I think we, the fans, just wanted it more than the team.

[auburnbillsbacker]

We barely lost to an 11-3 team on the road and now the sky has fallen.  So annoying 

[Call_Of_Ktulu]

It’s not just us, I was at a bar in Chicago wearing my Bills gear watching the game and I cannot tell you how many people came up to me saying I hope you guys beat their ass. 

 

A bar full of Bears fans seemed like they were all Bills fans for a night.

 

 

[atlbillsfan1975]

22 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Dan, I'll post here because I've been thinking about a post and it has a lot of overlap with this.  Yes, you're right, the whole team looked flat.

 

I think the team told us, pregame, that this game wasn't going to get their ultimate effort.  Not in so many words, but it was a subtext of a number of pressers and media appearances.  Josh, in his Weds presser, said stuff like "I understand what it means to the fans, but we have goals beyond this"  

 

Not that they weren't playing hard or playing to win, but I think it was a choice by the coaching staff not to pull out all the stops and "Go for the Gusto" on this one.

 

And I think it may be a mistake in human artithmetic on McDermott's part.

 

 

I think you are exactly right. The players feeds off the coaches. The players are not dumb, they could see the game plan being presented. Particularly on defense. Bills ran a very vanilla D with a few basic blitzes. To me that was all about holding back for the playoffs. I think we then saw that translate into a less than aggressive individual play. I can’t recall more missed tackles in a game this year. Maybe the Eagles game? I will trust Sean has a plan for why he is doing this. I would expect similar next week against the Jets. Let’s hope the team can turn it back up in the playoffs. If the Bills has played the same D effort and scheme as they did in week 4 yesterday coupled with the same Bills offense as yesterday, it would of been a blowout. 

[ComradeKayAdams]

I don't think this is fair to say of the offense. They are severely limited in talent this season, Josh Allen is still developing as a pro QB, and they went up against an elite defense in their own house with the refs in their pocket. Buffalo's offense played okay, considering all these factors, and they didn't turn over the ball once this time!

 

The defense was another story...the tackling was so bad that at many times I was left wondering if Kraft paid THEM to throw the game. It was an ugly display of effort on the national stage, especially considering that defense was supposed to be the heart and soul of the team and this was the performance they gave against such a hated rival.

 

Hard to believe now, but at one point in time this was a competitive division rivalry (39-41-1 against the Pats before Brady's ascension in 2001). Now it's just very, very sad. 43-75-1. That 32-game loss deficit will likely never be made up as long as there is an NFL.

[zonabb]

Lots of bad takes on this forum, and I know I add to it, but this is maybe the worst one ever. First, if you don't think this team wanted this more than you, you're sick. And you're sick because you think football matters more to you from the couch than the guys putting their health on the line. Just wow on this hot take. I saw a QB (who I criticize but like) play like he always does, hating to lose. The D never quit. I didn't see a single player hanging their head or having that look of defeat so many other teams have in Gillette. 

[row_33]

6 hours ago, Kelly the Dog said:

They won at home, they may not necessarily be a clearly better team. It's close. They're probably slightly better. But we can beat them and match up with them. And the margin is slight. 

I guess if they keep playing them then the Bills might beat them 

 

until that actually happens the Pats are better

 

[Call_Of_Ktulu]

9 minutes ago, KayAdams said:

I don't think this is fair to say of the offense. They are severely limited in talent this season, Josh Allen is still developing as a pro QB, and they went up against an elite defense in their own house with the refs in their pocket. Buffalo's offense played okay, considering all these factors, and they didn't turn over the ball once this time!

 

The defense was another story...the tackling was so bad that at many times I was left wondering if Kraft paid THEM to throw the game. It was an ugly display of effort on the national stage, especially considering that defense was supposed to be the heart and soul of the team and this was the performance they gave against such a hated rival.

 

Hard to believe now, but at one point in time this was a competitive division rivalry (39-41-1 against the Pats before Brady's ascension in 2001). Now it's just very, very sad. 43-75-1. That 32-game loss deficit will likely never be made up as long as there is an NFL.

I agree 100% with the first two paragraphs but the 3rd one almost made me vomit. Your scorching hot profile picture brought me back to normal.

[Dan]

I didn't want to reposed to each individual post.. that seemed a bit much.  But I'll say... Yes I was serious in my OP.   Anyone can check my posting history.  I like to think I'm a pretty rational person and don't post "hot takes" to get people riled up.  I apologize if I did.  And I rarely, ever start threads.   So, yeah; if I do it's because I'm serious about it and I feel it needs to be drawn into the light so to speak. 

 

I'm sure the players want to win. And they've won some good games this year.  That's not what I was saying.  I think they just don't see every game against the Pats as seriously as we fans do.  So yeah, they wanted to win and tried there at the end.  But do you really think this team did everything they could?  

 

At one point they flashed the stat.. 4yds offense for Buffalo to 96 yds for the Patsies.  You don't get that lopsided unless you're failing in every aspect.. coaching, preparation, execution, you name it.  That's not slightly better. That's complete domination.  How the score stayed so close is a testament to a few really good players making some great plays.

 

I think several folks are right, they were all holding back and saving themselves for the playoffs. The coaches didn't want any more plays on film and went pretty vanilla. The players did the best they could with it.  But in the end... we're the ones sitting at home wanting to crush that damn team. And they were the ones in the stadium content with just getting to the playoffs and taking their chances there.  

 

Which is fine I guess and in some ways i could argue makes sense.  But I hate the *****in Pats.   And we made it easier for them to get to the Super Bowl yesterday. 

[Dan]

2 hours ago, zonabb said:

Lots of bad takes on this forum, and I know I add to it, but this is maybe the worst one ever. First, if you don't think this team wanted this more than you, you're sick. And you're sick because you think football matters more to you from the couch than the guys putting their health on the line. Just wow on this hot take. I saw a QB (who I criticize but like) play like he always does, hating to lose. The D never quit. I didn't see a single player hanging their head or having that look of defeat so many other teams have in Gillette. 

Come on.  I don't think I wrote the worst thing ever on here.  ?? There's been a lot of really, really asinine stuff!!    LOL.  We can disagree though.  

 

I thInk NE top to bottom wanted it more and it showed.  Tre was being manhandled by their WR. Brady running out throwing blocks.  Edelman head hunting on pick plays. Whoever that was grabbing Josh's facemask.  And where was our fire?  Where was our coach yellin to the Refs to call a flag?   One team looked flat, the other put it all out their and got the win.  Plain and simple. 

Edited December 22, 2019 by Dan