Week 18: Jets at Bills - a W wins the AFC East!

[CincyBillsFan]

51 minutes ago, Nineforty said:

Has a win ever felt more polarizing as to how good it was or wasnt? I am in the camp of Josh played a good game. Throwing as well. Not great. Not subpar. Good.

 

And reasonable folks seem to disagree. Idk.

Frankly I don't think they are being reasonable.  Or to put it less insulting they're exhibiting a keen ignorance of the Bills 1988 - 1993 run which was the best 6 seasons in Buffalo Bills history. The Bills won a lot of games just like yesterday.  In fact by my rough count we won almost as many games sloppy as we did with impressive blow outs. 

 

This is how playoff runs work in the NFL. This isn't college football where an LSU or Alabama can dominate every game on their way to a championship. 

 

 

[Logic]

2 minutes ago, No Place To Hyde said:

 

For me, it was actually refreshing to see that we can win a game where Allen is off, the passing game is out of sync and we need to make adjustments. I've been a Daboll has her for most of his time here, however give Ol' Bertrum his due...he made the call to switch to the run game and roll with that. The Falcons knew we were going to run and couldn't stop it. He called a heckuva 2nd half after nearly blowing it in the 1st half with cutesy and cocky playcalling.

 

Agreed. A pessimist could look at yesterday's game and say "oh man, Allen struggled, we let an inferior team hang around, what a disaster", and that's a fair take.

I choose to look at the positive, though: Two major areas that we have been dying to see step up the past few weeks have been defensive line production and offensive line production. BOTH came through yesterday, and arguably are the key reasons we won the game.

On the D-Line, Phillips, Oliver, and Rousseau all had very good days. Even Epenesa made a big TFL! On the O-line, the run game was cooking like it hasn't been in a while, and Allen mostly got good protection. Granted, the Falcons front four isn't too hard to handle, but still. Baby steps.

Seeing the Bills be able to pressure the passer and limit the run game on defense, and then to get the ground game going and protect the QB on offense was very encouraging as the playoffs near. 

[NewEra]

9 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

They struggled passing the ball. They didn’t struggle to win. 

Correct.  Like I said, they struggled passing the ball. 

[Patrick Duffy]

48 minutes ago, NewEra said:

They moved the ball. They didn’t pass well at all. Minus the ints and josh still had a bad game throwing the ball. It was pretty obvious to me.  

Well I expected some issues considering slick conditions. There were some big drops also. Josh made some nice completions in crucial situations getting 1st downs too. 

 

So I guess he didn't struggle all that bad since they marched down the field as they wished. He could have done better sure....but imo when considering the slippery day it was he didn't struggle enough that he couldn't move the ball.. Anyway that's just me....

[Warcodered]

 

[SCBills]

Josh Allen looked like he was going to dance all over the Falcons until that 1st pick.  Bad decision, deflected pass, pick.

 

The second pick was another bad decision where he forced it into a tight window, but Beasley didn't exactly help him out on that play and if Terrell doesn't make a great play, it falls incomplete.  

 

Third pick, deflected pass, not a ton you can do about that.  

 

Also some drops.  

 

I don't think Allen was as bad as the stat line looks throwing the ball, but it looks like we got wayyyyyy too cocky and feelin ourselves, then when 3 picks stack up, we had to reign it in and find another way because it was just not our day in the passing game.  

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

7 minutes ago, SCBills said:

Josh Allen looked like he was going to dance all over the Falcons until that 1st pick.  Bad decision, deflected pass, pick.

 

The second pick was another bad decision where he forced it into a tight window, but Beasley didn't exactly help him out on that play and if Terrell doesn't make a great play, it falls incomplete.  

 

Third pick, deflected pass, not a ton you can do about that.  

 

Also some drops.  

 

I don't think Allen was as bad as the stat line looks throwing the ball, but it looks like we got wayyyyyy too cocky and feelin ourselves, then when 3 picks stack up, we had to reign it in and find another way because it was just not our day in the passing game.  

Re-watching and thinking back on this game, I don’t think any of those 3 picks were bad decisions. We applaud Josh for throwing and completing those same tight passes all the time. It’s a bit unfair to suggest he wouldn’t have done so again, but for the tips and Beasley getting bumped off his route. 

[Logic]

21 minutes ago, SCBills said:

Josh Allen looked like he was going to dance all over the Falcons until that 1st pick.  Bad decision, deflected pass, pick.

 

The second pick was another bad decision where he forced it into a tight window, but Beasley didn't exactly help him out on that play and if Terrell doesn't make a great play, it falls incomplete.  

 

Third pick, deflected pass, not a ton you can do about that.  

 

Also some drops.  

 

I don't think Allen was as bad as the stat line looks throwing the ball, but it looks like we got wayyyyyy too cocky and feelin ourselves, then when 3 picks stack up, we had to reign it in and find another way because it was just not our day in the passing game.  

One of the things that separates Allen from other QBs and makes him so special is that even when he's having a bad day throwing the ball (and I agree it wasn't as bad as it seemed, but 3 INTs is 3 INTs), he can still take over with his legs. 

"Oh, the passing game isn't humming? That's okay, I'll run for 82 yards and 2 scores."

Special player.

[Success]

28 minutes ago, SCBills said:

Josh Allen looked like he was going to dance all over the Falcons until that 1st pick.  Bad decision, deflected pass, pick.

 

The second pick was another bad decision where he forced it into a tight window, but Beasley didn't exactly help him out on that play and if Terrell doesn't make a great play, it falls incomplete.  

 

Third pick, deflected pass, not a ton you can do about that.  

 

Also some drops.  

 

I don't think Allen was as bad as the stat line looks throwing the ball, but it looks like we got wayyyyyy too cocky and feelin ourselves, then when 3 picks stack up, we had to reign it in and find another way because it was just not our day in the passing game.  

 

They were pretty flukey picks, imo.  On the 2nd, it looked like Beasley was pushed also - it probably should have been a flag.

 

But it was good to see other players and units step up for the win.

 

[PaattMaann]

8 minutes ago, Logic said:

One of the things that separates Allen from other QBs and makes him so special is that even when he's having a bad day throwing the ball (and I agree it wasn't as bad as it seemed, but 3 INTs is 3 INTs), he can still take over with his legs. 

"Oh, the passing game isn't humming? That's okay, I'll run for 82 yards and 2 scores."

Special player.

 

Couldn't agree more. Also why the Jags game pissed me off so much after it was over. I just kept thinking, Josh could have just ran the ball down to the endzone himself on any one of those failed drives...why didn't he? Not to get too off topic, just agreeing with you, the dude is special and can dominate a game at will in many ways. 

 

Go Bills! 

 

Roll the Jets 

[CincyBillsFan]

37 minutes ago, SCBills said:

I don't think Allen was as bad as the stat line looks throwing the ball, but it looks like we got wayyyyyy too cocky and feelin ourselves, then when 3 picks stack up, we had to reign it in and find another way because it was just not our day in the passing game.  

Or to put a different spin on it who do you think was the better QB yesterday - Prescott or Allen?  Prescott's passing stats were exponentially better then Allen's were in their games yesterday.  Yet Dallas lost the game and trailed 22 - 7 in the 4th quarter.  And the Cowboys rely in their offense yet Prescott could only manage one TD through 3 and a half quarters.  IMO Allen was the better QB but not the better passer yesterday,

 

Stats, particularly fr QB's, can be very misleading.

 

 

Edited January 3, 2022 by CincyBillsFan

[Pokebball]

50 minutes ago, Logic said:

Agreed. A pessimist could look at yesterday's game and say "oh man, Allen struggled, we let an inferior team hang around, what a disaster", and that's a fair take.

I choose to look at the positive, though: Two major areas that we have been dying to see step up the past few weeks have been defensive line production and offensive line production. BOTH came through yesterday, and arguably are the key reasons we won the game.

On the D-Line, Phillips, Oliver, and Rousseau all had very good days. Even Epenesa made a big TFL! On the O-line, the run game was cooking like it hasn't been in a while, and Allen mostly got good protection. Granted, the Falcons front four isn't too hard to handle, but still. Baby steps.

Seeing the Bills be able to pressure the passer and limit the run game on defense, and then to get the ground game going and protect the QB on offense was very encouraging as the playoffs near. 

I can't get too excited over tip ball interceptions either. Those don't happen too very often, and quite frankly, the chances of Josh's passes getting intercepted goes up when tipped and some of the heat is taken off the pass. The odds of two happening in one game?  We're good for another couple of years.

[stevewin]

14 hours ago, Process said:

Their number 1 WR is some guy named Berrios.

He went to a high school in my area the same years as my kids. My son has always said  "Leesville legend Braxton Barrios!" Whenever he showed up on highlights or in a game - first at Miami, then in the NFL just a STer, now a legitimate receiver

Edited January 3, 2022 by stevewin

[sonyab1974]

Hey we beat them the last time.. We can beat them again! GO BILLS!!!!

[RalphWilson'sNewWar]

Robert Saleh and his defense had had ZERO answers for Allen and Buffalo.

 

34 in 2020 with 49ers

45 in 2021 with Jets (1st Game)

 

If it wasn’t final game of season I might say 45+ again.

[mannc]

1 hour ago, Logic said:

Agreed. A pessimist could look at yesterday's game and say "oh man, Allen struggled, we let an inferior team hang around, what a disaster", and that's a fair take.

I choose to look at the positive, though: Two major areas that we have been dying to see step up the past few weeks have been defensive line production and offensive line production. BOTH came through yesterday, and arguably are the key reasons we won the game.

On the D-Line, Phillips, Oliver, and Rousseau all had very good days. Even Epenesa made a big TFL! On the O-line, the run game was cooking like it hasn't been in a while, and Allen mostly got good protection. Granted, the Falcons front four isn't too hard to handle, but still. Baby steps.

Seeing the Bills be able to pressure the passer and limit the run game on defense, and then to get the ground game going and protect the QB on offense was very encouraging as the playoffs near. 

Another positive: second consecutive game where Josh was neither sacked nor seriously pressured. 

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

11 hours ago, NewEra said:

Division games haven’t been tough minus the game played in a tornado.  The other 4 games, bills win 35-0, 26-11, 45-17 and 33-21-  covered the spread in the 4 wins.  Average point differential in 4 wins:  22.25.

average point differential in the 5 division games: 17

 

11–1 in the division the last two years assuming we beat the jets 

[UKBillFan]

1 minute ago, mannc said:

Another positive: second consecutive game where Josh was neither sacked nor seriously pressured. 

And yet he had passing issues despite that.

[Generic_Bills_Fan]

2 minutes ago, UKBillFan said:

And yet he had passing issues despite that.

Lots of bad luck in the falcons game and we still won by 14

[MAJBobby]

If you want to read their takes.

 

https://forums.theganggreen.com/threads/2021-week-18-new-york-jets-at-buffalo-bills.96789/