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2021 Buffalo Bills - Same as it ever was*** (2 Viewers)

This doesn't really matter because the Bills are going to lock up a playoff berth in a few hours anyway, but Tennessee losing helped us out, and Cleveland losing eliminated them as a WC threat.  New Orleans can finish off Indianapolis and Tennessee in back to back weeks.  Oakland does not have an obvious loss anywhere on their remaining schedule, but at least their last two games are on the road.  

Realistically, winning the AFCE is out of the question because even if we win tonight and pull out an improbable victory next week, there is no ####### ####### way NE is losing to Miami in a game they need, or any game really.  But it would be sweet to deny NE a first round bye.

 
IvanKaramazov said:
This doesn't really matter because the Bills are going to lock up a playoff berth in a few hours anyway, but Tennessee losing helped us out, and Cleveland losing eliminated them as a WC threat.  New Orleans can finish off Indianapolis and Tennessee in back to back weeks.  Oakland does not have an obvious loss anywhere on their remaining schedule, but at least their last two games are on the road.  

Realistically, winning the AFCE is out of the question because even if we win tonight and pull out an improbable victory next week, there is no ####### ####### way NE is losing to Miami in a game they need, or any game really.  But it would be sweet to deny NE a first round bye.
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Totally agree that the Bills are going to punch their ticket tonight.  :gang2:

I don't agree that it is a certainty that the Pats will beat the Dolphins in a couple weeks. You never know...

 
I’ll be on TV at some point squirting ketchup. They filmed at the Baltimore game.  Go Bills. 

 
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While we're semi-off-topic, as we get ready for the game, does anyone have any connection to the Bills bus/van that I've seen many times at the Point Breeze park? Just curious...

 
Grigs Allmoon said:
While we're semi-off-topic, as we get ready for the game, does anyone have any connection to the Bills bus/van that I've seen many times at the Point Breeze park? Just curious...
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Not sure but I met the “streaker” last week it was his first game back since the Saints game.  $375 fine.  25 hours community service.  One year ban from games.  

 
So the Bills have clinched no worse than the 5th seed. 
 

So the question is: would you rather the Bills lose against the Patriots locking up the 5th seed and then resting guys Week 17, or best the Patriots and play everyone Week 17 to have a chance to win the division on the off chance the Pats lose to the Dolphins?

 
GroveDiesel said:
So the Bills have clinched no worse than the 5th seed. 
 

So the question is: would you rather the Bills lose against the Patriots locking up the 5th seed and then resting guys Week 17, or best the Patriots and play everyone Week 17 to have a chance to win the division on the off chance the Pats lose to the Dolphins?
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Balls to the wall to win the division. F the Pats. 

 
GroveDiesel said:
So the Bills have clinched no worse than the 5th seed. 
 

So the question is: would you rather the Bills lose against the Patriots locking up the 5th seed and then resting guys Week 17, or best the Patriots and play everyone Week 17 to have a chance to win the division on the off chance the Pats lose to the Dolphins?
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Beat NE. Let Week 17 get crazy.  

 
Godsbrother said:
I am going to the game and taking my wife's best friend's fiance who is a huge Bills fan.  He is bringing an entourage of friends and family from Buffalo so we have a big tailgate planned.   Should be a lot of fun!  
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It wasn't.   :sadbanana:

Seriously, good win for the Bills.  Wish you luck in the playoffs.  

 
GroveDiesel said:
So the Bills have clinched no worse than the 5th seed. 
 

So the question is: would you rather the Bills lose against the Patriots locking up the 5th seed and then resting guys Week 17, or best the Patriots and play everyone Week 17 to have a chance to win the division on the off chance the Pats lose to the Dolphins?
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This is a rhetorical question, right?  We're probably not going to win the division, but we can do the entire planet a favor by bumping New England out of a first round bye.  We owe it to humankind to give it our best shot.

 
Seriously, what a great time to be a Bills fan.  We clinch a playoff berth in prime time against an elite defense, in a wonderfully old-school game that all of us are old enough to really enjoy.  And while we bask in that, we also get to be America's Favorite Team for a week leading a New England game that means everything for the Patriots.  

My breakfast tasted so good this morning and I'm going to do nothing but **** around at work today.  

 
IvanKaramazov said:
This is a rhetorical question, right?  We're probably not going to win the division, but we can do the entire planet a favor by bumping New England out of a first round bye.  We owe it to humankind to give it our best shot.
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The Bills should absolutely play to win this coming week no matter what. The question is more about whether they should rest guys for Week 17 or go for the division win. If the Bills win against New England, there is a pretty good chance the Patriots won’t have the bye regardless.

 
Is this the year the Bills beat NE on their home turf?

They need to get some success running the ball early. I think Cincy ran on 10 plays or something in their first TD drive against the Pats. 

Allen seems too jumpy at the start of these games. Need to do something to get him level quickly. 

 
The Duff Man said:
Is this the year the Bills beat NE on their home turf?

They need to get some success running the ball early. I think Cincy ran on 10 plays or something in their first TD drive against the Pats. 

Allen seems too jumpy at the start of these games. Need to do something to get him level quickly. 
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I doubt we beat New England.  They've clearly lost a beat, but they're still a better team than we are, they're at home, and they desperately need this game to keep their first round bye.  That said, I'm looking forward to watching the game on Saturday and not having to stress over it.  If you told me at the start of the season that our last two games this year would be meaningless, I would have thought "Same old Bills."  It's so nice that they're meaningless for a good reason.  

(Yes, I know we technically still have a shot at the division, but the Patriots are not losing to Miami).

 
IvanKaramazov said:
I'm going with 9-7.  Obviously this is foolish, but I'm calling the nine wins as NYG, CIN, @TEN, MIA, WAS, @MIA, DEN, BAL, NYJ.  But this team figures to be higher-variance than normal, and Allen's development is going to be critically important either way.  Given the quality of the defense, I could definitely see this team putting together 10 or 11 wins if Allen shows the kind of growth you would expect to see from a second-year QB, and they could end up as a 6-win team if he regresses. 

Honestly, the only games that I feel very confident chalking up as Ls are the two NE games and @DAL.  There's really no reason why this team shouldn't be competitive week-in and week-out.  Unlike last year.
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Looking back on the pre-season, I wasn't too far off in my assessment of the team, but they're definitely still in "better than I expected" territory.  I had them losing to the Jets, Cowboys, and Steelers.  I also had them beating the Ravens, which I knew was a little bit of a reach at the time, but Baltimore ended up being way better than expected.  Lots of good things stand out here though:

1) Buffalo beat everybody they were supposed to beat.  That's never happened since the SB years and even then it seemed like they usually found a way to piss away a random game here and there.  Some of those wins were closer than we all might have preferred, but it's nice to see your team take care of business like they're professionals or something.

2) None of their losses was bad.  We had Cleveland beat, I'm confident that we would have beaten New England if Allen hadn't gotten (literally) knocked out, and we had a good chance to force OT against Baltimore.  The Philadelphia game obviously got out of hand, but that one was close until the Eagles pulled away in the second half.  Overall, I think the Bills nailed the "competitive week-in and week-out" part.

3) We played two nationally-broadcast games on the road against quality opponents and won both of them.  Previous Bills teams used their rare national platform as an opportunity to beclown themselves either by getting blown out or melting down in a spectacular manner.  This team played solid football, didn't beat themselves, and won pretty convincingly.  

4) Allen is still rough around the edges, and he single-handedly lost the first Patriots game for us, but otherwise he's played pretty well.  He's gotten a lot better at protecting the football, avoiding sacks, and hitting short passes than what we saw last year or even the first few weeks of this season.  His deep ball accuracy is undeniably an issue, but otherwise he took some big steps forward this year.  If nothing else, he's show that he's a gamer, and he's clutch when the game is on the line.  We haven't had a QB who you might reasonably count on to lead a critical fourth-quarter drive since Flutie.  

Next year's schedule is going to be a lot tougher, but our road to the playoffs is actually a little easier because we should have a legitimate shot at the division title.       

 
Crazy stat I just saw on Twitter: there are 8 linebackers with 9+ passes defensed this year in the NFL. 3 of them are Bills (Edmunds, Milano and Alexander). They got linebackers that can flat out cover.

 
Well, the Bills deactivated all their offensive skill-position starters except for Allen.  I assume this means that Allen is just dressed as the backup because why play the guy if none of his usual teammates are playing.

 
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The Texans are a beatable team for this Bills team. They’ll have to play great defense and limit turnovers. 

Nsekhe is almost certainly going to be out which sucks. And Cody Ford was seen coming out of the x-ray room after the game, so the O-line is suddenly kinda dicey, which is really not good with Watt likely being back.

Great to see the Bills in a winnable playoff game though. Hoping it will be a great game. Also great that the Pats have to play next week. They could have really used a bye week too. And if the Titans make the playoffs, I’m not entirely sure that the Patriots will beat them.

 
GroveDiesel said:
Great to see the Bills in a winnable playoff game though. Hoping it will be a great game.
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Agreed.  Regardless of what happens next week, this is a game that the Bills probably ought to win.  It's a game of percentages and we could easily be one-and-done, but we're on the right track.

Also great that the Pats have to play next week. They could have really used a bye week too. And if the Titans make the playoffs, I’m not entirely sure that the Patriots will beat them.
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People have criticized the Bills all season for playing a cupcake schedule (which is true), but at least we beat the teams we were supposed to beat.  New England can't say that.  If you can lose to Miami, you can lose to anybody.

 
GroveDiesel said:
The Texans are a beatable team for this Bills team. They’ll have to play great defense and limit turnovers. 

Nsekhe is almost certainly going to be out which sucks. And Cody Ford was seen coming out of the x-ray room after the game, so the O-line is suddenly kinda dicey, which is really not good with Watt likely being back.

Great to see the Bills in a winnable playoff game though. Hoping it will be a great game. Also great that the Pats have to play next week. They could have really used a bye week too. And if the Titans make the playoffs, I’m not entirely sure that the Patriots will beat them.
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Tannehill is Patriots kryptonite, after all.

 
Tre White lead the league in INTs and gave up zero TDs. That’s just ridiculous. I’m not sure he should win it, but he absolutely should be in the conversation for DPOY.

 
Fuller and Joseph being out for the Texans are pretty big losses. The Texans without Fuller this year average over 7 points less per game. And Houston’s secondary isn’t great to begin with, and not only is their #1CB out, Roby their #2 is barely recovered from a hamstring injury. 

Wallace being out for Buffalo sucks, especially because it leaves them really thin at CB, but Wallace did have some struggles against bigger more physical receivers and Johnson has played pretty well. Hopefully the revenge factor for Johnson carries over nicely.

I don’t know why so many people love Duke Williams so much, but count me as one of them. He’s active today and I just feel like he’s going to be a factor. At some point today he’s going to make a big play.

Overall, if Josh Allen can get the extra adrenaline out quickly and not make a stupid early mistake that digs a hole, the Bills really should win this game. Houston has the better QB and one of the best WRs in the game, but Buffalo is a better team overall. If the Bills get off to a hot start early, I think they could actually run away with it.

I think they likely win by 6 or 7, but even if they lose I really like the makeup of the team and where they are headed in the future. If they don’t win today, it’s nice feeling like they have a great shot at being right back in the playoffs next year and maybe even challenging for the division. The first time in a LONG time it’s felt like that.

 
GroveDiesel said:
I think they likely win by 6 or 7, but even if they lose I really like the makeup of the team and where they are headed in the future. If they don’t win today, it’s nice feeling like they have a great shot at being right back in the playoffs next year and maybe even challenging for the division. The first time in a LONG time it’s felt like that.
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I agree with the rest of your post too, but win or lose this is the key takeaway.  This team is heading in the right direction.  This season wasn't a weird fluke like 2017.

 
Never before have I raised out of my seat because I see the blind side sack coming, only to crumple back down because the DB can’t tackle. 

 
ConstruxBoy said:
Never before have I raised out of my seat because I see the blind side sack coming, only to crumple back down because the DB can’t tackle. 
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The play that is going to haunt me forever in this game isn't that one.  It's watching three good blockers all whiff on a single defender on a designed QB run that would have set up the game-winner if one guy had made a single block.  For all the criticism that Daboll gets, that was the perfect play called at the perfect time, and it took three guys failing to execute to pull out the L.

 
ConstruxBoy said:
Knox whiffing? Yeah that was brutal. 
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And Beasley not even trying. I liked the idea of Beasley, I love that he totally bought in, and I love how hard he works, but he just flat out wasn’t nearly good enough all year. 

Such a frustrating game. So many missed opportunities. 

It’s hard to get back to that hopeful feeling we all had before the game, but this organization is still in a great spot moving forward. But they still clearly need to upgrade the offense and the entire coaching staff needs to take a long hard look at themselves and make some serious changes.

 
GroveDiesel said:
It’s hard to get back to that hopeful feeling we all had before the game, but this organization is still in a great spot moving forward. But they still clearly need to upgrade the offense and the entire coaching staff needs to take a long hard look at themselves and make some serious changes.
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Yeah, this isn't wishful end-of-season revisionism.  I've been saying this all year. 

Our 2018 OL was abysmal, featuring several starters who didn't really belong on an NFL roster.  That was never going to be fixed in a single off-season, and it wasn't.  We need a legit RT so we can move Ford to G where he should excel instead of being a liability. 

Our 2018 WR corps was a joke.  No offense to Robert Foster, who I hope has a long career in this league, but when your top receiver is a rookie UDFA, something has gone horribly awry.  I agree with GD that Beasley disappointed a bit this year, but the addition of a large-bodied WR (Duke?) who can make tough catches (no, not Duke) will make a world of difference. 

We also badly need a complementary RB alongside Singletary.  He's great, but we don't have anybody else.

 
Double whammy today. Bills lost when they should have won and the Patriots are probably going to win (/vomit).

wondering why Bills fans are down on Beasley. I watched every game this year, what did I miss? I thought he was an asset. What do you guys see that contradicts this?

 
I know it’s just bitterness, but it’s awfully hard to swallow that the refs called a garbage blindside block that seems to technically be against a really dumb rule when Ford clearly hit the guy in the chest while the guy was looking at him but then seem to have flat out made up a rule about the Texans player “giving himself up”. Yeah, it was a dumb play and everybody knew what the intent was, but by the rules, that was absolutely a fumble.
 

None of this stuff happened. 

Years ago Santonio Holmes made a great catch, for up and spiked the football in celebration. Unfortunately for him he was never touched and the other team recovered the football. Everybody knew what Holmes thought but it was correctly ruled a fumble and everybody forever laughed at Holmes. Here the Texans player did something really stupid but it absolutely should have been a fumble according to the rules. 

So frustrating for the refs to essentially make up a rule to avoid giving the Bills a TD on a dumb technical rule enforcement but then call a backbreaking penalty on something that is obviously a technical rule enforcement on something that clearly was not in the spirit of the rule.

Quote
ARTICLE 1. DEAD BALL DECLARED

An official shall declare the ball dead and the down ended:

when a runner is contacted by an opponent and touches the ground with any part of his body other than his hands or feet. The ball is dead the instant the runner touches the ground. A runner touching the ground with his hands or feet while in the grasp of an opponent may continue to advance; or
Note: If, after contact by an opponent, any part of a runner’s leg above the ankle or any part of his arm above the wrist touches the ground, the runner is down.

when a runner is held or otherwise restrained so that his forward progress ends.

when a quarterback immediately drops to his knee (or simulates dropping to his knee) behind the line of scrimmage.
Note: If a quarterback does not immediately drop to a knee, and contact from a rushing defender is unavoidable, it is not a foul unless the defender commits some other act that would constitute unnecessary roughness.

when a runner declares himself down by:

falling to the ground, or kneeling, and clearly making no immediate effort to advance.

sliding. When a runner slides, the ball is dead the instant he touches the ground with anything other than his hands or his feet.
Notes:

Defenders are required to treat a sliding runner as they would a runner who is down by contact.

A defender must pull up when a runner begins a feet-first slide. This does not mean that all contact by a defender is illegal. If a defender has already committed himself, and the contact is unavoidable, it is not a foul unless the defender makes forcible contact into the head or neck area of the runner with the helmet, shoulder, or forearm, or commits some other act that is unnecessary roughness.

A runner who desires to take advantage of this protection is responsible for starting his slide before contact by a defensive player is imminent; if he does not, and waits until the last moment to begin his slide, he puts himself in jeopardy of being contacted.

when a runner is out of bounds.

when an opponent takes a ball that is in the possession of a runner who is on the ground.
Note: An opponent may take or grab a ball (hand to hand) in possession of a runner who is on his feet or is airborne.

when a forward pass (legal or illegal) is incomplete. (See 8-1-4.)

when any legal or illegal kick touches the receivers’ goal posts or crossbar, unless it scores a field goal. (See 9-4-2.)

when a loose ball comes to rest anywhere in the field, and no player attempts to recover it; the official covering the play should pause momentarily before signaling that the ball is dead. Any legal (or illegal) kick is awarded to the receivers, and any other ball is awarded to the team last in possession. When awarded to a team behind a goal line, the ball is placed on the one-yard line.

when any legal or illegal kick is caught or recovered by the kickers, except a scrimmage kick that is kicked from behind the line and is recovered behind the line (not a Try kick). See 9-3-2-Item 3 for exception.

when a touchdown, touchback, safety, field goal, or Try has been made.

when any receiver catches or recovers the ball after a fair catch signal (valid or invalid) has been made, provided the ball has not been touched by an opponent, before or after it strikes the ground.

when an official sounds the whistle erroneously while the ball is still in play, the ball becomes dead immediately.

If the ball is in player possession, the team in possession may elect to put the ball in play where it has been declared dead or to replay the down.

If the ball is a loose ball resulting from a fumble, backward pass, or illegal forward pass, the team last in possession may elect to put the ball in play at the spot where possession was lost or to replay the down.

If the ball is a loose ball resulting from a legal forward pass, a free kick, a fair-catch kick, or a scrimmage kick, the ball is returned to the previous spot, and the down is replayed.

If there is a foul by either team during any of the above, and the team in possession at the time of the erroneous whistle elects not to replay the down, penalty enforcement is the same as for fouls during a run, forward pass, kick, fumble, and backward pass. If the team in possession elects to replay the down, all penalties will be disregarded, except for personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct fouls, which will be administered prior to the replaying of the down. If the down is replayed, the game clock will be reset to the time remaining when the snap occurred, and the clock will start on the snap.

when a fumble is recovered or caught by a teammate of the fumbling player, and the fumble occurs on a play that is subject to the “two-minute” or “fourth-down” fumble provisions. See 8-7-5 and 8-7-6.

when the ball is out of bounds.

if a loose ball in play strikes a video board, guide wire, sky cam, or any other object, the ball will be dead immediately, and the down will be replayed at the previous spot.

Notes:

If there is not an on-field ruling that the ball struck an object, the Replay Official is empowered to initiate a booth review, even if the event occurs prior to the two-minute warning. If, prior to the two-minute warning, no booth review is initiated by the Replay Official, a coach’s challenge is permitted under the established rules for such a challenge.

In the event the down is replayed, the game clock will be reset to the time remaining when the snap occurred, and the clock will start on the snap. All penalties will be disregarded, except for personal fouls or Unsportsmanlike Conduct fouls, which will be administered prior to the replaying of the down.

when a runner’s helmet comes completely off.

Note: The game clock will not stop when this occurs, and the play clock will be reset to 40 seconds. Penalty enforcement following the play is as ordinary for fouls during runs or kicks.
None of that stuff happened. 

Years ago Santonio Holmes made a great catch, for up and spiked the football in celebration. Unfortunately for him he was never touched and the other team recovered the football. Everybody knew what Holmes thought but it was correctly ruled a fumble and everybody forever laughed at Holmes. Here the Texans player did something really stupid but it absolutely should have been a fumble according to the rules. 

So frustrating for the refs to essentially make up a rule to avoid giving the Bills a TD on a dumb technical rule enforcement but then call a backbreaking penalty on something that is obviously a technical rule enforcement on something that clearly was not in the spirit of the rule.
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Ranethe said:
Double whammy today. Bills lost when they should have won and the Patriots are probably going to win (/vomit).

wondering why Bills fans are down on Beasley. I watched every game this year, what did I miss? I thought he was an asset. What do you guys see that contradicts this?
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Disappeared for huge chunks of time, not an asset in run blocking, and loads of terrible drops throughout the year. He was basically non-existent tonight despite the Texans having an awful nickel CB.

 
GroveDiesel said:
So frustrating for the refs to essentially make up a rule to avoid giving the Bills a TD on a dumb technical rule enforcement but then call a backbreaking penalty on something that is obviously a technical rule enforcement on something that clearly was not in the spirit of the rule.
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I'm choosing to not think about this, but my son and I had this exact conversation.  I am fine with "go by the letter of the rule" and also "go by the spirit of the rule," but the mix-and-match approach is not good.

Also, on the end zone fumble, teams occasionally come up with weird rule-bending plays in the return game.  If the Bills let up and the returner picks up the ball and runs it back for a score, the narrative is how brilliant the ST coach is and how stupid the Bills are.  So why not enforce the rule as written?

 
Ranethe said:
Double whammy today. Bills lost when they should have won and the Patriots are probably going to win (/vomit).

wondering why Bills fans are down on Beasley. I watched every game this year, what did I miss? I thought he was an asset. What do you guys see that contradicts this?
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Well salvaged some positive news. Pats lost woot woot.

 
The Bills put themselves in a situation where bad officiating could send them home, and it did. 

No shortage of blame, but I don’t blame Allen.  

Really wanted to see what they could do against the elite in AFC, but if they played like today it would just be a bad loss.  

Hoping Gore retires as it seems the coaches are too dumb not to use him. 

 
The Duff Man said:
The Bills put themselves in a situation where bad officiating could send them home, and it did. 

No shortage of blame, but I don’t blame Allen.  

Really wanted to see what they could do against the elite in AFC, but if they played like today it would just be a bad loss.  

Hoping Gore retires as it seems the coaches are too dumb not to use him. 
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Allen deserves some blame. That fumble lead to a FG and was inexcusable. And those two sacks he took in the 4th were mind numbingly bad plays. 

He made some incredible plays as well and his receivers let him down several times as they have all year, but he does share some of the blame. Overall his good outweighed his bad by quite a bit though IMO.

 
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