1/19/25 Division Round Playoff Post Game Thread Bills vs. Ravens

[BRH]

3 hours ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

Just stop... We'd crucified McD if he coached like Harbaugh did.

 

Some people here are still trying to crucify him anyway.

[Fan in Chicago]

16 minutes ago, MikePJ76 said:

 

 

that game was exactly how the giants and pats won super bowls.  Play physical and smart.   No penalties no turnovers and make the other team chase the game and make mistakes.
 

 

 

It did indeed feel like a Belichick coached team with no mistakes. Somekne on the post game show also pointed out that when Allen couldn't push it in at the goal line, he looked like he was thinking of pitching the ball back to make a play but didn't. He was super complimentary of Allen to say he displayed his maturity and didn't make a negative play while intending to make a positive one 

[GunnerBill]

I think the Ravens made more plays last night, but the Bills made most things difficult for them and consequently they made more mistakes too. The Bills will need to play a similar game against the Chiefs in terms of making them earn it but they will need to make more plays themselves on offense. Particularly in the passing game. The wide receivers have to separate, they have to find ways of getting Cooper involved and they also have to take advantage of Knox particularly in the middle of the field if the Chiefs wanna play McDuffie on the boundary. 

4 minutes ago, BRH said:

 

Some people here are still trying to crucify him anyway.

 

Until we blow out every team by three scores and go 20-0 on route to a Superbowl everything will be McDermott's fault. The problem is a lot of those people are starting from a premise that "if we lose it's because of coaching" and they then see everything that happens in the game through that prism. The Bills clearly had better gameplans than the Ravens last night and executed them better. I think the Ravens made good adjustments, they have a good coaching staff too, and on offense it arguably took Brady to long to get to his adjustments... but they pulled it out against a really good team and a really good staff. The coaches deserve credit for that. 

[Trogdor]

26 minutes ago, MikePJ76 said:

I was listening to Chris simms podcast last night.  He said the ravens lost the game and the bills didn’t win it.

 

what a moron.  You would think growing up with Phil Simms as your dad and understand bellichick and parcell’s style of play especially in the postseason.

 

that game was exactly how the giants and pats won super bowls.  Play physical and smart.   No penalties no turnovers and make the other team chase the game and make mistakes.
 

 

 

I mean the Bills went into prevent with 4 minutes left and allowed the Ravens to just march down the field. Then they completely misplayed the 2pt. Those teams won by staying aggressive, the Bills turtled up and the Ravens imploded. 

[Coach Tuesday]

14 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

I think the Ravens made more plays last night, but the Bills made most things difficult for them and consequently they made more mistakes too. The Bills will need to play a similar game against the Chiefs in terms of making them earn it but they will need to make more plays themselves on offense. Particularly in the passing game. The wide receivers have to separate, they have to find ways of getting Cooper involved and they also have to take advantage of Knox particularly in the middle of the field if the Chiefs wanna play McDuffie on the boundary. 

 

Until we blow out every team by three scores and go 20-0 on route to a Superbowl everything will be McDermott's fault. The problem is a lot of those people are starting from a premise that "if we lose it's because of coaching" and they then see everything that happens in the game through that prism. The Bills clearly had better gameplans than the Ravens last night and executed them better. I think the Ravens made good adjustments, they have a good coaching staff too, and on offense it arguably took Brady to long to get to his adjustments... but they pulled it out against a really good team and a really good staff. The coaches deserve credit for that. 

I don’t think Brady was competent last night but you can’t be critical of the head coach in a game where they only commit one - ONE - penalty and zero turnovers.

[NyQuil]

Talking heads on ESPN whining that the Ravens were the better team.

 

They were but didn’t get the W. Eat a dick.

Edited 14 hours ago by NyQuil

[Shortchaz]

1 minute ago, NyQuil said:

Talking heads on ESPN whining that the Ravens were the better team.

 

Eat a dick.

I mean, EVERYTHING went the bills way and they barely won. I don’t know which team is better, but the ravens probably have a better roster. 

[mjt328]

With a night to compile my thoughts...

 

The Bills played excellent in the first half.  Couldn't have asked for more.  Game script played out exactly how we needed it to.

They did fantastic at stuffing Derrick Henry, and were very aggressive on defense with blitzes - which played a role in forcing those turnovers.

Offense was a perfect mix of run/pass.  The only time they got stopped was on the BS holding call.

 

In the second half, the Ravens seemed to adjust.  We just turtled up on offense, and just tried bleeding away the clock.

Never seen the Bills play so conservative with Josh Allen under center.  Refused to attempt a pass over 5 yards in the air.  

Defense was getting steamrolled in the last two quarters.  Mark Andrews really choked away the game for them.

 

I feel more fortunate that we escaped that game, as opposed to impressed at how awesome the team played.  But how many times have we exited the postseason on the opposite end... feeling like the Bills played great, and we were the unlucky ones?  

 

The Bills are the best team remaining in the Final Four.  

The next step is getting over the mental hurdle of finally beating the Chiefs in the playoffs.

 

[NyQuil]

Exactly the way KC has been winning all season. Who cares as long as we win.

[Ralonzo]

Away we go on the morning shows to see what narrative is coalescing:

 

ESPN: Highlight package shows the Tre DPI.

Damien Woody "Baltimore is the better team"

Louis Riddick "Baltimore's Achilles Heel is themselves"

Dan Orlovsky "I'm not making this about Baltimore... Buffalo's QB stopped worrying so much about stats. Buffalo has figured out how to play their very best when it's needed"

Louis Riddick "Joe Brady called a perfect game"

Greenberg "I have no idea how Baltimore lost that game"

Alex Smith "If they play 10 times, Baltimore is winning 8 of them"

Greenberg "The Ravens were the best team in the AFC last year and the best team in the AFC this year"

 

So, Baltimore choked and low-key implying the refs helped. Pretty much Orlovsky on an island saying Buffalo earned it by playing the right way, and Allen has evolved into "an elite decision maker, playing smart but not careful, agressive but not reckless"

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

4 minutes ago, NyQuil said:

Talking heads on ESPN whining that the Ravens were the better team.

 

Eat a dick.

 

Just now, Shortchaz said:

I mean, EVERYTHING went the bills way and they barely won. I don’t know which team is better, but the ravens probably have a better roster. 

Oh, well. I guess the ravens have us in the ever important nfl.com power rankings. 
 

no one is going to even remember this ravens team in about 12 hours.

[Since1981]

Ravens are a better team. 
Ravens made blunders
Ravens outplayed 2H

Josh outplayed Lamar 

Bills won. 
that’s why we play the game.  

Edited 14 hours ago by Since1981

[Straight Hucklebuck]

5 minutes ago, NyQuil said:

Talking heads on ESPN whining that the Ravens were the better team.

 

Eat a dick.

Their savior was eliminated. 
 

[Process]

1 minute ago, Ralonzo said:

Away we go on the morning shows to see what narrative is coalescing:

 

ESPN: Highlight package shows the Tre DPI.

Damien Woody "Baltimore is the better team"

Louis Riddick "Baltimore's Achilles Heel is themselves"

Dan Orlovsky "I'm not making this about Baltimore... Buffalo's QB stopped worrying so much about stats. Buffalo has figured out how to play their very best when it's needed"

Louis Riddick "Joe Brady called a perfect game"

Greenberg "I have no idea how Baltimore lost that game"

Alex Smith "If they play 10 times, Baltimore is winning 8 of them"

Greenberg "The Ravens were the best team in the AFC last year and the best team in the AFC this year"

 

So, Baltimore choked and low-key implying the refs helped. Pretty much Orlovsky on an island saying Buffalo earned it by playing the right way, and Allen has evolved into "an elite decision maker, playing smart but not careful, agressive but not reckless"

Don't forget "Lamar was the best player in the field"

[Rochesterfan]

8 hours ago, SageAgainstTheMachine said:

I always think it’s funny how turnovers are treated like they’re just a random thing that happens instead of the result of skill and decision making.

 

Lamar’s INT was an ill advised throw with even worse execution.  On the fumble he tried being heroic instead of going to the ground.  Bernard made one of the better punches at a ball that I’ve seen.  

 

Not only that - Cam Lewis forced a fumble on the final drive also - the Ravens just got lucky the fumble landed back in the receivers hands on the ground.

 

The Bills knew that they were not bigger, but they are superbly coached and very disciplined and that lead to the victory.

 

The Bills have been playing like that all year - we are going to march down the field and get points and make few mistakes - their opponents can’t do the same - they make a mistake and that gets magnified in the playoffs.

 

Great job to the staff they outcoached and outplayed the opposing team once again.

8 hours ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

Question: if Ty didn’t rip off that first down on the last drive, I assume the ravens might have gotten the ball back if they held us? Did anyone do the math on the clock? 

 

Yes that is why they had to run the ball instead of kneeling down.  They could of used approximately 85 of the 93 seconds on offense without the first down.

[billybob71]

As a poster up thread just said the Bills turtled up in the 2nd half, I kept waiting for them to take the extra OL off the field and attack more in the 2nd half and they did it very little, the play where they went to that bunch formation they hit a wide open cosser, they played scared in the 2nd half 

[davefan66]

1 minute ago, Shortchaz said:

I mean, EVERYTHING went the bills way and they barely won. I don’t know which team is better, but the ravens probably have a better roster. 

Bills forced turnovers that gave them the win. That was the difference. These teams are about as evenly matched as can be. Not player for player, but overall.
 

I’ll be honest, if Flowers plays it may be different.  More importantly, if they ran Henry more it probably would have been a different outcome.

 

Bills gutted out a win. Even if they get the two point conversion, plenty of time for the Bills to get the winning points. 

[RichRiderBills]

I just want to add one caveat to what I'm hearing this AM:

 

To support McD bold choice to play conservative and go for the FG, even if Andrews catches that 2 point and ties it....

 

There was 1:33 left w 2-3 timeouts for Allen to get a FG drive. 

 

Sorry I still like our chances there. 

[davefan66]

3 minutes ago, billybob71 said:

As a poster up thread just said the Bills turtled up in the 2nd half, I kept waiting for them to take the extra OL off the field and attack more in the 2nd half and they did it very little, the play where they went to that bunch formation they hit a wide open cosser, they played scared in the 2nd half 

Not sure what happened 2nd half.  Felt like they took the foot off gas and assumed the Ravens wouldn’t catch up. They did and very well could have won.  
 

End all is we won and that’s all that matters.

[Casey D]

One point the talking heads keep saying is that if Andrews catches the 2-point conversion, Baltimore would likely have won in OT.  But there was still 1:30 left in regulation and the Bills had two timeouts left.  So even if tied, the Bills had an excellent chance to drive for a FG in regulation.  

 

But who cares.  We won!!!  Go Bills!!!!

 

Also an interesting stat on the weekend games. All teams who gained more yards lost. Go figure.

Edited 13 hours ago by Casey D