Bills in last 5 playoff losses: Worst PPG allowed OF ALL TIME in the Super Bowl era

[julian]

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

So you're asking to toss a coach that has made the Bills more successful than they've been in decades for "...bring in the next guy" ???  Sounds like a plan.

If management is happy being competitive every year then McDermott will be here for the duration of Allen’s career, and I believe that’s exactly the case.

 

 McDermott isn’t going anywhere, but I don’t think it’s ridiculous to suggest at some point the higher expectations demand a change at head coach. 
 

 Pegula loves McDermott and he’s not going anywhere in my opinion.

[L Ron Burgundy]

On 2/1/2025 at 3:37 PM, Success said:

I've seen a lot of McDermott's defenses at this point. They are too soft.

 

I actually think we have the personnel to have a much more swarming, aggressive defense - but it seems like we play safe a lot.  That last drive Baltimore had was a prime example, as were the 2 first downs KC had at the end of last week's game.

 

I like McD as an HC.  He's a good culture guy & good w/ the players.  But can you imagine how different this team would be if we had hired someone like Saleh as our DC?  

 

The defense has cost us in these playoff games, and they have cost Allen as far as legacy.  

 

Wish we had done more cb blitzes against kc.  Would have made mahommes think twice when he rolls out.  But we were not creative and played like pansies instead. 

[Livinginthepast]

On 2/4/2025 at 12:26 PM, CincyBillsFan said:

Funny how several posters repeatedly bring up the fact that Allen had a poor 1st series leading to a 3 & out against KC.  My response has been "big deal" the Bills punted the Chiefs back to their 10 yard line so what's the problem?  Get a 3 & out and the Bills have the ball back near midfield - all is good.  But of course that didn't happen as the Bills D gave up a 9 play 90 yard TD drive without ever getting KC into a 3rd down!

 

So to all of you who think the D isn't the biggest problem for the Bills in the playoffs consider this stat:  In ALL three of the Bills playoff games this year, two of which were at home, the D allowed the opponent to score a TD on their opening possession.  That has been, is, and will be the problem in the future if they can't fix the defense.

 

 

Several times this season (and in those 3 playoff games) our defense had the chance to set the tone in the game and instead allowed us to be run over on the first drive. Terrible way to start and cede the momentum. In most games our defense came back and/or the offense bailed us out (sometimes late) but other times (Rams and Ravens regular season and the Chiefs playoff game) it set the precedent that offense struggled to keep up with. 

[MikePJ76]

16 minutes ago, L Ron Burgundy said:

Wish we had done more cb blitzes against kc.  Would have made mahommes think twice when he rolls out.  But we were not creative and played like pansies instead. 

They were missing their top corner and safety.

 

How much easier did you want it to be for mahomes?  Blitzing corners a lot would have made it worse somehow.

[HappyDays]

10 minutes ago, MikePJ76 said:

They were missing their top corner and safety.

 

How much easier did you want it to be for mahomes?  Blitzing corners a lot would have made it worse somehow.

 

That final blitz Spags threw at us. I can't imagine McDermott ever doing something like that. On a critical 4th down to maybe end the game, no way. It's frustrating that our rival has the best defensive coach in the NFL as a coordinator, while our head coach is defense-minded and never has an amazing play call like that in the playoffs.

[Shaw66]

31 minutes ago, julian said:

If management is happy being competitive every year then McDermott will be here for the duration of Allen’s career, and I believe that’s exactly the case.

 

 McDermott isn’t going anywhere, but I don’t think it’s ridiculous to suggest at some point the higher expectations demand a change at head coach. 
 

 Pegula loves McDermott and he’s not going anywhere in my opinion.

I agree with this. McDermott is not going anywhere. I just have more confidence than most people in his his ability to improve and develop additional skills and talents. 

 

I believe for example, but nothing we're saying here is new to McDermott. He understands better than we do, how game plans are developed and what the practices are that the best coaches follow. I have no doubt that he is determined to improve himself in those areas and to continue to look for coaches with the talent and creativity to make the team competitive at the highest levels. 

 

Which is not to say that I'm not disappointed that we haven't seen more progress. However, I do believe the Chiefs are a special organization, and they present a unique challenge. I also believe that 2024 was one of McDermott's best coaching jobs. The team had mixed the personnel, at best, and still performed at a very high level. 

 

The bills will be better in 2025.

2 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

That final blitz Spags threw at us. I can't imagine McDermott ever doing something like that. On a critical 4th down to maybe end the game, no way. It's frustrating that our rival has the best defensive coach in the NFL as a coordinator, while our head coach is defense-minded and never has an amazing play call like that in the playoffs.

The Bills have run just as aggressive blitzes from time to time, but I agree that in that situation, McDermott is much more likely to revert to he's more conservative approaches. 

 

As I always say, however, I expect a McDermott will continue to improve and continue to surprise us. His onfield decision making, for example, is much more aggressive and creative now than even a few years ago. I think we will continue to see changes.

[L Ron Burgundy]

19 minutes ago, MikePJ76 said:

They were missing their top corner and safety.

 

How much easier did you want it to be for mahomes?  Blitzing corners a lot would have made it worse somehow.

We needed to take risks.  Maybe the corners would have been more successful blitzing than covering (looking at Elam).  It would have made KC think twice when running certain plays too.

[MikePJ76]

12 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

That final blitz Spags threw at us. I can't imagine McDermott ever doing something like that. On a critical 4th down to maybe end the game, no way. It's frustrating that our rival has the best defensive coach in the NFL as a coordinator, while our head coach is defense-minded and never has an amazing play call like that in the playoffs.

maybe he doesn't trust guys to get home?  Did you watch hamlin and johnson blitz this year?  I can see williams, benford and bernard but the other guys don't seem to get there.  Did you want Rasul douglas blitzing in critical situations in that game?  

 

If Cooper doesn't slip on the third down play the Bills would have beat Spagnuolo's blitz and had the lead and mabye won the game.  

 

The Bills brought pressure this year more than any previous year I can remember.  No matter what anyone tells me I believe it is personnel.  Improve the personnel, improve the defense.

[MikePJ76]

7 minutes ago, L Ron Burgundy said:

We needed to take risks.  Maybe the corners would have been more successful blitzing than covering (looking at Elam).  It would have made KC think twice when running certain plays too.

I understand your point of view, I really do and I am all for an aggressive defense and actually prefer to the general style mcdermott brought here.

 

However.  If you watch this team every week you will, well maybe you won't but I will and did get the sense that they play a certain way to mitigate risk because they can not succeed doing those things regularly.  They don't have the horses for that race.

 

I mean when Von Miller and Groot just keep giving up the edge 1 second after the ball is snapped while playing man I would say that is a bigger issue than taking risks.  Maybe those guys should not have been just leaving the edge completely open seemingly every other down throughout the game.  Von Miller spinning into nothing and leaving a gap is about as bad a play as the defense can make.  That's not scheme, that is on the player.

 

If the Bills ran an aggressive blitz heavy defense and in the process start giving up as many big plays as they make people would be losing their mind because guys got left on an island to cover insert wr here.  There are two sides to this pancake.

 

and again, Improve the personnel and you improve the defense.  The scheme will be secondary when we have legitimate pass rushers and other players who have to be schemed for.  Not a single player on the Bills defense creates a situation where the other offense has to scheme to stop him.  So KC for instance can run blitzes overloaded to one side, zero pressures with 7 or 8 guys coming right up the middle because they have great players on all 3 levels of defense that have to be accounted for.  So when the line is looking to keep help with jones and trying to stay away from mcduffie the chiefs already have an advantage.

The bills had Rapp and Benford out of the game and Von Miller running himself out of plays on every other snap.  Its just simply not apples and oranges.  

[Buffalo716]

They actually don't lol

 

Mike McCarthy and his last five Green Bay Packers playoff losses has a worse point per game 

 

Even Andy Reid last three playoff losses has given up 27 31 37

 

 

Edited 10 hours ago by Buffalo716

[HappyDays]

34 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

As I always say, however, I expect a McDermott will continue to improve and continue to surprise us. His onfield decision making, for example, is much more aggressive and creative now than even a few years ago. I think we will continue to see changes.

 

I don't know I've kind of run out of hope that he's going to get better. In every playoff loss to the Chiefs we've allowed basically their best offensive production of the season including playoffs. The Bengals loss was the same except they took their foot off the gas pedal early because our offense stunk. I genuinely did have hope coming into this last game... but once again KC's offense performed like they haven't all season and I just can't expect that to change until I see it happen.

 

25 minutes ago, MikePJ76 said:

maybe he doesn't trust guys to get home?  Did you watch hamlin and johnson blitz this year?  I can see williams, benford and bernard but the other guys don't seem to get there.  Did you want Rasul douglas blitzing in critical situations in that game?  

 

If Cooper doesn't slip on the third down play the Bills would have beat Spagnuolo's blitz and had the lead and mabye won the game.  

 

The Bills brought pressure this year more than any previous year I can remember.  No matter what anyone tells me I believe it is personnel.  Improve the personnel, improve the defense.

 

It's not just about the number of blitzes, it's the packages. Spags has the most unpredictable blitz packages in the league. Ours are easy to diagnose and as a result don't have as much success. It just sucks that our coaching is severely lagging behind in all three phases against our rival. Every time we face KC everything looks so easy for them and so hard for us. I'm really just sick of it. I'm sick of saying if this if that, I want our coaches to just get it done.

[MikePJ76]

6 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

 

I don't know I've kind of run out of hope that he's going to get better. In every playoff loss to the Chiefs we've allowed basically their best offensive production of the season including playoffs. The Bengals loss was the same except they took their foot off the gas pedal early because our offense stunk. I genuinely did have hope coming into this last game... but once again KC's offense performed like they haven't all season and I just can't expect that to change until I see it happen.

 

 

It's not just about the number of blitzes, it's the packages. Spags has the most unpredictable blitz packages in the league. Ours are easy to diagnose and as a result don't have as much success. It just sucks that our coaching is severely lagging behind in all three phases against our rival. Every time we face KC everything looks so easy for them and so hard for us. I'm really just sick of it. I'm sick of saying if this if that, I want our coaches to just get it done.

I want them to draft better defensive players.  I am sick of the same guys being injured every year and at critical times.  I am most sick of the team having almost no ability to get to the quarterback while rushing four in these big games.  Its feast or famine.  Some weeks they look unblockable and other times, usually in the postseason they are on their heels and getting dictated to.  

 

I personally do not think its a matter of dialing up better blitzes.  If that was the case the Ryan brothers would have the success spagnuolo has had. I mean the Giants and Bears blitzed a ton this year and they were not very good.

 

Maybe the bigger issue is as you said Mcdermott and his philosophy, after all Andy Reid had two guys on his eagles staff that worked under Jim Johnson.  One he fired for postseason failure and the other he rehired as DC and has a bunch of rings because of it.  The Bills hired the former.

Edited 10 hours ago by MikePJ76

[GoBills808]

31 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

They actually don't lol

 

Mike McCarthy and his last five Green Bay Packers playoff losses has a worse point per game 

 

Even Andy Reid last three playoff losses has given up 27 31 37

 

 

I'm pretty sure Reid fired his DC and hired Spagnuolo after the 37 

[HappyDays]

16 minutes ago, MikePJ76 said:

I want them to draft better defensive players.

 

I of course wish we had a game wrecker like Chris Jones but by and large I don't think the personnel differences are as stark as people on here say. KC just gets the most out of their players. Sneed was an all-pro caliber player for them, he went to Tennessee and became a nobody. Meanwhile we have Poona Ford and Tim Settle having legitimately good to great seasons with their new teams. I think most people on here would say Karlaftis is a superior player to Rousseau based on their production. My take is that if Karlaftis goes to another team he'll fade away into obscurity. Bryan Cook their starting safety is a perfectly mediocre player, I would put him around the same level as Hamlin honestly (PFF for what it's worth does as well). Yet on here you'd think Hamlin is an unplayable player that gives us no chance, while Cook just fits in and nobody talks about him because KC doesn't give us a reason to talk about him. You think if we had Xavier Worthy, Spags would let him end up 1v1 against Cook in the red zone? No chance.

 

Blitz packages are just part of it. The overall coaching details from player development to player usage to game planning to play calling, etc. just aren't at the level of KC. Not even close. That's why our defense is regularly giving up historic production in our playoff losses while KC's is stepping up its level of play.

 

Edited 9 hours ago by HappyDays

[Buffalo716]

1 minute ago, GoBills808 said:

I'm pretty sure Reid fired his DC and hired Spagnuolo after the 37 

No he was there for all 3

[MikePJ76]

1 minute ago, HappyDays said:

 

I of course wish we had a game wrecker like Chris Jones but by and large I don't think the personnel differences are as stark as people on here say. KC just gets the most out of their players. Sneed was an all-pro caliber player for them, he went to Tennessee and became a nobody. Meanwhile we have Poona Ford and Tim Settle having legitimately good to great seasons with their new teams. I think most people on here would say Karlaftis is a superior player to Rousseau based on their production. My take is that if Karlaftis goes to another team he'll fade away into obscurity. Bryan Cook their starting safety is a perfectly mediocre player, I would put him close to the same level as Hamlin honestly. Yet on here you'd think Hamlin is an unplayable player that gives us no chance, while Cook just fits in and nobody talks about him because KC doesn't give us a reason to talk about him. You think if we had Xavier Worthy, Spags would let him end up 1v1 against Cook in the red zone? No chance.

 

Blitz packages are just part of it. The overall coaching details from player development to player usage to game planning to play calling, etc. just aren't at the level of KC. Not even close. That's why our defense is regularly giving up historic production in our playoff losses while KC's is stepping up its level of play.

 

Yea I understand all of that and agree with you on the overall premise except I do think they have better defensive players.

 

The thing is, doesn't every team have this issue when compared to the chiefs?  It just sucks worse for us because we have to see them in the AFC playoffs.

 

If the chiefs win sunday that means they beat all that magic with the eagles.  The eagles replaced their coordinators.  They changed.  They drafted excellent players and have a defense that is so good up front they basically never ever blitz.

 

so if the eagles lose, just like the 49ers last year aren't all these organizations in the same boat?  The bills score more on the chiefs than anyone else regularly also.  We know why that is.  They have an amazing player.

 

The 49ers have had outstanding defensive and THE offensive coach in the nfl.  Lost to the chiefs twice and scored less than buffalo.  They have excellent personnel on defense too.  Just like our games with KC its a play here and there that cost them.  

 

I think we can all agree we need Andy Reid to retire and go away.  That will solve Buffalo's problems.  I would just like him to go away in general because he and his family suck monkey balls but that is a different thing.

[HappyDays]

1 minute ago, MikePJ76 said:

The thing is, doesn't every team have this issue when compared to the chiefs?

 

This would be the easy answer but unfortunately no. Other teams' offenses have much more trouble scoring against KC's defense than we do, but other teams' defenses have a much easier time slowing down their offense. @Mikie2times has the data tattooed somewhere on his body if you want to see it.

[GoBills808]

12 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

No he was there for all 3

Better check that 

 

Spagnuolo was hired January 24, 2019. Chiefs lost to the Patriots 31-37 January 20th, 2019.

 

In other words it took the Chiefs all of four days to lose a playoff game w their generational QB due to a defensive collapse before they said 'nope, not doing that again!' and fired the guy in charge of the defense

[MikePJ76]

5 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

Better check that 

 

Spagnuolo was hired January 24, 2019. Chiefs lost to the Patriots 31-37 January 20th, 2019.

 

In other words it took the Chiefs all of four days to lose a playoff game w their generational QB due to a defensive collapse before they said 'nope, not doing that again!' and fired the guy in charge of the defense

That is 100% not true though.  He was there for years and they blew game after game on defense.  Finally after that pats game he was fired.  If I remember correctly he was fired more because the players didn't believe in him and he essentially was fired for it.  I guess what is similar is they had issues stopping the run and refused to not do what they always did.

[GoBills808]

1 minute ago, MikePJ76 said:

That is 100% not true though.  He was there for years and they blew game after game on defense.  Finally after that pats game he was fired.  If I remember correctly he was fired more because the players didn't believe in him and he essentially was fired for it.  I guess what is similar is they had issues stopping the run and refused to not do what they always did.

'w a generational QB'