This game shows that a fully healthy D would have beaten KC in last year's playoffs

[JerseyBills]

Extend Bernard tomorrow!!!

Hope he gets the all pro he got robbed of last year

[GunnerBill]

3 minutes ago, JerseyBills said:

Extend Bernard tomorrow!!!

Hope he gets the all pro he got robbed of last year

 

He will be extended. That shows his value but also the value of coaching and knowning the system. That is why Hamlin continues to start. The way the Bills defense communicates and then moves in unison is so high level. Sean McDermott does not get enough credit for how good a defensive mind he is and I think generally Bobby Babich is doing a hell of a job as a first year coordinator. 

 

And while I am on it.... Orlovsky is one of the best analysts about at the moment. The list of guys I genuinely learn from doing Xs and Os breakdowns isn't massive but he is on it. I like him as a color guy on commentary too. Awful QB. Good football analyst.

1 hour ago, Kelly to Allen said:

They weren't more talented than buffalo in 21. 

 

They had more elite players. Mahomes, Kelce, Hill, Jones and Mathieu. 

 

The Bills probably had fewer weaknesses. The Chiefs had more star power.

[JerseyBills]

2 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

He will be extended. That shows his value but also the value of coaching and knowning the system. That is why Hamlin continues to start. The way the Bills defense communicates and then moves in unison is so high level. Sean McDermott does not get enough credit for how good a defensive mind he is and I think generally Bobby Babich is doing a hell of a job as a first year coordinator. 

 

And while I am on it.... Orlovsky is one of the best analysts about at the moment. The list of guys I genuinely learn from doing Xs and Os breakdowns isn't massive but he is on it. I like him as a color guy on commentary too. Awful QB. Good football analyst.

 

They had more elite players. Mahomes, Kelce, Hill, Jones and Mathieu. 

 

The Bills probably had fewer weaknesses. The Chiefs had more star power.

Ya Dan is phenomenal. 

 

The way this defense communicates and disguises coverage is just masterful at this point.

McD should be in the top 2 or 3 for coach of the year 

[colin]

i am not as certain about last year, because i think kc left points on the field and could have gone for another td, but i agree with the crux of this thread: basically our d has been terrible in the playoffs, the deeper we go the worse they play.  being able to string out long drives and play well up front on D is the salve to that.

 

i'm a bit of a simpleton when i look at football -- 8-10 of the 22 players on the field (when it's not a special teams play) are big monsters.  qbs are barely involved in hand offs, some wr's (sometimes all), deep safeties, and one side's cb aren't really involved in most hand offs.  on D it's the same, the further from the ball you are the less consistently you impact plays (not less magnitude, but less regularly).

 

presuming brown comes back healthy he's a step better than any RT we've had in the playoffs (he was more raw and hurt the last 2 years).  cyborg hit the rook wall last season, and morse is just too small/not strong enough to hold up vs power DTs with skill.

 

on the DL von where he is now is way better than his last two seasons (being an injured guy, or not playing), groot is becoming a top player, AJE is a bit better, if healthy oliver is a player, and DQ was a shell last season, if carter comes back he's our best depth DT in years, and that dude w the 2 picks this year is ok too.  before we had settle jr, an over matched phillips getting a lot of burn, and guys like addison and the white guy from washington just getting washed every down.

 

there is a reason reid has always dumped high picks and big contracts on OL and DL.  the injuries on d and such really sucked, but our combined lines the last 4 playoffs were far from elite, i'd say they weren't even good in all but maybe one year (and even then injuries hobbled them).  if we win a chip this season, the real difference will be the quality of our lines.

[FireChans]

7 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

This one felt different IMO. Last year it felt like the Chiefs screwed up the game more than we earned it, with the Toney offside penalty and Mahomes losing his cool about it so bad he forgot there was still a game to play. This time it felt like we went and really took the win on our own. No flukes, we just flat out made more plays than them. I've never felt better than I do right now that we have the pieces to get past them in January.

I hear that. 
 

I was maybe higher on our chances to beat KC in the postseason eventually, so I don’t feel it was all that different. We trounced them off the field in 2021.

 

The rivalry is real and has followed a similar script the last few games. It feels like a heavyweight bout instead of a shootout and the team that makes 2-3 more plays, wins. 

[LABILLBACKER]

9 hours ago, HappyDays said:

 

2021 Mahomes hit a rough patch and we got him during a stretch in the regular season where he was playing like crap. We blew them out but their team clearly was more talented than ours. Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce both in their prime... It's even more insane with hindsight. We were outmatched big time against that roster.

 

2022 is not a good year of comparison because our whole season fell apart after the Chiefs game, first with Von's ACL and then Hamlin (and Allen's untimely, uh, personal issues which are an open secret at this point). We didn't even face KC in the playoffs because the whole team was emotionally done by the end. So who knows if that regular season win against them was predictive.

 

Obviously a regular season win doesn't mean we are coasting past them this year, but after yesterday it sure looks to me like we genuinely outmatch them right now. And this will be the first time I'm going to enter the playoffs feeling that way.

Agree with all your accurate points. We will still require a healthy Milano, Bernard, Cooper, Coleman and Kincaid to dismantle KC. We also cannot afford any new significant injuries going into the playoffs. 

[LABILLBACKER]

7 hours ago, JerseyBills said:

Ya Dan is phenomenal. 

 

The way this defense communicates and disguises coverage is just masterful at this point.

McD should be in the top 2 or 3 for coach of the year 

It's no newsflash I'm not a big McDermott fan BUT if there ever was a year where he deserves "coach of the year", this is it.

[stlbills13]

This is why my only real hope is to be as healthy as possible come January even more so than the 1 seed. I'm definitely not saying sit guys out like starting in week 16 or anything. I'm just saying we need that kind of luck for once. 

 

If somehow we can get the 1 seed and be healthy in January, I am not sure there is a team that can really even threaten us in the AFC. You are not coming into Highmark under the lights in January and beating a team of a healthy Bernard, Milano, Benford, Taron, Rasul, Oliver, Rousseau, Allen, Shakir, Cooper, Coleman, and the o-line. You just aren't.