Will we be in Super Bowl contention this year?

[Harold Jackson]

They've been in super bowl contention the last 4 years. This one is just more realistically possible.

At beginning of year I said Bills vs Rams. Now it looks more like Bills vs Eagles, Detroit or Packers

[From Roc to Ky bills fan]

Yes, because of Josh freaking Allen 

[BullBuchanan]

14 hours ago, FireChans said:

IMO, if you don’t think the Bills are contenders that basically means you think the only AFC SB contender is KC. That’s wild.

I think the Ravens could as well, but that's it unless something crazy happens

 

2 hours ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

Perhaps you don't quite understand the definition of legitimate? 

I mean if the Bills are not legit then who is? 

They are a division winner and lead the NFL in turnover margin at +17. That stat alone makes them a legitimate contender. 

Like every team the Bills have issues. The DL is a massive worry.

However I'm not sure we have even seen the best this offense can be with more Cooper and a healthy Kincaid/Coleman. 

I understand the definition just fine. I don't consider a team to be a "legitimate" contender when I can't create a scenario for winning that doesn't involve a stacked combo of upsets or injuries. I have absolutely no reason to believe we get past KC in the playoffs. I don't see them getting past Baltimore either. I think we have less talent on both sides of the ball and are outcoached by both squads. The only way I can see us making the Super Bowl is if we don't have to play either team, or if when we do their QB is knocked out of the game. If I can't even get them to the Super Bowl without those considerations, how can I realistically consider them "legitimate" contenders?

If we get there, I don't like how we match up against the Eagles, a potentially healthier Lions squad, and I wouldn't even be stoked about playing the Packers. I think our best matchup would be against a team like Minnesota, Washington or one of the current lesser teams in the conference.

No one will be more excited to see me be completely wrong than me. I hope it happens.

Edited December 7 by BullBuchanan

[FireChans]

1 minute ago, BullBuchanan said:

think the Ravens could as well, but that's it unless something crazy happens

Why?

 

They are currently a bottom 10 defense. And they are led by a QB who historically has played TERRIBLE in the playoffs. Lamar has a 2-4 record in the playoffs with 9 TD’s, 6 INT’s and 6 fumbles.

 

We saw a better version of this Ravens team get embarrassed by the Chiefs last year. 

The Ravens are not a contender if the Bills aren’t.

[BullBuchanan]

3 hours ago, Buffalo03 said:

My issue with your post is I feel like your going out of your way too much to discount what they have done. That Chiefs win was a good win against an 11-1 team and it still sounds like you're not impressed. Yes, they are vulnerable, they were last year to. You sound like someone where if we win it all, you would say "yeah, but the other team had some injuries". I can see why your posts have gotten some criticism. Maybe you're right but trying to make the Chiefs sound "far" more vulnerable than last year? Last year they had the same problems. They lost 6 games. And quite frankly, I think the change in OC has been a world of difference for this team. But come on man, what we have done so far this year is insane

What have we done? I mean this earnestly. We've seen them stack regular season wins against poor competition before. We've seen them beat KC in the regular season before. None of this is new, and frankly I don't find much meaning in any of it.

I'm looking to see if we have improved our team makeup, playcalling, execution and situational decision making enough to beat other teams that have had more success than us in the past and have also been trying to get better. I think we've gotten better in most categories, but I think we still lack the top end talent all the teams I have ahead of us have, we've still had suspect playcalling for stretches, and I've seen ups and downs from McDermott. Miami 1 was a coaching masterclass, and then there was the Ravens game.

I really don't think that's going out of my way to paint things in a negative light. I think we're still a top 6ish team in the league, as we have been for the last few years. I don't think we've made the jump to top 4.

 

3 hours ago, Mister Defense said:

 

Well, maybe you are now a religious type of guy, as the series of miracles have happened, if not the cataclysmic ones to the other top AFC quarterbacks?

 

But instead of miracles most believe the superb leadership at the top of this team, the GM, coach, and the QB  just did the things they knew, from experience, leads to great success. 

 

Keep hoping though; maybe next year?

 

 

 

 

To your point about "leadership", perhaps that's the issue. I have very little faith int he leadership of this team to do much beyond what they've done. I don't think this is a staff that is capable of winning a championship, and I think a lot of the praise they get for us being relevant now is a little hyperbolic. Like most coaches and GMs, their success has been heavily dependent on getting a great quarterback. Props for that, no doubt. Given the QB that they have though, I would absolutely say they've underachieved.

[Johnny Bravo]

27 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said:

I think the Ravens could as well, but that's it unless something crazy happens

 

I understand the definition just fine. I don't consider a team to be a "legitimate" contender when I can't create a scenario for winning that doesn't involve a stacked combo of upsets or injuries. I have absolutely no reason to believe we get past KC in the playoffs. I don't see them getting past Baltimore either. I think we have less talent on both sides of the ball and are outcoached by both squads. The only way I can see us making the Super Bowl is if we don't have to play either team, or if when we do their QB is knocked out of the game. If I can't even get them to the Super Bowl without those considerations, how can I realistically consider them "legitimate" contenders?

If we get there, I don't like how we match up against the Eagles, a potentially healthier Lions squad, and I wouldn't even be stoked about playing the Packers. I think our best matchup would be against a team like Minnesota, Washington or one of the current lesser teams in the conference.

No one will be more excited to see me be completely wrong than me. I hope it happens.

Really?  You can’t even think of ONE reason why we could beat the Chiefs in the playoffs?  Not one…like having beaten them 4 times in the past four years-including this one?

 

it sounds like you really haven’t given this matter much actual thought.

[Buffalo03]

9 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said:

What have we done? I mean this earnestly. We've seen them stack regular season wins against poor competition before. We've seen them beat KC in the regular season before. None of this is new, and frankly I don't find much meaning in any of it.

I'm looking to see if we have improved our team makeup, playcalling, execution and situational decision making enough to beat other teams that have had more success than us in the past and have also been trying to get better. I think we've gotten better in most categories, but I think we still lack the top end talent all the teams I have ahead of us have, we've still had suspect playcalling for stretches, and I've seen ups and downs from McDermott. Miami 1 was a coaching masterclass, and then there was the Ravens game.

I really don't think that's going out of my way to paint things in a negative light. I think we're still a top 6ish team in the league, as we have been for the last few years. I don't think we've made the jump to top 4.

 

To your point about "leadership", perhaps that's the issue. I have very little faith int he leadership of this team to do much beyond what they've done. I don't think this is a staff that is capable of winning a championship, and I think a lot of the praise they get for us being relevant now is a little hyperbolic. Like most coaches and GMs, their success has been heavily dependent on getting a great quarterback. Props for that, no doubt. Given the QB that they have though, I would absolutely say they've underachieved.

According to all the experts, we were supposed to struggle this year and not win the division and possibly not even make the playoffs. I think people would have been impressed if they were 7-5 at this point. We're 10-2. We have beaten an 11-1 team we are doing way better than expected. 

[Johnny Bravo]

10 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said:

What have we done? I mean this earnestly. We've seen them stack regular season wins against poor competition before. We've seen them beat KC in the regular season before. None of this is new, and frankly I don't find much meaning in any of it.
 

You don’t think our injuries in a game we lost by a missed field goal had ANYTHING to do with the Chiefs beating us?  A healthy Milano, Bernard, Benford, Von, etc wouldn’t have made any difference in that game?

 

Basing what will happen this year on what happened with last year’s decimated defense last year seems silly to me.

 

The Chiefs are good and could beat us.  But I think this Chiefs team beating this Bills team (especially in Buffalo) would be an upset.

[BillsPride12]

1 hour ago, BullBuchanan said:

I think the Ravens could as well, but that's it unless something crazy happens

 

I understand the definition just fine. I don't consider a team to be a "legitimate" contender when I can't create a scenario for winning that doesn't involve a stacked combo of upsets or injuries. I have absolutely no reason to believe we get past KC in the playoffs. I don't see them getting past Baltimore either. I think we have less talent on both sides of the ball and are outcoached by both squads. The only way I can see us making the Super Bowl is if we don't have to play either team, or if when we do their QB is knocked out of the game. If I can't even get them to the Super Bowl without those considerations, how can I realistically consider them "legitimate" contenders?

If we get there, I don't like how we match up against the Eagles, a potentially healthier Lions squad, and I wouldn't even be stoked about playing the Packers. I think our best matchup would be against a team like Minnesota, Washington or one of the current lesser teams in the conference.

No one will be more excited to see me be completely wrong than me. I hope it happens.

Maybe you need glasses?

[BullBuchanan]

19 minutes ago, FireChans said:

Why?

 

They are currently a bottom 10 defense. And they are led by a QB who historically has played TERRIBLE in the playoffs. Lamar has a 2-4 record in the playoffs with 9 TD’s, 6 INT’s and 6 fumbles.

 

We saw a better version of this Ravens team get embarrassed by the Chiefs last year. 

The Ravens are not a contender if the Bills aren’t.

Highly disagree. Jackson is having a better year this year than either of his MVP seasons. Derrick Henry is also having a renaissance season, and the emergence of Isiah Likely to pair with a now healthy Mark Andrews rounds out an improved group of weapons that I think will have a significant impact on their ability to be successful in the post-season. The problem with the ravens was always that they were one-dimensional and everything went through Lamar - not unlike the problem the Bills have had in the past.

As for the Ravens having a bottom 10 defense, to that I say they're allowing the lowest rushing yards per carry in the league while the Bills allow the 3rd most. When one of those teams has King Henry, I think the matchup strongly favors them. In a year where KC has been poor through the air, I can envision a scenario where the Ravens stifle the running game and guys like Van Noy are able to keep enough pressure on Mahomes for them to get a win. I think it's more likely KC wins, but that's how I get there. I don't think the Bills have the same advantage.

 

15 minutes ago, Buffalo03 said:

According to all the experts, we were supposed to struggle this year and not win the division and possibly not even make the playoffs. I think people would have been impressed if they were 7-5 at this point. We're 10-2. We have beaten an 11-1 team we are doing way better than expected. 

I think a lot of that was predicated on the Jets & Dolphins not being dumpster fires. Had both of those teams been strong, we would have had a tougher path to a division crown. I don't think many folks saw the Niners falling apart either.

[TheyCallMeAndy]

I love yes or no questions that are impossible to know the answer to. 

[TPS]

On 12/5/2024 at 10:25 PM, NewEra said:

🤣 epic-  all too funny 

Settle is actually having a career year with Houston—5 sacks to date. Too bad we didn’t get this version of him. 

[DCofNC]

4 hours ago, Mister Defense said:

 

I had thought by the end of last year that they had about a dozen starters I considered top tier talent.

 

On offense, Allen, Cook, Shakir, Kincaid,  Dawkins, and with Spencer Brown  likely moving into that position by the end of last year. One of the worst things about Dorsey was that he did not use the talented players right in front of his eyes, such as Shakir and Cook.  When he was fired their talent was almost immediately apparent to all.  I also considered Knox in that category, though he was seldom used.  Great to see that changing now, as he will be a force going forward.

 

On defense, I considered all three starting CBs top tier talent by the end of last year, some of the best at their positions: Douglas, Benford, and Taron Johnson.  Bernard had also defined himself as such, as had Oliver, with Rousseau moving into that conversation by the end of the year. And obviously Mialno would be considered top tier talent by everyone, and I was hoping for a full recovery by the start of this season.

 

Their talent, combined with the best coaching staff the Bills have had since Levy's teams, and maybe surpassing that group, had me more optimistic,  though I also felt that they could take a step back early in the season if the new players on both sides of the ball took too long to develop/did not come through.

 

The fact that the step back did not happen means they just kept getting better and better and better, to now clearly one of the top 2 teams in the league.

 

 

 

We have different definitions of “top talent” to me there is Allen, Taron, healthy Milano, Bernard and Benford is getting hard to deny.  Everyone else is at least a half tier lower.

[mannc]

4 hours ago, FireChans said:

Why?

 

They are currently a bottom 10 defense. And they are led by a QB who historically has played TERRIBLE in the playoffs. Lamar has a 2-4 record in the playoffs with 9 TD’s, 6 INT’s and 6 fumbles.

 

We saw a better version of this Ravens team get embarrassed by the Chiefs last year. 

The Ravens are not a contender if the Bills aren’t.

The Steelers are a greater threat than Baltimore, a consistently overrated team.

[mannc]

4 hours ago, BullBuchanan said:

I think the Ravens could as well, but that's it unless something crazy happens

 

I understand the definition just fine. I don't consider a team to be a "legitimate" contender when I can't create a scenario for winning that doesn't involve a stacked combo of upsets or injuries. I have absolutely no reason to believe we get past KC in the playoffs. I don't see them getting past Baltimore either. I think we have less talent on both sides of the ball and are outcoached by both squads. The only way I can see us making the Super Bowl is if we don't have to play either team, or if when we do their QB is knocked out of the game. If I can't even get them to the Super Bowl without those considerations, how can I realistically consider them "legitimate" contenders?

If we get there, I don't like how we match up against the Eagles, a potentially healthier Lions squad, and I wouldn't even be stoked about playing the Packers. I think our best matchup would be against a team like Minnesota, Washington or one of the current lesser teams in the conference.

No one will be more excited to see me be completely wrong than me. I hope it happens.

Doubling down on a horrible take, while simultaneously moving the goal posts…well done!

[Mister Defense]

51 minutes ago, DCofNC said:

We have different definitions of “top talent” to me there is Allen, Taron, healthy Milano, Bernard and Benford is getting hard to deny.  Everyone else is at least a half tier lower.

 

Yes, definitely different standards.  No offensive players beyond Allen?

 

Shoot, averaging almost 30 points a game, and scoring at least 30 in the last 6 games,  makes me wonder what they could do with actual top tier O lineman, running backs, tight ends, and receivers!? Hopefully they could still muddle through the rest of the season, and get some top end talent in the off season..

 

 

[Doc Brown]

On 4/20/2024 at 3:09 PM, MJS said:

Absolutely. I believe the Athletic did a ranking of each NFL roster before the draft and the Bills were 4th.

 

Anyone who thinks this team is going to be a lot worse this year is just being pessimistic. We still have a top 5 team in the NFL and will make the playoffs.

 

The Dolphins and Jets have good rosters too, though, so we'll see what they can do. The division is no cake walk, but the Bills should be the favorites, still, in my opinion.

Nailed about everything except for this.  LOL.

[MJS]

1 hour ago, Doc Brown said:

Nailed about everything except for this.  LOL.

True, haha. The Dolphins and Jets really crashed and burned this year. They should be embarrassed.

 

It shows the difference between accumulating talent and building a team.

[SoTier]

4 hours ago, BullBuchanan said:

Highly disagree. Jackson is having a better year this year than either of his MVP seasons. Derrick Henry is also having a renaissance season, and the emergence of Isiah Likely to pair with a now healthy Mark Andrews rounds out an improved group of weapons that I think will have a significant impact on their ability to be successful in the post-season. The problem with the ravens was always that they were one-dimensional and everything went through Lamar - not unlike the problem the Bills have had in the past.

As for the Ravens having a bottom 10 defense, to that I say they're allowing the lowest rushing yards per carry in the league while the Bills allow the 3rd most. When one of those teams has King Henry, I think the matchup strongly favors them. In a year where KC has been poor through the air, I can envision a scenario where the Ravens stifle the running game and guys like Van Noy are able to keep enough pressure on Mahomes for them to get a win. I think it's more likely KC wins, but that's how I get there. I don't think the Bills have the same advantage.

 

The Ravens defense is not nearly as good as it was last year.  They lost some key defenders in FA as well as their DC, Mike Macdonald.  Their pass defense is abysmal which is why they have 5 losses and are chasing the Steelers in the AFCN. 

 

[Ethan in Cleveland]

6 hours ago, BullBuchanan said:

I think the Ravens could as well, but that's it unless something crazy happens

 

I understand the definition just fine. I don't consider a team to be a "legitimate" contender when I can't create a scenario for winning that doesn't involve a stacked combo of upsets or injuries. I have absolutely no reason to believe we get past KC in the playoffs. I don't see them getting past Baltimore either. I think we have less talent on both sides of the ball and are outcoached by both squads. The only way I can see us making the Super Bowl is if we don't have to play either team, or if when we do their QB is knocked out of the game. If I can't even get them to the Super Bowl without those considerations, how can I realistically consider them "legitimate" contenders?

If we get there, I don't like how we match up against the Eagles, a potentially healthier Lions squad, and I wouldn't even be stoked about playing the Packers. I think our best matchup would be against a team like Minnesota, Washington or one of the current lesser teams in the conference.

No one will be more excited to see me be completely wrong than me. I hope it happens.

So you are just making up stuff. Gotcha.

I can see multiple ways we beat KC and Baltimore. Lions have 2 good wins all year. They are not even my favorites to win NFC. I too think Philadelphia or Green Bay in a rematch beats them

See I'm just making up stuff too