How important is the Week 1 game against the Jets

[DJB]

Must win for me.

 

If his team is going  to be in the playoff hunt then we need to win our "winnable" games. 

[billsfan89]

It's about as close to a must win as a week one game could be. It's a divisional game which is always critical and being that week 1 and 2 are on the road it would set up the season great to go 2 and 0 on the road against less than stellar competition.

[corta765]

1 hour ago, teef said:

 

 

that 2012 opener was the last time i let the bills "upset" me.  i was so excited for that year, as i thought it would be the one where we finally snuck back into the playoffs.  the game was a complete disaster.  it was like the bills hadn't practiced all summer.  they showed up only to roll over.  i was pissed, and that was my "f it" moment with this team.  after that, i decided not to let any bills loss bother me.  

 

this opener has that same feel to me.  not that the bills will roll over, but in the sense that there's a certain importance to it with how the season will unfold.  would a loss ruin the season?  of course not, but a loss may be the closest thing i've had to the bills bother me in a long time.

 

It wasn’t my F it moment but it was probably the hardest reality check I ever had as a Bills fan (being 31I don’t remember much of the early 90s for the bigger reality checks we had). If an NFL team ever wants a look at how quickly the goodwill from an exciting offseason can go away the 2012 Bills Jets disaster is pretty solid proof. Just about everyone jumped off that bus after the game.

 

I remember distinctly that virtually every national analyst had the Bills as one of the two WC teams thanks to Mario, Fitz play, CJs emergence, and a young team that added a lot of good talent like Gilmore and Dareus. Even Jerry Sullivan had them 10-6 in his preview and a playoff team.

 

The defeating feeling of watching that game and going from yea they definitely are a playoff team to dear god they’ll be lucky if they win 5 games was unnerving to this day. I had tickets to the home opener against KC the next week which I wanted to give away and would’ve had it not been for my wife who loves the Bills to an undying point who made us go.

 

The season was encapsulated 6 weeks later when they pissed away an easy win against the Titans before the bye which would’ve got them to 4-3 with a solid look at the playoffs still. Those Chan teams collapsed under the lightest pressure in 2011 & 2012 and the opener in 2012 pretty much defined that time period.

 

This opener reminds me far more of 2014 where we know the talent is there on the team and it’s a strong opponent that is a good measuring stick. 

Edited August 6, 2019 by corta765

[tbonehawaii]

2 hours ago, BillsfaninSB said:

Most important game.  We lose we go 9-7 at best.   Take our chances getting into playoffs. 

 

Bills win and 10-6 is doable. 

If we win two away games to start the season against two beatable teams it will be very exciting. A real opportunity with minimal travel-lag. 

[row_33]

Losing to this garbage team would be a maximum on the suckmeter

 

 

[teef]

22 minutes ago, corta765 said:

 

It wasn’t my F it moment but it was probably the hardest reality check I ever had as a Bills fan (being 31I don’t remember much of the early 90s for the bigger reality checks we had). If an NFL team ever wants a look at how quickly the goodwill from an exciting offseason can go away the 2012 Bills Jets disaster is pretty solid proof. Just about everyone jumped off that bus after the game.

 

I remember distinctly that virtually every national analyst had the Bills as one of the two WC teams thanks to Mario, Fitz play, CJs emergence, and a young team that added a lot of good talent like Gilmore and Dareus. Even Jerry Sullivan had them 10-6 in his preview and a playoff team.

 

The defeating feeling of watching that game and going from yea they definitely are a playoff team to dear god they’ll be lucky if they win 5 games was unnerving to this day. I had tickets to the home opener against KC the next week which I wanted to give away and would’ve had it not been for my wife who loves the Bills to an undying point who made us go.

 

The season was encapsulated 6 weeks later when they pissed away an easy win against the Titans before the bye which would’ve got them to 4-3 with a solid look at the playoffs still. Those Chan teams collapsed under the lightest pressure in 2011 & 2012 and the opener in 2012 pretty much defined that time period.

 

This opener reminds me far more of 2014 where we know the talent is there on the team and it’s a strong opponent that is a good measuring stick. 

this is a perfect summation of the start of 2012.  completely agree.

[Boatdrinks]

The opener is always important, even more so when it’s a division opponent. Throw in the fact that one of the Bills divisional opponents is almost certain to sweep the season series and the impact becomes greater still. I wouldn’t be so quick to describe  the Jets and Darnold outplaying the Bills as an “ unlikely “ outcome. It could easily happen, and Darnold already outplayed Allen in their first meeting. I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened again, and the Jets will probably be a more solid favorite by the time the game rolls around. 

[Golden*Wheels]

I have a fever dream where our Ed and the D line wrecks their re-worked O-line, basically exposing them from game one and showing every team they should just roll over that line, leading to a long season for the Jets and Darnold. We win and they spiral into out and out panic mode about their line after game one. Kind of a best case scenario dream I guess. Watch it go the exact opposite.

Edited August 6, 2019 by Golden*Wheels

[Jay_Fixit]

2 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

Wait, wait, wait.....MR8 from BBMB?

What gave it away?

 

The name? Or the long winded post?

[nucci]

1 hour ago, aristocrat said:

 

first game of the year against a divisional opponent. i think it's slightly more important than a handful of other games. not incredibly important but slightly more. 

but there are only 16...obviously some more important than others...not directed at you but this is a ridiculous topic

[Another Fan]

If this team really wants to think of themselves as a playoff team, it’s a game you shouldn’t lose.  Make a statement early otherwise it’s same old Bills 

2 hours ago, teef said:

 

 

that 2012 opener was the last time i let the bills "upset" me.  i was so excited for that year, as i thought it would be the one where we finally snuck back into the playoffs.  the game was a complete disaster.  it was like the bills hadn't practiced all summer.  they showed up only to roll over.  i was pissed, and that was my "f it" moment with this team.  after that, i decided not to let any bills loss bother me.  

 

this opener has that same feel to me.  not that the bills will roll over, but in the sense that there's a certain importance to it with how the season will unfold.  would a loss ruin the season?  of course not, but a loss may be the closest thing i've had to the bills bother me in a long time.

Same here.  I’ll never forget that pick 6 by Fitz to start the second half that day.  Imo a very underrated game in terms of disappointment 

[Royale with Cheese]

29 minutes ago, Jay_Fixit said:

What gave it away?

 

The name? Or the long winded post?

 

This actually made me laugh Chevy.

 

But to answer your question, the name raised suspicion and the long winded post confirmed the suspicion.  

[ghostwriter]

I think it sets the tempo for the rest of the year.

[K-Apps]

Anybody who doesn’t think beating a divisional opponent on the road isn’t important doesn’t realize Bills and Jets more likely gonna be battling for a WC spot. Tiebreakers will be important come December, gotta have as many advantages as you can in that criteria.

[Rocket94]

1 hour ago, row_33 said:

Losing to this garbage team would be a maximum on the suckmeter

 

 

Yes, and look how fast the season goes. How many times late in the season have we said "If we had only won that earlier game" This is not MLB where you can sometimes afford a few lapses. You get 16 chances to get it right.

[MR8]

Darnold drew first blood by winning their first head to head last year... 

 

2018:
Darnold - 16/24 - 170 Yards - 1 TD - 1 INT... 4 Carries for 10 yards
Allen - 18/36 - 204 Yards - 0 TD - 2 INTs... 9 Carries for 101 & 1 TD

 

Hopefully Allen evens the score week 1, and then doubles down week 17.

[Another Fan]

1 hour ago, row_33 said:

Losing to this garbage team would be a maximum on the suckmeter

 

 

They actually typically seem though to play good the first few games of the year before falling apart.

 

Not gonna lie this game worries me 

[MJS]

About the same as the other 15 games.

[RobbRiddick]

4 hours ago, njbuff said:

 

2002 (Bledsoe's first game, a loss in an exciting shootout)

 

 

Can't believe that's 17 years ago. Jesus! Remember it so well - 3 TDs by Henry and then we lose on a kick off return in OT.

 

I remember that especially well because fans were crying all through preseason saying the rushing game was garbage and Henry was terrible, then he went and had a great game and a probowl season

[ndirish1978]

All division games are must win