Big C Posted November 25, 2014 Posted November 25, 2014 Playoff machine is fun, but at this point it's just messing around and having fun. I have us getting to 10-6 and missing out because the AFCN does beat itself up. I think we Cincy to beat whoever they can. They play Pittsburgh twice and can effectively knock them out with two wins. As long as we beat Cleveland, Cincinnanti can lose to them and it won't make much of a difference to us. The Phins still have three division games left and a current 2-1 record. They need to lose at least two of those games to ensure that we, at worst, tie with them in division record. That being said, I see them going 9-7, with loses to NE and Baltimore. 9-7 isn't getting you in without serious help. So if they go 9-7, we go 10-6 and it doesn't matter what their division record is anyway.
CodeMonkey Posted November 25, 2014 Posted November 25, 2014 Playoff machine is fun, but at this point it's just messing around and having fun. I have us getting to 10-6 and missing out because the AFCN does beat itself up. I think we Cincy to beat whoever they can. They play Pittsburgh twice and can effectively knock them out with two wins. As long as we beat Cleveland, Cincinnanti can lose to them and it won't make much of a difference to us. The Phins still have three division games left and a current 2-1 record. They need to lose at least two of those games to ensure that we, at worst, tie with them in division record. That being said, I see them going 9-7, with loses to NE and Baltimore. 9-7 isn't getting you in without serious help. So if they go 9-7, we go 10-6 and it doesn't matter what their division record is anyway. You have the Bills winning 4 of the remaining 5 huh. Losing only to the Pats* in the last game?
Big C Posted November 25, 2014 Posted November 25, 2014 You have the Bills winning 4 of the remaining 5 huh. Losing only to the Pats* in the last game? Just looking for some sort of scenario that gets us in without an overwhelming about of help from the other games. I believe if our defense plays lights out like yesterday we have a fighting chance, but I know it's not the likeliest outcome (I did say I'm just messing around and having fun!).
Rubes Posted November 25, 2014 Posted November 25, 2014 (edited) Even if they don't get to the playoffs, I still think this team needs to finish no worse than 9-7 for me to feel like there is tangible improvement. This is a good defense, but the offense needs a lot of work. But 9-7 would have me at least feeling good about the future. Can they go 3-2 down the stretch? I think they can, but that means beating at least one of Denver, Green Bay, and New England. They need to beat one of them for me to feel like they're going in the right direction. Edited November 25, 2014 by Rubes
Chilly Posted November 25, 2014 Posted November 25, 2014 At this point, the playoff picture is clear to me. Cleveland is a must win game. If they lose to Cleveland, their season is definitively over. Cleveland would essentially have a three game advantage over the Bills by virtue of the tiebreaker, with only 4 games left to play. Extending out the scenario, if you assume that Cleveland loses all the other games on their schedule, then Baltimore by virtue of that would pick up a win. If you assume that Baltimore then loses every game except the Cleveland game, then Miami and San Diego would both pick up wins. So now we're talking about a Miami team that wins the tiebreaker over Buffalo anyway (by virtue of division record); that has two games left this season against the Jets. So the way I see this is that the Bills have to win against Cleveland out of the gates next week. It will then come down to whether they can actually put it all together and win against teams that they shouldn't win against. A loss to both Denver on the road and Green Bay at home would also end their season (IMO). A split or winning both of those games (which I admit is highly improbable) would put them in the driver seat. They pretty much have to beat what may be the worst team in the NFL in the Raiders. There is no doubt in my mind that if they're not sitting at 10-5 or 9-6 come the final road game at New England, they have no shot. A 9-7 record will not be good enough to get them there by virtue of all the tiebreakers and the fact that much of their competition has to play each other in multiple games. I.e. someone will be taking Wins no matter what. Pretty sure they just played the worst team in the NFL last night.
26CornerBlitz Posted November 25, 2014 Author Posted November 25, 2014 Pretty sure they just played the worst team in the NFL last night. Tell that to the Steelers.
CodeMonkey Posted November 25, 2014 Posted November 25, 2014 Just looking for some sort of scenario that gets us in without an overwhelming about of help from the other games. I believe if our defense plays lights out like yesterday we have a fighting chance, but I know it's not the likeliest outcome (I did say I'm just messing around and having fun!). Oh I gotcha
GG Posted November 25, 2014 Posted November 25, 2014 Can they go 3-2 down the stretch? I think they can, but that means beating at least one of Denver, Green Bay, and New England. They need to beat one of them for me to feel like they're going in the right direction. That's the key - their inability to beat a quality opponent when stakes are high is what's kept the mediocrity going for so long. They just need to clear that hurdle and there may be hope, even with no playoffs.
Dorkington Posted November 25, 2014 Posted November 25, 2014 http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings/_/year/2014/week/13 We play against the top three teams in the upcoming weeks. Fun
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted November 25, 2014 Posted November 25, 2014 http://espn.go.com/n...ar/2014/week/13 We play against the top three teams in the upcoming weeks. Fun thanks for the reminder.. one week at a time please
eball Posted November 25, 2014 Posted November 25, 2014 Until the Bills start beating good teams like perhaps Cleveland but definitely Denver, Green Bay, or New England, they're not playoff caliber. Is anyone saying something different? We're just happy about a dominating win (they don't come along often) and talking about what's necessary to stay in the picture. I don't think Cleveland is a good team so a loss on Sunday would be a huge disappointment and provide me with all I need to "shut down" the season. A win at Denver would (and should) get everyone's attention. The 9-4 or 10-3 Packers vs. the 8-5 Bills in W15 would be the game of the week -- and probably flexed if Dallas/Philly wasn't already in that slot.
BillsVet Posted November 25, 2014 Posted November 25, 2014 (edited) Is anyone saying something different? We're just happy about a dominating win (they don't come along often) and talking about what's necessary to stay in the picture. I don't think Cleveland is a good team so a loss on Sunday would be a huge disappointment and provide me with all I need to "shut down" the season. A win at Denver would (and should) get everyone's attention. The 9-4 or 10-3 Packers vs. the 8-5 Bills in W15 would be the game of the week -- and probably flexed if Dallas/Philly wasn't already in that slot. Buffalo should beat up on the Jets. I'm where I am now because the Bills came up small when it mattered: home against SD, NE, and KC. Those were all debilitating losses we'll point to when the season ends as examples of why this team was a pretender. Emotions are predictably high, like say when you destroy a bad NYJ team. Logic tells me this team isn't bound for the post-season, save for about 4 wins in their final 5 games. But we'll see. Edited November 25, 2014 by BillsVet
stevestojan Posted November 25, 2014 Posted November 25, 2014 Anything can happen if we keep letting the '85 Bears defense play for us like we did last night.
26CornerBlitz Posted November 25, 2014 Author Posted November 25, 2014 Anything can happen if we keep letting the '85 Bears defense play for us like we did last night. Show us some '85 Bears defense against Manning, Rodgers, and Brady and I'll really be impressed. Against Vick and Geno.......Not that impressive.
eball Posted November 25, 2014 Posted November 25, 2014 Buffalo should beat up on the Jets. I'm where I am now because the Bills came up small when it mattered: home against SD, NE, and KC. Those were all debilitating losses we'll point to when the season ends as examples of why this team was a pretender. Emotions are predictably high, like say when you destroy a bad NYJ team. Logic tells me this team isn't bound for the post-season, save for about 4 wins in their final 5 games. But we'll see. I hear you, but bad team or not, 35-pt wins are a rarity in the NFL. The SD game was awful, and exposed Manuel as not being ready yet -- but it wasn't a crusher. The NE game was terribly disappointing from a defensive perspective -- but they were still in it in the 4th quarter. KC just hurts -- that's the one they let get away. The play of the defense during the last 5 weeks (going back to Minnesota), however, has been nothing short of dominating. Even at Miami they had given up only 3 pts late in the 3rd quarter on a short week, and some very questionable calls (and crappy execution by the offense) turned the tide. If the defense continues to play at this level the Bills will absolutely be in every game they play -- and that includes the likes of Denver, Green Bay, and the Pats.* The question is whether the offense does enough to help them finish the job. It could still be an entertaining December for us. We can only hope.
Formerly Allan in MD Posted November 25, 2014 Posted November 25, 2014 Too bad there are eight more games. I can see the Bills 10-6 or 11-5 this year. Too bad they gave away two games they absolutely should have won.
stevestojan Posted November 25, 2014 Posted November 25, 2014 Too bad they gave away two games they absolutely should have won. And won a game against Detroit they had no business winning. That game was gift wrapped by the place kicker.
Gugny Posted November 25, 2014 Posted November 25, 2014 And won a game against Detroit they had no business winning. That game was gift wrapped by the place kicker. Got lucky with the MIN win, as well. It usually evens out. So far this year, I think it has.
GunnerBill Posted November 25, 2014 Posted November 25, 2014 I've done the ESPN predictor today...... I have the Bills, Miami, Kansas City and Cleveland all getting to 9-7 and missing out. I have the two wild cards going to the Steelers and Bengals (Ravens winning the North). In that scenario we would go to New England on the final Sunday with a chance.... and if I turn that predicted defeat into a predicted win.... well, who knows. I agree with what BillsVet is saying to some extent - this team has come up small three times when it has really had a chance to take a stranglehold on the season - but I don't know.... maybe I'm a wild optimist but sometimes strange things spark a team and the week the Bills have just lived through and then to come out and play as they played last night..... something like that might be what it takes you know. I've seen teams that didn't look play-off calibre get hot this time of year before.... Washington a couple of years back springs to mind and most remarkably a Giants team that was ready to dump Eli as a failure rode it's defense and then the QB got hot all of sudden in 2007 and we know how that ended. I'm not saying we will get to the Superbowl... I'm not even saying we will end with a winning record. I'm just saying the manner of last night after the week that had gone before might be a catalyst. We still have hope fellas.
26CornerBlitz Posted November 25, 2014 Author Posted November 25, 2014 AFC Playoff Picture: Nine wins may not be enough
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