Next year, it’s our Lombardi.

[GASabresIUFan]

Here is the Bills vs KC

2023 1-1 RS W14(R) W - 20-17; DP(H) L-24-27

2022 1-0 RS W6(R) W - 24-20

2021 1-1 RS W5(R) W - 38-20; DP(R) L 36-42

2020 0-2 RS W6(H) L - 17-26; CC(R) L-24-38

 

In the last 4 years we are 3-4 against the Chiefs 3-1 RS, 0-3 in the playoffs.  The point differential is -11 (stemming from getting blown out in the 2020 CC). Over the last 3 seasons, we are 3-2 with a +16 pt differential. 

 

No team is closer to the Chiefs level than us. With a little luck in the health department, we beat the KC this past season.  Add some astute additions by Beane plus a little luck in the health department this coming season, we will be the best team in the AFC.

[msw2112]

It's frustrating as hell, but the Bills are very close.  They lost a 1-score game to the 2-time Super Bowl champions, with a decimated defense.  Multiple starters were out.  Multiple backups were out.  Third and fourth string players were out there trying to stop the best QB in the world.  They didn't, but they came very close.

 

I agree that the Chiefs' play calling is better and their kicker is better.  It could be argued that their QB is better in clutch situations.  All that said, with a little bit of injury luck, the Bills might get over the hump.

 

There were points in the season where I felt McD should be fired at the end of the season, but looking back, and taking a realistic look at what our defensive personnel looked like in the KC playoff game, what would be the better alternative?  I'm not sure that Nick Saban, Jim Harbaugh, Bill Belichick, Bill Walsh, Don Shula, etc. or any other great coach would have beaten the Chiefs in that playoff game with the defensive personnel the Bills had available.

[jkeerie]

2 hours ago, SectionC3 said:

It has already started.  Shakir Kincaid Torrence cook Bernard Benford.  Time to supplement on O and get fresher on D.  We need to nail the draft and maybe lean into a different direction on D (more man next year?) but we are headed in the right direction. 

I agree.  I'd also like for McD to not rotate as much on the D line so our best players are in the game most downs.  I think players develop more of a rhythm with less rotation.

[Ramza86]

Did the script writers give us the ok?

[schoolhouserock]

14 hours ago, Beast said:

Laugh all you ***** want.

 

The Bills and Bills Mafia will be celebrating our ever living asses off next February.

 

Just wait and see.

I too choose optimism. The 2024 Bills are still going to be one heck of an out for ANYONE. Them Bills are due to be on the right side of more than one ‘instant classic’.

[Shaw66]

14 hours ago, Beast said:

Laugh all you ***** want.

 

The Bills and Bills Mafia will be celebrating our ever living asses off next February.

 

Just wait and see.

Beast -

 

I agree.  I'm happy with the Bills and what they're doing.  I think they will continue to get better

The simple fact is that, like the Patriots before them, the Chiefs are the best team in the league right now and as they reminded us last week, they ALWAYS are the favorite in big games.  Chiefs showed last night that they're beatable.  They're great finishers, but they can be beaten.  I don't know what the outcome would have been, but I agree with others that with Milano and Bernard in the lineup for the Divisional round last month, the Bills might have been in Las Vegas last night.  

 

The Bills have been the league's best hope to beat the Chiefs for the past four years.  And for all the people who think McDermott isn't the guy, I just don't get it. There are only a few coaches in the league who consistently win a lot of games and have teams that look like they could be champions.  McDermott, McVay, Shanahan.  I'm not anointing the guy in Detroit until he does it for a few years.  I'm much happier to bet on a coach and a GM who have gotten the Bills consistently close than any guys who may have potential but haven't done it yet.   (McDermott had potential but hadn't done it when he arrived in Buffalo, and he's shown he can win.)  McDermott is closer to being a Super Bowl winner than any other coach or coordinator in the league who's never won one.  

 

I'm sure McDermott is thinking that he's close and he's going to do it.   Give him a team that's relatively healthy in January (with his top 10 players on the field -  Miller, Milano, Bernard, Oliver, Allen, Diggs, Cook, Kincaid, at least four out of five Oline, something like that), and he'll tell you today he's ready to win it all.  

 

Two Bills learned a lot last night:  McDermott and Allen.  McDermott learned again that the most important key to stopping Mahomes is the pass rush.  He wanted Miller to harass Mahomes, but he didn't have the real Miller last month.  Allen watched Mahomes and saw what real poise on the field looks like.  He saw the value of superior decision making, play after play.  You know that Allen was watching and thinking, "I can do that."  I think next season we will see the best version of Allen.   He was nearly there this January; he now knows what it feels like, and he's seen Mahomes do it. 

 

It's all coming. 

[Billsatlastin2018]

Nobody here is laughing! The Bills are ranked 4th, behind the Chiefs & Baltimore.

 

But, they need multiple upgrades starting at the Top in management. The HC is serviceable, but zero match to the greats coaching at season’s end in the Playoffs. He is incapable of thinking through the critical Does & Don’t to close a game, let alone to get that direction to his staff and players.

 

The HOF QB has multiple receivers with stone hands- including his highly paid #1, who has come up small. Multiple replacements are needed.

 

The D is a shell of its former self. Never a star, it normally managed to put out sufficient effort. It is saddled with a terrible Albatross of a contract, which people here assured- he’d “come back”.

Come back? He was invisible the entire year. The rest in the Divisional Round, gave up an astonishing 8 yards/ play- I believe. They couldn’t stop the Chiefs at all, causing the Offense to formulate one long TD drive, sucking all time up.

 

Of course, with McClapper at the helm, that got FUBARed culminating in dude from the Georgia Dome trying to hit a kick in cold, windy OP in January. To say, he’s no Butker is to say nada. Kicked at a 25% rate in the Playoffs, FFS. But,he can only be counted on to put out a Billsy exclamation point to another squandered Season. 
 

Many holes… as usual.

[stinky finger]

14 hours ago, NewEra said:

Agreed.  I feel it

Curious - what exactly has prompted this feeling? 

[Shaw66]

1 hour ago, Billsatlastin2018 said:

Nobody here is laughing! The Bills are ranked 4th, behind the Chiefs & Baltimore.

 

But, they need multiple upgrades starting at the Top in management. The HC is serviceable, but zero match to the greats coaching at season’s end in the Playoffs. He is incapable of thinking through the critical Does & Don’t to close a game, let alone to get that direction to his staff and players.

 

The HOF QB has multiple receivers with stone hands- including his highly paid #1, who has come up small. Multiple replacements are needed.

 

(1)  The D is a shell of its former self. Never a star, it normally managed to put out sufficient effort. It is saddled with a terrible Albatross of a contract, which people here assured- he’d “come back”.

Come back? (2)  He was invisible the entire year. The rest in the Divisional Round, gave up an astonishing 8 yards/ play- I believe. They couldn’t stop the Chiefs at all, causing the Offense to formulate one long TD drive, sucking all time up.

 

Of course, with McClapper at the helm, that got FUBARed culminating in dude from the Georgia Dome trying to hit a kick in cold, windy OP in January. To say, he’s no Butker is to say nada. Kicked at a 25% rate in the Playoffs, FFS. But,he can only be counted on to put out a Billsy exclamation point to another squandered Season. 
 

(3) Many holes… as usual.

Wow. 

 

(1)  The defense is one of the best in the league. 

 

(2)  It typically takes more than a year to recover fully from a torn ACL.  2024 is when we find out what Miller has.  

 

(3)  The two biggest holes were at linebacker, both caused by injury, both players will be back, in their prime.  

 

The Bills actually have no holes, at least until there are some free agent departures.  They just have positions they'd like to get better at.  Safety, wide receiver.  Pretty much every team is always looking for another corner back, and better linemen. 

 

 There are at least 20, probably 25 owners who would trade their entire organization for the Bills' organization.  Who's happy with what they have?   Chiefs, 49ers, Ravens, probably the Bengals, maybe the Rams, maybe Jags.   Eagles, Seahawks, Steelers, Cowboys, Dolphins, and pretty much everyone else would trade and have an immediate upgrade at GM, Head coach, and quarterback.  

Edited February 12 by Shaw66

[Freddie's Dead]

[90sBills]

14 hours ago, SoCal Deek said:

And you’re entitled to your opinion as well. Just don’t be surprised when it ends up exactly the same next year. Because….it will. 

I said this exact thing after the SB last year. No doubt in my mind Bills will be in the same spot after next year’s SB.

[NewEra]

37 minutes ago, stinky finger said:

Curious - what exactly has prompted this feeling? 

 

Josh Allen.  
 

Having the understanding that it’s possible to improve

 

knowing that it’s possible KC loses a piece or two of their puzzle. 

 

The belief that our offense will be better next season

 

What prompted you to have zero hope?

[SoCal Deek]

1 hour ago, NewEra said:

 

Josh Allen.  
 

Having the understanding that it’s possible to improve

 

knowing that it’s possible KC loses a piece or two of their puzzle. 

 

The belief that our offense will be better next season

 

What prompted you to have zero hope?

Does this same mindset apply only when we play the Chiefs? Because it sure as heck didn’t help when we lost to the Bengals last year. And most likely won’t when we face some other team next season. You HAVE TO be ready in the moment, regardless of the opponent….and under McD the Bills simply haven’t been. 

[ShakAttack]

If it’s not the injuries, it’ll be the refs

if it’s not the refs, it’ll be the defense 

if it’s not the defense, it’ll be the receivers

If it’s not the receivers, it’ll be allen

etc

 

this is Buffalo bills football

 

something, somewhere, will always go wrong. Come on guys, don’t kid yourselves; we know this by now! 

[BufBills83]

I guess all you guys should just skip next year then.

The Chiefs are the best team in the league and with 2 mins left we were about 20 yards away from beating them.  It's not like we're totally outclassed, far from it.  The margin is so small that 1 or 2 plays go differently we win.  I don't know why that doesn't invoke optimism that we can beat them next year.

[HomeTeam]

I wonder what's going on in Josh Allen's head while watching the Superbowl last night? I hope it motivates him even more to take his game to another level. 

[Shaw66]

1 hour ago, BufBills83 said:

The Chiefs are the best team in the league and with 2 mins left we were about 20 yards away from beating them.  It's not like we're totally outclassed, far from it.  The margin is so small that 1 or 2 plays go differently we win.  I don't know why that doesn't invoke optimism that we can beat them next year.

Exactly.

 

And the reason to be optimistic is that because the margin between how good the Chiefs (and a few other teams) are and how good the Bills are is so small only marginal improvement is necessary to be the best.   So, for example, would you rather be, today, the Bills or the Browns?   Would you rather be, today, the Bills or the Colts?  

 

Small improvement is all that's necessary.   McBeane aren't limiting their objectives to small improvements only - they'll go big every time it makes sense, like going after Miller.  But all they need is small improvement to be the best team in the league, small compared to how much improvement everyone else has to achieve to be the best.  

 

Think about the improvement that is reasonable to expect:  Player improvement:   Allen, Cook, Kincaid, Torrence, Bernard, Milano back, Benford, Rapp.  And, yes, the receiving corps will improve.  Coaching will improve.  McDermott improves every season, because he demands it of himself.  Brady is likely to improve (altho Dorsey didn't seem to).  Through film study, the offenses and defenses will be adjusted, everything will be worked on much will improve.  The whole point of McDermott's process is to create year-after-year improvement in all aspects of how the team functions.  

 

If I own the second or third or fourth best team in the league, I like where I am, because I know that my team has a better chance to become the best than 25 or 28 other teams.  I'm going to keep building on what I have. 

[JaCrispy]

18 hours ago, Beast said:

Laugh all you ***** want.

 

The Bills and Bills Mafia will be celebrating our ever living asses off next February.

 

Just wait and see.

[akcash]

It’s really so sad this is all we have.

 

Preach it OP 🥹

[Turk71]

It's like the sign on my buddy's man cave fridge: 'Free beer... tomorrow'

  This could be the Bills motto under McD.....Start printing the logo t-shirts

'Buffalo Bills

Next year it's our Lombardi !'

That slogans a real winner....