finn

Also, the team is well aware that they're missing key people, nor are they likely to overlook last year's surprising loss to the Steelers. I'm thinking this is the first non-weather game for Josh Allen since week two. I think he's going to enjoy himself. And I think the pass rush will enjoy feasting on "Small Hands" Pickett.

I hope you just miswrote that. Please tell me you realize that the problem with the running game is the awful offensive line and not the running backs. If you don't, well, you must be a casual fan. Nothing wrong with that. I'm worried that Bryant will be signed off the practice squad. He's a starting-quality player.

I'm a homer, but Mahomes does not impress me anywhere near as much as Allen does. That flip pass that people were swooning over? Allen made a similar pass to Knox for a TD. I don't recall people swooning then. To be fair, Allen really has gotten a lot of attention lately, but it seems that Mahomes gets praised mostly for his flashy trick plays, like no-look passes or sidearm throws. Meanwhile, Allen is doing all that AND trucking people. I know, I know, it's ok for both of them to be good. But I get jealous of any praise that's directed at a rival.

Yes, sorry about that. The hazards of not reading through the whole thread. I saw them after I posted and very much appreciated them.

I'd like to see more analysis of why the run game keeps getting blown up. The Atlantic pins the blame mostly on Saffold and Bates, with weak play by Van Roten and missed blocks by the tight ends thrown in. Saffold in particular appears to be a liability. He either whiffs or gets stood up and the back runs into him. I wonder if the Bills will make a change at the bye week, maybe move Bates back to left guard, where evidently he's more comfortable, and plugging someone into the right guard spot. Not sure when Boettger is due back, but he's a possibility. Hart and Quessenberry are more tackles, but they can't do much worse than Saffold. Maybe the new guy, Jordan Simmons?

The defense is truly impressive. Reminds me of the Bruce Smith-Bryce Paup-Ted Washington era defense.

Say it again. I'll be glad to hear it.

And no more receivers!

Yes, I was moving on to another point: That may be limping, but he's also not catching the ball when he should, quite apart from his legs and feet.

I think it's Allen. Receivers are still dropping balls, blocks are still being blown. He's just a transcendent QB. I've never seen anything like this guy (yes, even Brady included).

So he can't catch balls that hit him in the hands because he's limping?

Agree. Just like an earlier drive--and a key drive last week--was killed by Cook dropping the ball.

And a fast, breakaway back (Cook) who has dropped three passes in six throws in his career. What an impact player.

Here's the plan: Allen snaps the ball, blocks the charging d-linemen, and snags the pass for a touchdown. Then he intercepts Jackson to get the ball back. This is a one-man team. Is there anyone else, besides maybe Diggs?

The cupboard is bare on offense. We have only two blue-chip players, two red chip (Dawkins and, arguable, Morse), and that's it. Allen's talent has covered up the deficiencies up to now.

The talking heads are already writing the lede: Jackson is the real deal, Allen is not.

Normally, I'd say no big deal because, well, Josh Allen. But he seems off, his offensive line is playing like last year's line, and his receivers have taken a holiday. Oh, and it's raining.

We might need to adjust our expectations back to 2019 levels.

Ravens making it look easy, Bills making it look hard.

The Bills have only one NFL receiver.

The Bills are the better team in pretty much all areas, including coaching, so they should win. I would be less confident if the Bills were fielding last year's defense against the heavy, three-tight end offense of the Ravens, but Daquan, Rousseau, Settle and Basham have been great, and now Oliver is back. The Bills offensive line, though.... They really have to to turn that around, starting today. Saffold is playing like he's 60 and Brown like he's 13.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whenever this board discuss why the Bills lost, someone always trots out this bromide. The manly thing to do is soldier on! No excuses, men!

And a choke kicker.

I wonder if it was a mistake to cut Ford. Anyone hear how he's doing in Arizona? That would be rich, the Bills struggling at guard after cutting two good guards in Wyatt and Ford. (Although I noticed I had a hard time writing the word "good" so soon after typing Ford's name.) If Saffold continues his poor play, the Bills might consider putting Bates back at his more natural left guard position and put...uh... someone at right guard.

No fun to lose, but this game is like the wind game against the Pats*: an aberration. If the Bills can only be beat under bizarre conditions like these, that means they have a terrific team. All those injuries PLUS the heat, PLUS playing an away game on a short week, and they lose by two after outplaying their opponent in all ways but the score. The stars had to align perfectly for an inferior team like the Dolphins to win, and by definition that is unlikely to happen again. So I'm not too upset about this loss. As many posters have pointed out, the team played their hearts out and showed a lot of resilience.