The mighty Bills from Buffalo will take the AFC this year.
For two decades I watched people say the Patriots window was closed, that their time was dwindling, that it was all over… seemingly every time those predictions happened, the Patriots went and won another Super Bowl.
A lot of doom talk simply because we lost to the Bengals in the playoffs. Let us not forget that the Bills watched their brother DIE on the field just a few weeks prior. Their heart was simply not in it. If it had been, the Bills would have captured the AFC last year.
The Bills have won 2 of their last 3 in Arrowhead and they’re ready to make it 3 of the last 4.
Just imagine if after the 2018 AFC Championship you coped by pretending Mahomes was on the Patriots winning MVPs and Championships every year. Genuinely pathetic behavior. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DRM08:
Buffalo gave up over 30 points to a 3rd string QB for the Dolphins in a wild card playoff game on Buffalo's home field. The following week, the Bengals torched them in the snow on Buffalo's home field. Bengals could have easily scored 35+ on them but Cincy went into "run the clock" mode in the 2nd half of that game.
KC's defense has allowed 30+ numerous times in the playoffs. Yet the Bills Mafia narrative is that Spags consistently shuts playoff offenses down, while McD consistently craps himself.
McD doesn't deserve heat for anything that happened last year. He lost a lot of players to injury and still had them playing at a pretty high level. They had one too many injuries vs KC, but the D still kept them in the game.
I'll give you the Miami game, but Cincinnati's offense was lethal that year. I don't think you could expect to hold them well below 27. And definitely not below the 10 pts that Allen mustered. [Reply]
Originally Posted by RaidersOftheCellar:
KC's defense has allowed 30+ numerous times in the playoffs. Yet the Bills Mafia narrative is that Spags consistently shuts playoff offenses down, while McD consistently craps himself.
McD doesn't deserve heat for anything that happened last year. He lost a lot of players to injury and still had them playing at a pretty high level. They had one too many injuries vs KC, but the D still kept them in the game.
I'll give you the Miami game, but Cincinnati's offense was lethal that year. I don't think you could expect to hold them well below 27. And definitely not below the 10 pts that Allen mustered.
Anyone trying to claim the Chiefs have always had an elite defense is full of shit. Mahomes has faced his fair share of adversity in that regard. Chiefs defense got torched twice by Tom Brady, arguably twice by Buffalo (180 yards rushing in the most recent game, 65% of the game clock), and torched by the Eagles for 35 points in the Super Bowl. They also gave up over 30 points to Houston in the game where the Chiefs were down 24-0 but ended up winning 51-31. As a side note, Josh Allen had a nice lead on that same Houston team and completely blew it. Sort of the exact opposite scenario of what happened with Mahomes against the 2019 Houston team.
I would say Joe Burrow is the one who has benefited the most from a great defense. He is the new Tom Brady when it comes to riding the coattails of a great defense. In 4 of Burrow's 5 Playoff wins, the Cincy defense held the opponent below 20 points. In one of those games, Burrow scored 17 and won the game 24-17 because the Cincy defense ran back a Ravens fumble 99 yards for a touchdown. Even in their losses, the Cincy defense only gave up 23 points to very explosive offenses led by Matt Stafford & Mahomes. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DRM08:
Anyone trying to claim the Chiefs have always had an elite defense is full of shit. Mahomes has faced his fair share of adversity in that regard. Chiefs defense got torched twice by Tom Brady, arguably twice by Buffalo (180 yards rushing in the most recent game, 65% of the game clock), and torched by the Eagles for 35 points in the Super Bowl. They also gave up over 30 points to Houston in the game where the Chiefs were down 24-0 but ended up winning 51-31. As a side note, Josh Allen had a nice lead on that same Houston team and completely blew it. Sort of the exact opposite scenario of what happened with Mahomes against the 2019 Houston team.
I would say Joe Burrow is the one who has benefited the most from a great defense. He is the new Tom Brady when it comes to riding the coattails of a great defense. In 4 of Burrow's 5 Playoff wins, the Cincy defense held the opponent below 20 points. In one of those games, Burrow scored 17 and won the game 24-17 because the Cincy defense ran back a Ravens fumble 99 yards for a touchdown. Even in their losses, the Cincy defense only gave up 23 points to very explosive offenses led by Matt Stafford & Mahomes.
Burrow's playoff stats are genuinely weaker than Alex Smith's. It's a joke that anyone was ever trying to put him on Mahomes' level. The Bengals' defense was easily the biggest factor in their little window of playoff success. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DRM08:
You mention some pretty good options. That said, it seems like McDermott’s defense has been the biggest problem for Buffalo in the Playoffs. Allen is putting enough points on the scoreboard, but McDermott’s defense gets torched every year.
There’s a GOAT level defensive coach available: Belichick. His defense unquestionably played a major role in winning 8 rings as HC & DC.
Allen puts up points, but he also has a problem stringing several games in a row against playoff teams without being a turnover machine. [Reply]
The running is a joke too. It's cheap yards at the expense of years off his career. No player that plays like an idiot like that lasts long in the league [Reply]
