End of season run, what can change for the main players?

[PoundingDog]

For the Ravens, I think it is clear that when they get Henry going, they can be tough. Defensively, not much changed.

 

The Chiefs lost 3 of 4 last year before the stretch run at the end and then went on their playoff run. The defense rose up and Kelce found fountain of youth. This year I felt their defense is spent. I don’t expect much improvement. But on offense Pacheco is coming back and Hollywood Brown will be a late addition. Expect some offense improvement.

 

The Bills went thru a bye and usually a lot of self scouting happens and some efficient gains. They might finally get full integration of Cooper and Coleman/kincaid healthy. I don’t expect defense to improve much but if Milano is truly back to some form of himself of the past, we can cut down some of the 10+yard play in the middle. 
 

New injury aside, the bills might have the biggest room to improve down the stretch. 

[TheWei44]

I guess if we're saying full integration of Cooper, we should also say same for D Hop.  Spot on assessment, in my view.

[LABILLBACKER]

All eyes will be on how healthy Milano is entering the playoffs. Hopefully his snap count will rise each game with no relapses.

[Mister Defense]

8 hours ago, PoundingDog said:

 New injury aside, the bills might have the biggest room to improve down the stretch. 

 

 Not sure what your last line, above, means. Not clear, but it seems to be a main point of the post. Ditto for the question in the topic, 'what can change for the main players'.  Can you clarify these?

 

 

Edited November 27 by Mister Defense

[Matt_In_NH]

9 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:

All eyes will be on how healthy Milano is entering the playoffs. Hopefully his snap count will rise each game with no relapses.

It will be interesting to see how integrating him back in goes.  His leg was bothering him in preseason.   Hopefully that is no longer the. Case.  It may be the case they are better off with Williams at times u til he shows he is really back.  

[WotAGuy]

12 hours ago, PoundingDog said:

New injury aside, the bills might have the biggest room to improve down the stretch. 

The Bills have been putting up 30 points consistently, and the defense has been pretty good in second halves of games.  
 

I think the Chiefs’ offense is in position to dramatically improve, given their spotty performance so far. Getting Pacheco, Brown, Schuster and Hopkins into a groove looks scary. 

[Thrivefourfive]

9 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:

All eyes will be on how healthy Milano is entering the playoffs. Hopefully his snap count will rise each game with no relapses.

We know McDermott will play it very conservatively.
 

Hoping Milano’s feet aren’t heavy behaving. 

[Captain Hindsight]

The Chiefs look tired to me. Just worn out. Having to beat a bad team with a last second drive after all their other close games this year has to be taking a toll. All of their games have been one score except for the Bills, 49ers and Saints (all 2 score games)

 

I think the Chiefs are more likely to lose in the WC round than win the AFC

[The Jokeman]

3 hours ago, WotAGuy said:

The Bills have been putting up 30 points consistently, and the defense has been pretty good in second halves of games.  
 

I think the Chiefs’ offense is in position to dramatically improve, given their spotty performance so far. Getting Pacheco, Brown, Schuster and Hopkins into a groove looks scary. 

The Chiefs still haven't removed Brown off the IR. Until they do he isn't an option. Pacheco will help though as to me he along with Kelce* and Hopkins are the most important parts of their offense. Although Kelce might be in transition and replaced by Noah Gray based on his back to back TD performances. 

[Sweats]

4 minutes ago, Captain Hindsight said:

The Chiefs look tired to me. Just worn out. Having to beat a bad team with a last second drive after all their other close games this year has to be taking a toll. All of their games have been one score except for the Bills, 49ers and Saints (all 2 score games)

 

I think the Chiefs are more likely to lose in the WC round than win the AFC

 

 

 

 

I would love to believe this; however, you can never count them out, no matter the situation, the roster, etc.

 

They just find ways to win and always seem to turn it up a notch in the post season and honestly, i don't think it really matters to them if they win by 1 point or 50, every win puts them closer to a 3-peat.

 

They are still very much dangerous.

[JP51]

16 hours ago, TheWei44 said:

I guess if we're saying full integration of Cooper, we should also say same for D Hop.  Spot on assessment, in my view.

Agreed... for the Bills... does Milano have a big impact and stay healthy and does Coop become the true #1 taking pressure off of others.. lastly does Samuel continue to ball out and become a factor allowing Shakir to be a true Slot. 

 

Ravens - to me is simple do Henry and Lamar stay healthy... I seem to remember them having late season injuries

Chiefs - Pacheco could be big, not sure about Hollywood. 

[Warriorspikes51]

1 hour ago, Captain Hindsight said:

The Chiefs look tired to me. Just worn out. Having to beat a bad team with a last second drive after all their other close games this year has to be taking a toll. All of their games have been one score except for the Bills, 49ers and Saints (all 2 score games)

 

I think the Chiefs are more likely to lose in the WC round than win the AFC

 

That would be shocking 

[Straight Hucklebuck]

The Ravens are neck and neck with the Steelers for the North, and have the Eagles this weekend, then Giants, then Steelers again. So they have to push for 3 more weeks at minimum. 

 

Speaking of Pittsburgh - Eagles, Ravens, Chiefs in December, sandwiched between the Bengals on both ends (and Browns in there). So they can't let up whatsoever. 

 

The Chiefs I expect to keep playing close game after close game. They have (3) divisional games left - Raiders, Chargers, Broncos - and the Chargers and Broncos are fighting to stay in the Playoffs. They also have at Pittsburgh on Christmas. 

 

Both the Ravens and Chiefs have the Texans as well, so we'll be able to rate them head to head on the performance. 

 

Can any NFL defense figure out how to not allow a 35-year old Travis Kelce free releases off the line so he can wander into the second level unguarded? Who knows. We ask it every year and the answer always seems to be he's too good. Doesn't matter that he has a huge beer belly now. 

[GottaRun]

Curious to see if Mahomes ankle continues to bother him down the stretch.

 

He has fought through ankle injuries before.  However it may flare up during a critical play and decide the game.  When it flares up on him he is in instant pain.

[Blackbeard]

1 hour ago, Captain Hindsight said:

I think the Chiefs are more likely to lose in the WC round than win the AFC

I will be relentless on social media should this happen.

 

 

[NewEra]

14 hours ago, Captain Hindsight said:

The Chiefs look tired to me. Just worn out. Having to beat a bad team with a last second drive after all their other close games this year has to be taking a toll. All of their games have been one score except for the Bills, 49ers and Saints (all 2 score games)

 

I think the Chiefs are more likely to lose in the WC round than win the AFC

I agree, they look tired to me.  Problem is, they did last season too

[Kelly to Allen]

16 minutes ago, NewEra said:

I agree, they look tired to me.  Problem is, they did last season too

Difference is KC created a defacto bye week last year and rested everyone week 18.... It was huge for them. 

 

They won't be able to do that this year 

[NewEra]

13 minutes ago, Kelly to Allen said:

Difference is KC created a defacto bye week last year and rested everyone week 18.... It was huge for them. 

 

They won't be able to do that this year 

There’s definitely a chance that they do that again. 
 

welcome to the board and I applaud the optimism in your posts, but posts like this are very premature.  It’s November 

[Kelly to Allen]

38 minutes ago, NewEra said:

There’s definitely a chance that they do that again. 
 

welcome to the board and I applaud the optimism in your posts, but posts like this are very premature.  It’s November 

What's your feeling on this team? Is this one of the better chances they have? 

 

Where do you rank this bills team?

[NewEra]

8 hours ago, Kelly to Allen said:

What's your feeling on this team? Is this one of the better chances they have? 

 

Where do you rank this bills team?

I think that there are a lot of factors that go into teams winning Super Bowls.  Luck being a key factor (injuries, refs, idiotic plays, bad bounces, etc).  
 

coaches and their game plans playing a massive part.  I think the chiefs have the edge on the league in that department and that usually gives them an edge on the competition.  
 

my take on the chiefs-  their OT’s are dragging the team down and Mahomes has taken a step back because of that.  I also thought that to be the case last season-  and then the playoffs happened and those tackles that were the most penalized in the league, became the least penalized in the league thanks to the refs (ie: luck).  The chiefs played a better team (the bills)….who were playing without benford, Milano, Bernard, rapp, injured Douglas (ie: luck).  Refs allowing the chiefs OTs to hold in the Super Bowl and a bad bounce on a punt (ie: luck) played a big part in their SB win vs the Niners.  But the chiefs have added some solid pieces on O (some injured) and I think the refs will likely swallow their whistles in playoffs which will lead to a KC resurgence on O, similar to last year.  They have proven that they can find a way- but the luck will run dry at some point.  But when?

 

I think the Bills can win the SB.  I thought they were the best team in the league last season- but injuries prevented us from reaching our ceiling. We were on a roll until the steeler playoff game took some of our best players from us. With those players healthy, I think we would’ve won (as KC targeted our their replacements and our lesser players all game). 
 

my overall take on the Bills chances will be available when the inactive lists come out each week.  With the proper talent, I believe our coaching staff is good enough to get the job done.  Without that talent, they’ve proven they are not….. but that could change this year as I’m a fan of our coordinators.  
 

The 2023 Bills were not looking good this time last season.  We were out of the playoffs. Then something happened. Lots can happen between now and the end of the season.  I’m not into predicting what that will be.  Anything can happen.  I sit back and enjoy watching the book being written. 

the chiefs have a good enough chance at the #1 seed to not eliminate them from achieving “bye week”, especially in November- which is what you did. 
 

Along with the Bills and chiefs, I think the Lions, eagles, packers, ravens, Steelers and chargers have a chance to turn their season into a Lombardi.  Vikings, I need to watch more of, but Flores has been impressive enough to throw them into the conversation.  Which teams stay the healthiest?  Which teams will benefit from the most luck?  Lots of unknowns to be determined in November 
 

 

Edited November 28 by NewEra