Buffalo Bills Week 3 -- Buffalo (2-0) vs Jacksonville (0-1). Monday, 9/23 at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN (CBS Channel 4 in Buffalo)

[Jim Bob]

'Does the passing game need to return to form'

That seems disingenuous given how the Thursday night game went, and Allen going on a heater the previous week.

Also, I listened to an Allen interview with Shady McCoy and a few others. It appears he has the mental game down. He's dialed in, and if he does take that next step of 'taking what the defense gives me 90% of the time and using my elite skillset the other 10% of the time', then I truly believe he can be the 1a/1b with Mahomes. He'll likely never catch up in the hardware dept, so his legacy won't be as strong. But as someone who watched his fair share of Manning and Brady- I don't think either one was a level above the other. One just went to a franchise that provided more support, and that one is going to be more well regarded because of that.

Regardless, we are so damn lucky to have Allen.

Joe Marino had an interesting stat on his 5 predictions segment yesterday:

In the 9 games, including the playoffs, since Joe Brady took over as OC, Josh Allen has topped 250 yards passing once (Week 18 game in Miami).

So, it may be worded a little more pointedly than you might prefer, but given how good Jacksonville has been against the run, especially in London last year vs Buffalo, this could be a game where they need to rely more on the passing game than they have since Brady has taken over.

The good thing is that the Jags are down a CB and a depth safety that has played a fair amount of snaps so far this season.

 

[Zman5778]

This game makes me nervous. Jacksonville is much more talented than what they've shown in the first 2 games this season. They're going to be super motivated to come out swinging.

Meanwhile, I am worried that this is a bit of a prototypical "trap" game. We go on the road 3 in a row after tonight and all of them against TOUGH opponents. It's only human nature to maybe look past this week as an easier week against what might be perceived as a lesser opponent. I know that McDermott/Brady/Babich are likely trying their damnest to take those thoughts out of their collective heads.....but again, human nature.

Ultimately I think we pull this out.....barely. 23-20 Bills with a 4th quarter FG followed by a final-drive stop.

 

[ValJamesDuex]

Drove by the Stadium area early and there were tailgates in the private lots already!

Things are drying out from a soggy night.

 

[Jim Bob]

This game makes me nervous. Jacksonville is much more talented than what they've shown in the first 2 games this season. They're going to be super motivated to come out swinging.

Meanwhile, I am worried that this is a bit of a prototypical "trap" game. We go on the road 3 in a row after tonight and all of them against TOUGH opponents. It's only human nature to maybe look past this week as an easier week against what might be perceived as a lesser opponent. I know that McDermott/Brady/Babich are likely trying their damnest to take those thoughts out of their collective heads.....but again, human nature.

Ultimately I think we pull this out.....barely. 23-20 Bills with a 4th quarter FG followed by a final-drive stop.

After how the past two matchups with Jacksonville went, the players are not talking like they are looking past the Jags. At all.



Ed said those two games were weird a bunch of times.



And I like this mindset from Groot.

 

[Zman5778]

After how the past two matchups with Jacksonville went, the players are not talking like they are looking past the Jags. At all.

I totally and 100% buy that they're talking like that.

I just worry that human nature takes over. That and I'm a Buffalo fan and thus used to disappointment.

 

[Jim Bob]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1838197414785597926

 

[Jim Bob]

How a board game brought Bills players closer -- and stoked their competitive fire

Buffalo underwent significant change this offseason and has found avenues to bring the team closer.

www.espn.com

Maybe we need to get Catan for our house...

 

[KeyserSoze81]

How a board game brought Bills players closer -- and stoked their competitive fire

Buffalo underwent significant change this offseason and has found avenues to bring the team closer.

www.espn.com

Maybe we need to get Catan for our house...

(Settlers of) Catan is wonderful as a gateway game. It is best at 4 players, but the mechanics are solid despite the game being released in 1995. There is a decent amount of player interaction, and the concepts are very easy to grasp for new players, We used to play this multiple times a week in University (circa 2002-2004). Games have come a long way since then, but playing Catan is sort of like playing Quake II. Other games are certainly better, but it is legendary and great in its own right.

My wife and I have accumulated >100 modern board games, but Settlers of Catan is my origin story.

Side note - I should probably post something about the Bills to stay relevant to the thread. So "Go Bills"! Also, I quite appreciate the 7:30 start time. It takes a couple hours to wind down from watching a game, so I can at least try to fall asleep by 12:30ish.

 

[ValJamesDuex]

This game makes me nervous. Jacksonville is much more talented than what they've shown in the first 2 games this season. They're going to be super motivated to come out swinging.

Meanwhile, I am worried that this is a bit of a prototypical "trap" game. We go on the road 3 in a row after tonight and all of them against TOUGH opponents. It's only human nature to maybe look past this week as an easier week against what might be perceived as a lesser opponent. I know that McDermott/Brady/Babich are likely trying their damnest to take those thoughts out of their collective heads.....but again, human nature.

Ultimately I think we pull this out.....barely. 23-20 Bills with a 4th quarter FG followed by a final-drive stop.

Well, we should be a little nervous. Jacksonville D is good, they will be desperate (0-2), and have a good athletic QB.

BUT, we have a good home field advantage, 10 days to prepare, Josh is good vs man on man and plays well in prime time, Hoping the Injuries on D hold up, and I'm sure the coaches and leadership have been impressing the fact not to let this be a trap game.

 

[TehDoak]

This is the classic trap game right? Coming off a Big win vs a Divisional rival vs a team that has struggled mightily to start the season with a big game the next week.

I like to think the team has matured and recognize this. This where last years version of the bills were frustrating. The Jags game, the broncos game, the giants game, the New england game, the chargers game. Even though we won a few of those, games where we didn't bring the juice needed.

The Jags are banged up in key spots. The Jags are on the struggle bus.

We need to keep them there and let them get their season together next week. We can't be their slump buster.

Go out, get the win, come out healthy.

 

[Jim Bob]

This is the classic trap game right? Coming off a Big win vs a Divisional rival vs a team that has struggled mightily to start the season with a big game the next week.

I like to think the team has matured and recognize this. This where last years version of the bills were frustrating. The Jags game, the broncos game, the giants game, the New england game, the chargers game. Even though we won a few of those, games where we didn't bring the juice needed.

The Jags are banged up in key spots. The Jags are on the struggle bus.

We need to keep them there and let them get their season together next week. We can't be their slump buster.

Go out, get the win, come out healthy.

Do classic trap games include games against teams with lots of success against the favored team?

While I get the concern, I look at this more like a "bad matchup game" than a "trap game".

The Jets and the Jags are two teams that have given the Bills fits recently and I doubt it is due to the team looking past them and getting trapped.

 

[HOOats]

Heard Sal talking this morning about the Jags being one of the most man-heavy coverages in the NFL.

I'd love to see us stick with the heavy offensive approach but start to take the play action shots downfield. Keon has had some looks, would be awesome to get him one on MNF.

I think we're going to jack them up tbh. The guys low key hate this team. Relatively healthy and ticked with MNF home crowd on a beautiful night. Let's go.

 

[Selanne00008]

(Settlers of) Catan is wonderful as a gateway game. It is best at 4 players, but the mechanics are solid despite the game being released in 1995. There is a decent amount of player interaction, and the concepts are very easy to grasp for new players, We used to play this multiple times a week in University (circa 2002-2004). Games have come a long way since then, but playing Catan is sort of like playing Quake II. Other games are certainly better, but it is legendary and great in its own right.

My wife and I have accumulated >100 modern board games, but Settlers of Catan is my origin story.

Side note - I should probably post something about the Bills to stay relevant to the thread. So "Go Bills"! Also, I quite appreciate the 7:30 start time. It takes a couple hours to wind down from watching a game, so I can at least try to fall asleep by 12:30ish.

Killin me out west. 4:30pm start time?! Sorry work, I gotta duck out early.
Thank god dinner is prepped for the kids.

 

[misterchainsaw]

Joe Marino had an interesting stat on his 5 predictions segment yesterday:

In the 9 games, including the playoffs, since Joe Brady took over as OC, Josh Allen has topped 250 yards passing once (Week 18 game in Miami).

So, it may be worded a little more pointedly than you might prefer, but given how good Jacksonville has been against the run, especially in London last year vs Buffalo, this could be a game where they need to rely more on the passing game than they have since Brady has taken over.

The good thing is that the Jags are down a CB and a depth safety that has played a fair amount of snaps so far this season.

He's missing some games I think. He threw for more than 300 vs Philly. Had more than 250 vs the Jets too, the game he took over.

I think he's been in charge for 12 games total

 

[ValJamesDuex]

Killin me out west. 4:30pm start time?! Sorry work, I gotta duck out early.
Thank god dinner is prepped for the kids.

Tivo's are very popular out there!

 

[kirby11]

Heard Sal talking this morning about the Jags being one of the most man-heavy coverages in the NFL.

I'd love to see us stick with the heavy offensive approach but start to take the play action shots downfield. Keon has had some looks, would be awesome to get him one on MNF.

I think we're going to jack them up tbh. The guys low key hate this team. Relatively healthy and ticked with MNF home crowd on a beautiful night. Let's go.

I hope this game is like when we wrecked the Titans early on in 2022.

Also, between Morse being susceptible to power rushes and both JAX OTs struggling so far, I'm hoping the DL can force Lawrence to cough the ball up a time or two with strip sacks. He's fumbled, on average, 11 times per season so far in his career.

 

[Uberpecker]

Trap game, bad match up game, whatever people wanna call it, either way I'm worried.
Jax have had their number for a while now, the last time Bills won was when Jax still had Bortles as their QB.