Division Between Bills and Patriots Not Distinct Enough
The Bills forgot what year this is. They decided to not change the calendar forward by one as is tradition. Heading toward 2004 was not a sign of progress. This is not the Patriots of old in the same sense your BlackBerry may be ready for an upgrade. Winning while uninspiring is a habit that’s become ingrained. Urging the playoff aspirer to get it together has become a ritual like the year going up.
It’s reassuring to know a game isn’t fixed. Buffalo assuaged those NFL observers expressing a common concern by avoiding any appearance that play could’ve been rigged. Obtaining four turnovers in a half and only being up by six is a seeming impossibility that they brought into actuality without any assistance from crooked refs.
A game pieced together like a dream still feels strange. The result resembled your brain having spent Saturday night thinking of what would happen the next morning. The mild nightmare happened after slumbering. A one-score game represented fear manifesting itself. The inability to affect surreal difficulties is common, although usually not while out of bed. Playing in a frequently disheartening manner symbolized our deepest worries and frustrations. It’s time for this team to wake up.
The Bills spent the afternoon reversing the unfortunate instant setting of tone. Envisioning Steve Tasker in the studio shaking his head at a touchdown without an offensive snap is how I coped. Imagine commiseration if it helps.
There’s lots of venting following a divisional win against a despised and declining fellow member. The Bills have earned a scolding. It’s remarkable in its way for a team with so much dynamic talent to keep finding ways to not be exciting. The impressive record belies a season spent looking quite nonchalant.
Bailey Zappe was Buffalo’s best quarterback. He kept throwing their way. I don’t care why. I’m more concerned with him looking impressive during fleeting but troubling moments. The year may be over, but I will remain haunted by horrifying memories of Zappe running across then down the field into the end zone deep into 2023.
Zappe didn’t literally hand away the ball, although he came close. Virtually scoring touchdowns for his enemy differs from actually doing so. Buffalo won’t be handed that many sweet drives next game, so at least there’ll be fewer to squander.
Seeing what the offense did with spectacular field position is a test of character that brought a failing grade. Three consecutive possessions with the ball’s shadow nearly reaching the goal line should result in way more points according to my very objective and measured opinion. The offense enjoyed the best results upon finally using running backs Stefon Diggs and Josh Allen to their potential.
Throwing is a bit trickier. Extremely online fans spent the week making the case that Allen’s the MVP before he put up a backup’s statistics. The figurative argument took a real setback. Buffalo turning into a rushing dynamo shows how surprises can emerge at any point during a year.
Elite performance is steady. That’s not limited to football. The great maintain consistency in any field. A true contender shouldn’t rely on spectacular plays against a club that’s finally facing its punishment for soul-selling.
It’s not like you decline fantastic highlights like when cornerback Ed Oliver proved he's more than just an interception machine or Rasul Douglas taking the ball at will from hapless quasi-competitors. Some devastating inflictions result from an afternoon of dominance such as fourth-quarter interceptions after methodically marching to a big lead. By contrast, hoping the guy who’s even worse than Mac Jones literally throws away possessions is unsustainable over time.
The very last regular season game could have been a scripted finish, and not in the bookie-aligned sense. As with the struggles during wins, it doesn’t matter how this team got there even if we could do with less trepidation.
Playing well from the start offers a chance for this to not be the last game. That includes the very first kickoff. The AFC East Bowl constitutes a test in multiple ways. Speaking of tested, fans acutely recall what’s led to this monumental scenario. Frequent setbacks accompany even satisfying triumphs. The Bills haven’t had many of those. Winning in the face of self-sabotage is impressive in its way. It’d be even nicer to not treat themselves as their own rivals.
The regular season’s coda is the perfect setup to seize an opportunity they’ve earned despite themselves. We’re supposed to be impressed by putting away a game that never should have been close. Please learn the lessons, as there won’t be more examples otherwise. They finished the job. Playing thoroughly for a change will keep them from being finished.
