they've winning close playoff games that they should have lost for two straight years. They feel like the Pope (remember, Cincinnati is mostly German Catholic) himself is willing them to victory. We're all angsty after the close win and they're sewing Sam Hubbard needle points.

I don't think that I'll be too upset over this one unless the Bills get blown out. If they lose in a close game, I can accept that because the Bengals have a good team. I suspect most Bengals fans feel the same way. I was, however, losing my mind last week when we struggled with the Fins. That was unacceptable.

I think I might be combining two quotes from two different sources. I heard someone say in a radio interview that they don't just want to win, but they want to dominate. But I think the "soft" comment might be me remembering what Mixon said about the BIlls D before the January 2nd game. I don't know, but Mixon does run his mouth.

They sit with two screens and watch the Red Zone channel and their own favorite team. So, only the NY Jets get proper analysis.

Not only that they are going to get the W, Bengals players have been telling local media that they are going to dominate the Bills because they’re a “soft team.” I hope the Bills have quietly put that one up in the locker room.

They’ve been fueling themselves on this disrespect BS since last year.

Kid from Fairfield, right?

Trevor Lawrence was an absolute superstar on Saturdays who everyone thought was a sure fire superstar on Sundays. Same thing with Burrow. Why does this matter? No one has to live down a Friday morning post-draft hot take. Talking heads love the Bengals in general because they are loaded with Saturday superstars.

Did anyone ask Pac Man Jones what he thinks about the Bengals OL situation?

If the Bengals win, my daughter is going to take so much heat from her band directors on Monday at 7:00am.

If this was the regular season, I would say that given how McDermott treats injuries that they would not play. But this is the playoffs, so I think both will give it a go.

Exactly. Jacksonville and the Giants are the only teams left "just happy to be there." The Bengals are the defending AFC Champs who waited all season to get back to the Super Bowl to "right a wrong." You could tell that they were not focused during the first quarter of the regular season, like they just wanted to skip ahead to January.

That doesn't make any sense. All the pressure is on both teams. It's win or go home.