December 15th at Detroit is the Game of the Year

[DCofNC]

3 minutes ago, WotAGuy said:

Agree.
 

It will also be interesting to see how the network plays this game up beforehand. This is the time of year when both Fox and CBS have doubleheaders and the Bills-Lions game is up against the Steelers-Eagles.

 

Both are interconference games that will only have meaning independently for each team. Probably will be billed as two potential Super Bowl matchups. 

Let’s see if the Eagles and the Steelers are still considered SB contenders by then.   Something tells me the Steelers are going to need more than FGs to win games and the Eagles are perennial choke artists.   The Lions are awesome, the Bills just beat the team with the best record in the AFC, both have to be regarded as SB potential teams.  I don’t see that lasting for either team in PA, but I could be wrong.   If I had to guess, they will hype the ***** out of Bills/Lions bc all of PA is going to watch the Steeler/Eagle game anyway.

[Comebackkid]

18 hours ago, Jauronimo said:

I  just hope everyone makes it out of that game with their joints intact. 

Detroit was built for blowing out hapless schmucks.  They've been in close games against every quality opponent.  I'm not ready to crown them.  

they shouldnt be taking joints into the game...there are rules!

[Comebackkid]

9 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

Some tv pundit (Simms?) said that when figuring out Buffalo's place in the NFL, you still have to consider the Ravens loss.

 

A bunch of analytic sites and power rankings now have the Lions as #1.  If we beat the Lions, the Ravens debacle would be forgiven & forgotten and the Bills would become the consensus #1.  

 

But ultimately all any of us wants is a Lombardi - beating the Lions in the regular season pales in comparison.  

theres always going to be teams u dont match up well against.    its pretty rare for buffalo to get blown out.   plus that was early in the season with

an all new cast.    sometimes tv pundits just need to talk less and pound sand more. 

 

one thing i will say about beating the chiefs is we know them very well..and vice versa..its like another division game for us.

[foreboding]

19 hours ago, QB Bills said:

I'd be surprised if the Bills pull that one out. And I don't really care too much if they do. Just stay healthy going into the playoffs and beat those guys in New Orleans Feb 9.

Nah, the Bills will remind the Lions of the good ole' Matt Millen days!

[78thealltimegreat]

22 hours ago, Mikie2times said:

As many of you recall, we met last on Thanksgiving day, 2022. We won that game by the slimmest of margins 28-25 with Allen going nearly the length of the field in seconds to set up a game winning field goal. Detroit had us on the ropes in that game. We were totally off balance on defense often seeing Detroit run the ball on third down regardless of  distance. They went 3 for 3 that day on 4th down conversions. It had that "escape" feel when it was over. It likely only went that direction as a result of Detroit getting too conservative at the very end, opting for a field goal in 4th and short vs going for it with a first down likely ending the game. 

 

Since that game the collective record of the two teams is 55-18. Detroit has a 1.5 game edge on us since then. We will be facing elite coaching, excellent power run game and rightfully, the current Super Bowl favorite. We will have aspirations of the #1 seed on the line as Detroit is far and away the hardest game left on our schedule. Detroit is also becoming a rather difficult place to play. It's pretty simple to me, if we really want to know how this team stacks up for a potential Super Bowl run you will know after that game. They can throw haymaker and have balance like the Colts, Bengals, Titans, and Ravens in the past, teams that were able to knock us out when so few can. They're very hard nose. Houston just beat the living crap out of them and they found a way. 

 

As all this relates to the timing of the KC game, well, massive win, clearly. They either round into playoff form, at which point I will have a hard time drawing any conclusions from it or they won't, at which point we have bigger fish to fry. Detroit being the biggest if we can eventually make it that far. I just don't see anybody in the NFC pushing them. Another side note, being from that area, a Detroit & Buffalo Super Bowl would be epic. I also imagine it would be a massive ratings draw. Already getting chills for this one. 

Look at the Lions schedule they clobber bad teams and then play nail biters with the better teams. See their games against the Rams, Cardinals, Texans, Bucs, Vikings, and even the Seahawks. They are a good team but quite frankly the bills player for player at several positions are better.

The Lions should definitely be favored but it wouldn’t shock me if the Bills walked into Detroit and won by at least a touchdown. 

[Chugga]

Trying my hardest not to channel my inner McDermott here but the goal is 1-0 every week.  For the Lions game to be the biggest game of the year we’ve gotta beat the 49ers first.  If we stumble at all in that game I think the narrative changes a bit.

[dollars 2 donuts]

On 11/20/2024 at 12:37 AM, julian said:

They could play well and still lose by 2 scores in their building, that’s how good they’ve been especially at home.

 

 I’m chalking this up as the Bills last loss, get outta Detroit healthy finish 14-3 and get the 1 seed.

I’ve had it as the hopefully last loss for a few weeks now.  I also was of the mindset that even though the Chiefs were undefeated at the time, 14-3 should be enough to do it with a victory over KC.

 

Nothing has changed. 
 

This chiefs team going 5-2 checks out.

 

[cle23]

17 hours ago, Kelly to Allen said:

No, they're not. 

 

They've a slightly better oline, although their interior is slightly overrated. The RB room is similar, Kincaid and Laporta are similar but Kincaid has more elite skills. Knox is better than any of the lions other tes. Shakir is a faster version of amon ra. Buffalo has better wrs outside that. 

 

Buffalo has a much greater QB who doesn't need a powerful running game to still be great. That has been proven over the years ad nauseum and was proven yet again vs the second best team in the NFL with the chiefs... Buffalo has better edges and can get an organic pass rush. The lions can't without hutch. Buffalo lbs are better especially with Milano back and anzalone hurt. CBS are even but Benford is the best right now and Douglas/ Elam have more experience. Lions have better safety talent 

 

 

 

QB - Allen is better than Goff, no doubt.  But Goff is also playing really well this year overall.  Rough game against Houston.  

RB - The running backs aren't that similar.  Davis is looking much better the last few weeks to make it closer, but Detroit's room is better.  They have the best 1-2 punch in the NFL right now.  Montgomery is Detroit's 2nd rusher, and he had 1 less yard rushing than Cook.  

WR - With Cooper now, Buffalo is probably a little better than Detroit, but it's all debatable. Saying Shakir is St. Brown but faster is laughable.  St. Brown had more yards last year than Skakir has had in a 2.5 year career, and that's with the better QB.

TE - Buffalo has a slightly better room overall, but Kincaid isn't better than LaPorta.  But Knox is better than anyone else that Detroit has.

OL - I agree that Detroit's OL is better.

DL - With Hutch hurt, I would agree that Buffalo is better on the edge, but Detroit added Za'Darius Smith, who is still above average.  He is especially good against the run.  For the interior, Detroit is better.

LB - I give Buffalo the edge here.  Even with Anzalone, Buffalo is likely better.  

Secondary - Buffalo probably has the CB edge, and Detroit has the S edge.  

 

As we all know, having the best players doesn't always mean the best team.  The teams overall are pretty close in talent, but I feel like Detroit is playing the best football right now.  Obviously Buffalo is playing great too.  

[Mikie2times]

I’m starting to think we match up better against the Lions than I originally thought. The Bears run a very similar defensive scheme to ours, and they’ve given the Lions problems for the past two years, so I can definitely see a similar script playing out. The big difference, though, is Josh Allen compared to someone like Caleb Williams—Allen’s mobility and ability to break contain is on a whole different level. The Lions’ defense leans heavily on man coverage, and if you can get a mobile QB like Allen out of the pocket, it exposes their secondary.  I really think this will be an extremely competitive game, and honestly, I’d rather play the Lions than the Eagles in the NFC. The Eagles just have too much power and physicality with their line and run game.

[jcamm1966]

Gonna be epic

[DaBillsFanSince1973]

they scored 23 against the lowly bears. it will be a good game but I see no problem with buffalo getting the dub.

[gordong]

No reason the bills can't win the Detroit game..   

[Blackbeard]

Lions are making a huge gaff imo. 
 

Blowing out teams without reason.  Opening the playbook up and showing your hand.  
 

if you think McD and crew isn’t up taking notes and formulating a plan defensively against them, you’re crazy. 
 

Bills by 2 scores.  Teams havent seen a fraction of our playbook. 

Edited November 29 by Blackbeard

[machine gun kelly]

My buddies down here in Tampa all seem to think as hot as the Bills are and they acquiesce that is the case, each one questions our ability to beat the Lions.

 

My counter argument is guys, you haven’t seen the Bills with Brown, Cooper with synergy to Allen, Coleman healthy, and Kinkaid.  On the defense, no one in 13 months has seen Matt “the missile” Milano.  My point is the best is yet to come.  We have the 49ers and Rams as tune ups getting all parties humming, and then it’s WW3 on 12/15.   It’s also very likely a prelude to the SB.  That would be an awesome SB given the Lions have never made one, md the Bills never won one.

 

Lastly, on my above argument I referenced the Bills just beat the undefeated Chiefs without Brown, Coleman, a banged up Cooper, no Milano, you can even add earlier in the year we also didn’t have Taron when we lost or struggling in some games.  If we get Milano humming in the playoffs, they also have a base defense in some options countering King Henry.  We probably wouldn’t even use the base except for maybe in some first down scenarios to mute Henry’s effectiveness.

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

I have a weird feeling that if these two teams do meet in the Super Bowl it will be the team that losses the regular season game that wins the Super Bowl.

[Goin Breakdown]

On 11/20/2024 at 1:38 AM, BigDingus said:

If we beat the Lions, it'll change all my expectations of this season.

 

Despite being 9-2, I still can't quite accept that they're genuine SB contenders. Call it being a lifetime Bills fan, always waiting for the other shoe to drop, but I've mainly been hoping to see Allen win an MVP & beat KC in the playoffs.

 

Super Bowl hasn't been something I truly thought was possible this season, but a win over the Lions & the Chiefs would certainly change that.

Crazy that we have drought PTSD and yet we're using the freekin Lions as our measuring stick as to how good we are. But I get it. 

[frostbitmic]

Wait ... I thought the Chiefs was the biggest game of the year, now there's another biggest game ?

[T master]

This will definitely be THE measuring stick to see exactly how the Bills can stand up to one of if not the best team in the entire league . Some say this will be a preview to the SB .

 

I could see that happening .

[Buffalo03]

On 11/21/2024 at 10:06 AM, cle23 said:

 

QB - Allen is better than Goff, no doubt.  But Goff is also playing really well this year overall.  Rough game against Houston.  

RB - The running backs aren't that similar.  Davis is looking much better the last few weeks to make it closer, but Detroit's room is better.  They have the best 1-2 punch in the NFL right now.  Montgomery is Detroit's 2nd rusher, and he had 1 less yard rushing than Cook.  

WR - With Cooper now, Buffalo is probably a little better than Detroit, but it's all debatable. Saying Shakir is St. Brown but faster is laughable.  St. Brown had more yards last year than Skakir has had in a 2.5 year career, and that's with the better QB.

TE - Buffalo has a slightly better room overall, but Kincaid isn't better than LaPorta.  But Knox is better than anyone else that Detroit has.

OL - I agree that Detroit's OL is better.

DL - With Hutch hurt, I would agree that Buffalo is better on the edge, but Detroit added Za'Darius Smith, who is still above average.  He is especially good against the run.  For the interior, Detroit is better.

LB - I give Buffalo the edge here.  Even with Anzalone, Buffalo is likely better.  

Secondary - Buffalo probably has the CB edge, and Detroit has the S edge.  

 

As we all know, having the best players doesn't always mean the best team.  The teams overall are pretty close in talent, but I feel like Detroit is playing the best football right now.  Obviously Buffalo is playing great too.  

I don't know if our WRs are really better. They have St. Brown and I'll tell you what, because I have St. Brown and the Lions RBs in fantasy, I have watched a lot of Lions games this year and Jameson Williams is very dangerous to. That WR core is is very good. 

 

I hate when people say this about the TE point. Because I don't care what anyone thinks. It's because of the system that LaPorta has been better throughout his career so far. If you flipped the TE rolls and put LaPorta here and Kincaid there, Kincaid would be the TE with more production and the better TE. We have simply NEVER know how to use TEs. 

 

[djp14150]

Reminder…

 

TV rules on Flexing

 

6 days to mobve games to/ from Sunday night weeks 14-17

12 days for Sunday to Monday night in weeks 12-17,

 

 

https://www.nfl.com/schedules/flexible-scheduling-procedures

 

right now week 15 espn is locked in but week 12 day- night moved on Sunday still can be made after next weeks games