Buffalo Bills Week 18: Buffalo (13-3) at New England (3-13), 1/5/25, 1 PM, CBS

[buffalowing88]

If he looks like this at the start of next year, THEN I'll worry that his legs have permanently left him. Otherwise, I'm believing that he's rusty as hell and still getting back into game shape.

For sure. I'm not writing him off. I just think he's giving us mediocre play ATM and I'm used to him being better than that. I'm scared of what Kelce will do over the middle in the inevitable AFCC.

 

[Zman5778]

For sure. I'm not writing him off. I just think he's giving us mediocre play ATM and I'm used to him being better than that. I'm scared of what Kelce will do over the middle in the inevitable AFCC.

I still think a Milano at 75% gives us better play than Dorian Williams at 100%.

And we did pretty fine against Kelce earlier this year without Milano.

 

[Zman5778]

Ya know -- I kinda low-key don't want to play Miami. Nearly as much as I don't want to play Cincy. They've got their offense rolling (assuming Tua and Waddle are healthy)......and we BARELY beat them last time.

And frankly, it kind of feels like they're due against us

 

[Dubi Doo]

Im just so happy we're the type of team that can smack around a trash team that comes into our building talking smack. The Jets D was talking all types of shit today. It was nice to guide them back to the kid's table where they belong.

 

[Djp]

Yeah, with the Vikings winning today.....I gotta think MIN/DET gets the SNF game.

I wonder if maybe they do an NFC South doubleheader on Saturday -- the win and in team plays (ATL if they win, TB if ATL loses) the later game while the other team plays the earlier game. Hell, if ATL wins tonight, that DAL/WSH game is meaningful.

And then I wonder if they do DEN/KC, CIN/PIT and MIA/NYJ all simultaneously in the 4 PM window.

MIN/DET I'd s lock for nbc

Cle at balt can play on sat

Falcons win they are on saturday

Seahawks at rams sat night--
Even if rams clinch division before, if they win they get #3 seed and play gb, they lose they get det/ min loser.
If its not decided yet then play the game early instead of score watch

 

[26CornerBlitz]

MIN/DET I'd s lock for nbc

Cle at balt can play on sat

Falcons win they are on saturday

Seahawks at rams sat night--
Even if rams clinch division before, if they win they get #3 seed and play gb, they lose they get det/ min loser.
If its not decided yet then play the game early instead of score watch

Pittsburgh and Baltimore will play at the same time I'm guessing with the AFC North at stake and Cincinnati still alive.

 

[NotABadPeriod]

Yeah, with the Vikings winning today.....I gotta think MIN/DET gets the SNF game.

I wonder if maybe they do an NFC South doubleheader on Saturday -- the win and in team plays (ATL if they win, TB if ATL loses) the later game while the other team plays the earlier game. Hell, if ATL wins tonight, that DAL/WSH game is meaningful.

And then I wonder if they do DEN/KC, CIN/PIT and MIA/NYJ all simultaneously in the 4 PM window.

No chance the NFC South gets Saturday billing, those games will be played simultaneously. You would not want the second game to become meaningless based on the result of the first one. Probably at 1 PM to give that timeslot a couple important games, while the AFC North/Wild Card gets the 4 PM slot.

If Atlanta wins tonight, Washington/Dallas probably gets one Saturday spot. It would be win-and-in for Washington, but because the NFC South is still up for grabs wouldn't make the Bucs game on Sunday meaningless if Washington wins. And giving a primetime spot to Dallas is something you know the networks will like. The other spot could be Seahawks/Rams--even though Rams could still clinch tomorrow, I think they take the chance it is still relevant and play it on Saturday. Rams are 99.9% likely to clinch SOV at this point though, whether it is this week or next--among the results the Seahawks would need is Patriots vs Bills AND Bears over Packers, no more margin for error for them.

If Washington wins, then I still like Philly/Giants for the Saquon record chase and Rams/Seahawks with seeding on the line for the Rams, but the options are not great. I'd hope they wouldn't toss one of the AFC WC chase games into that slot, but you never know...

Moral of the story: Atlanta winning tonight solves a lot of problems for the league.

 

[Zman5778]

If Washington wins, then I still like Philly/Giants for the Saquon record chase and Rams/Seahawks with seeding on the line for the Rams, but the options are not great. I'd hope they wouldn't toss one of the AFC WC chase games into that slot, but you never know...

With Minny's win, Philly is locked into the 2 seed much like we are. It'd be a great story, but I cannot imagine that Philly would run Saquon for more than a half.......and frankly, the Giants would LOVE LOVE LOVE to end his season.

The NFL is a bit stuck, as there's one game guaranteed to have some meaning (assuming Washington beats Atlanta, they have a good start).......and they don't want to isolate connected games (IE, Denver/Cincy/Pit/Bal/Mia/NYJ are all likely to play simultaneously).

I still think they'll take the chance that ATL can beat CAR at 4:30 Saturday which makes NO @ TB at 8:00 Saturday meaningful.

 

[Djp]

Pittsburgh and Baltimore will play at the same time I'm guessing with the AFC North at stake and Cincinnati still alive.

They dont have to

PIT and LAC have seeding at stake.
BAL W they get division
PIT need to W for #5 and if BAL L thrn they win div
, if PIT L, LAC W then PIT is 6 vs LAC 5.

PIT and LAC st same time
BAL DC ors not have to be


Likely schedule as of now

Sat
SEA-Rams

Unknown

CLE-BAL
CAR-ATL
NO-TB & L of ATL/WAS happen at same time sunday
WAS-DAL
Mia-jets

1pm
Buf-NE
Nyg-Phl
Gb-chi
AFC south games

425 games
CIN-PIT
KC-DEN
LAC-LV
SF-AZ

Sun
MIN-DET

 

[misterchainsaw]

I could see Baltimore-Cleveland going to Saturday, with the thought being there's still plenty for Pittsburgh to play for to end up 5 instead of 6.

Obviously it's not ideal, but it's not as bad as some other options

But the Pittsburgh game absolutely cannot be slotted before the Baltimore game as Baltimore gets locked into the 3 if PIT loses.

 

[Zman5778]

Penix very much looking like a rookie in this 1st quarter. Has missed some throws that were quite there.

 

[NotABadPeriod]

Also, for a true exercise in futility...projecting times for WC weekend!

There will be 2 games on Saturday, 3 on Sunday, and MNF. Prime will carry one of the first 4 games, CBS gets 2 (guaranteed 1 AFC game), Fox gets 1 (guaranteed a NFC game), NBC gets SNF, ESPN/ABC gets MNF.

MNF is always a 4v5 matchup, since it allows them to set the bracket Sunday night and assign dates/times to those games.

So, working backwards:

MNF: I think the NFC 4v5 is going to be the draw. 5 will either be Detroit or Minnesota, 4 is either NFC South or Rams. Bucs have been on the MNF WC game 2 years in a row, so if its them, then maybe they switch it to the AFC, but ESPN is definitely going to want the NFC game over Houston.

SNF: I think there are two options here: Philadelphia v Washington/GB, or Baltimore/Pittsburgh.

So this gets to the other 4 games. If the Rams aren't hosting MNF, they obviously due to time zone wouldn't play the Sunday 1 PM game. If we get the AFC North grudgematch for SNF (and NFC South hosts the MNF), Philly seems a lock for the FOX game at 4 PM, which would push the Rams to a Saturday game, and since Houston will probably get the traditional Saturday AFC South timeslot, that puts the Bills at 1PM. I think the Prime game would be one of the Saturday games, which would put the Bills on CBS. The other Saturday game (even if NFC) would be on CBS.

If we don't get the AFC North grudgematch, then Philly goes to SNF. I think the AFC 3v6 (either Harbowl or Pittsburgh-LA) makes sense as the Sunday 4 PM, but since I don't think they'll have CBS with a doubleheader, I think we'd end up with a Sunday 1 PM game on Prime. Saturday games remain the same, but FOX gets the Rams game on Saturday, while CBS gets the Texans.

TL;DR: I have too much time on my hands.

 

[Zman5778]

Also, for a true exercise in futility...projecting times for WC weekend!

There will be 2 games on Saturday, 3 on Sunday, and MNF. Prime will carry one of the first 4 games, CBS gets 2 (guaranteed 1 AFC game), Fox gets 1 (guaranteed a NFC game), NBC gets SNF, ESPN/ABC gets MNF.

MNF is always a 4v5 matchup, since it allows them to set the bracket Sunday night and assign dates/times to those games.

So, working backwards:

MNF: I think the NFC 4v5 is going to be the draw. 5 will either be Detroit or Minnesota, 4 is either NFC South or Rams. Bucs have been on the MNF WC game 2 years in a row, so if its them, then maybe they switch it to the AFC, but ESPN is definitely going to want the NFC game over Houston.

SNF: I think there are two options here: Philadelphia v Washington/GB, or Baltimore/Pittsburgh.

So this gets to the other 4 games. If the Rams aren't hosting MNF, they obviously due to time zone wouldn't play the Sunday 1 PM game. If we get the AFC North grudgematch for SNF (and NFC South hosts the MNF), Philly seems a lock for the FOX game at 4 PM, which would push the Rams to a Saturday game, and since Houston will probably get the traditional Saturday AFC South timeslot, that puts the Bills at 1PM. I think the Prime game would be one of the Saturday games, which would put the Bills on CBS. The other Saturday game (even if NFC) would be on CBS.

If we don't get the AFC North grudgematch, then Philly goes to SNF. I think the AFC 3v6 (either Harbowl or Pittsburgh-LA) makes sense as the Sunday 4 PM, but since I don't think they'll have CBS with a doubleheader, I think we'd end up with a Sunday 1 PM game on Prime. Saturday games remain the same, but FOX gets the Rams game on Saturday, while CBS gets the Texans.

TL;DR: I have too much time on my hands.

Bills/Broncos or Bills/Dolphins seem very much like 1 PM Sunday games.

Bills/Bengals might get a more prime slot (Sat night?) given the possibility for an epic shootout.

 

[TehDoak]

Im dying lol

 

[NotABadPeriod]

Remember the dark days of the drought when this thread would be full of this type of posts? I don't think we ever got to the level the Seahawks are in now:

 

[ValJamesDuex]

Lots of pre playoff chaos and being neurotic about math-ups. Let it play out, see who our opponent is, let the coaches game plan, then play well and enjoy the ride.

 

[Zman5778]

Starting to look like the 1 PM window on Sunday might be complete ass. Assuming that DET/MIN is a mortal lock for the Sunday night game...........

There's exactly 2 NFC games that mean anything, and exactly 3 AFC games.

 

[NotABadPeriod]

Starting to look like the 1 PM window on Sunday might be complete ass. Assuming that DET/MIN is a mortal lock for the Sunday night game...........

There's exactly 2 NFC games that mean anything, and exactly 3 AFC games.

That's why I think they'll put the NFC South at 1 PM and AFC North/WC at 4 PM (kinda have to due to time zone with KC @ Denver).

Both networks have a doubleheader and they'll cross-flex so CBS/FOX each have an NFC South game at 1 and each have an AFC North game at 4, with Miami/Denver also being split across the networks.

 

[KiwiGriff]

I remember seeing a post about how shit Josh Allen's playoff pedigree was because it listed the only QBs he'd beaten and there weren't lots of big names.

Of course his last five playoffs he's lost to:

2019 Watson
2020 Mahomes
2021 Mahomes
2022 Burrows
2023 Mahomes

Seems to me that those last four years, he's played teams that have been to and won Superbowls ... don't see many other QBs getting through them either.

This year maybe Josh Allen could go through some tough QBs on the way to the bog game, to shut some people up. Let's see him go through Burrows first.

 

[Fezzy126]

horrific clock management by the Falcons, specifically Raheem Morris.

McDermott may have some minor game management warts, but he is head and shoulders above 95% of the coaches in this league.

 

[misterchainsaw]

Not even close from 56. That might have struggled to sneak over the bar from 50

 

[Djp]

Not even close from 56. That might have struggled to sneak over the bar from 50

Unsure if he was licking into a 10+ mph wind could have killed the ball

 

[misterchainsaw]

So a tie is basically identical to a Washington win.

 

[whiplash]

Happy to watch the last two games (hell the last 11 games) and appreciate the results and that we're locked into the 2 seed.

Two things can be true: It's been a great season; we're going into the playoffs with a lot of questions marks hanging around the D's laurels.

Meanwhile, here's this absolute gem, indicative of a high functioning franchise

 

[Zman5778]

Yep. NFL's worst case scenario happened. Only 6 games have meaning, and really 3 of them should be played at the same time......and 2 more at the same time ideally.