How is Buffalo 9-3?

[brdmaverick]

I'll be the first to admit that I expected the wheels to fall off the wagon by this point in the season.

Typical Buffalo (especially with an unproven quarterback) would typically fold by this point in the season.

I can't be the only one to share these thoughts as they are getting very little respect nationally as a contender. It will be interesting to see them play the Cowboys tomorrow on turkey day. Where I would have expected myself to be rooting for them at this time of year out of pity, I feel I have to root against them solidify our own cause for the number one seed.

With two losses back and not being taken seriously, they feel like they are well in the rear view mirror, but if they find a way to beat us in our next head to head (I know, I know, not likely), this could be an nail biter to the finish.

You don't have to like Buffalo, but I have to respect the fact that they have an 8-3 (edit: 9-3 now) record at this point in the season. I don't care who they've played, last year it wouldn't have mattered who they played and they would have lost anyway. This year it's a different story.

They are having what feels like a 2001-esque Patriot-like season, where tehy casually go about their business and rack up the wins while the rest of the league is scratching their heads.

 

[primetime]

Bad schedule and a pretty good team? Josh Allen's probably the best QB of his draft class to this point, as wild as that may be.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

To their credit, they are winning the games they should. But they still haven’t hit the hard part of the schedule. The only team they’ve beaten with a winning record is Tennessee and the next 4 teams they face currently have winning records so we’ll see how they fare.

 

[Kontradiction]

Bad schedule and a pretty good team? Josh Allen's probably the best QB of his draft class to this point, as wild as that may be.

 

[everlong]

With their remaining schedule of: @Dallas, Baltimore, @Pitt, @NE and NYJ they pretty much are going to have to go 3-2 which means Dallas (less rest to prepare), Pitt and the Jets are all must win games. Even the Jets aren't a gimme the way they've been playing and they played the Bills tough week 1.

That Pittsburgh game is likely the swing game that they really cannot afford to lose. They also have to hope the Titan, Colts and Texans split their remaining games against each other or the Jags knock them off.

 

[sb1]

Their strength of schedule is .338 last in the league. They played only 3 teams with winning records and have beaten one of them.

 

[primetime]

View attachment 25283

Oh yea forgot lol

Okay second best

 

[maust]

Legit D, minimal mistakes, solid coaching and beating the teams they should.
Much will be made of the schedule but with the distance between the haves & have nots in the AFC there's plenty of tomato cans to go around for all the decent teams in the conference. Although TBH the AFCE did get a leg up facing this year's NFCE.

 

[jah]

Bad schedule and a pretty good team? Josh Allen's probably the best QB of his draft class to this point, as wild as that may be.

Eh, their defense is great but Allen's job would be in jeopardy if not for a few factors that have nothing to do with his play (such as draft status, lack of other options, everyone in the media having a boner for him, and their defense setting his bar low).

Honestly, I see them as a poor man's version of our current team with a different offensive structure (they run first, we were pass first at least without Wynn). Almost the same set of opponents. Through that lens, it makes sense they'd have ~2 less wins than the Patriots.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

Allen has cut down on the turnovers the last month or so,

 

[Ring 6]

I'll be the first to admit that I expected the wheels to fall off the wagon by this point in the season.

Typical Buffalo (especially with an unproven quarterback) would typically fold by this point in the season.

I can't be the only one to share these thoughts as they are getting very little respect nationally as a contender. It will be interesting to see them play the Cowboys tomorrow on turkey day. Where I would have expected myself to be rooting for them at this time of year out of pity, I feel I have to root against them solidify our own cause for the number one seed.

With two losses back and not being taken seriously, they feel like they are well in the rear view mirror, but if they find a way to beat us in our next head to head (I know, I know, not likely), this could be an nail biter to the finish.

You don't have to like Buffalo, but I have to respect the fact that they have an 8-3 record at this point in the season. I don't care who they've played, last year it wouldn't have mattered who they played and they would have lost anyway. This year it's a different story.

They are having what feels like a 2001-esque Patriot-like season, where tehy casually go about their business and rack up the wins while the rest of the league is scratching their heads.

Look at who they have beaten.

 

[PatsWSB47]

Look at who they have beaten.

Well yeah but they are a legit NFL team this year. Last years Bills might be under 500 with the same matchups

 

[upstater1]

Their defensive backfield is excellent, which allows them to take many chances with their front seven. They have a lot of good players on the back end. It makes their defense tough in a bend-but-don't-break kind of way.

They are very susceptible against good running teams though. It's the achilles heel on defense.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

I'll be the first to admit that I expected the wheels to fall off the wagon by this point in the season.

Typical Buffalo (especially with an unproven quarterback) would typically fold by this point in the season.

I can't be the only one to share these thoughts as they are getting very little respect nationally as a contender. It will be interesting to see them play the Cowboys tomorrow on turkey day. Where I would have expected myself to be rooting for them at this time of year out of pity, I feel I have to root against them solidify our own cause for the number one seed.

With two losses back and not being taken seriously, they feel like they are well in the rear view mirror, but if they find a way to beat us in our next head to head (I know, I know, not likely), this could be an nail biter to the finish.

You don't have to like Buffalo, but I have to respect the fact that they have an 8-3 record at this point in the season. I don't care who they've played, last year it wouldn't have mattered who they played and they would have lost anyway. This year it's a different story.

They are having what feels like a 2001-esque Patriot-like season, where tehy casually go about their business and rack up the wins while the rest of the league is scratching their heads.

Much higher probability of them missing the playoffs altogether than winning the division. The schedule was laid out earlier in this thread, and it seems likely they go 9-7 or 10-6. Opponents do matter here, and I’ll be really surprised if they go 3-2 against Dallas, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, New England, and the Jete. 2-3 or 1-4 seems much more likely. I think the safe money is on a 10-6 playoff bid, where again their opponent and venue will very much matter. Well played season for the Bills in not throwing away any games to bad teams, but still a lot to prove. Their defense is tremendous, but they have Josh Allen.

 

[Ring 6]

Well yeah but they are a legit NFL team this year. Last years Bills might be under 500 with the same matchups

I think a .500 caliber team would be at least 7-4 with their schedule Other than Tenn hey have beaten horrible teams.

 

[TB_Helmet]

I don’t mind it if for no reason other than it calms down some of the “Patriots play in a weak division” talk.

When you rank all divisions by winning percentage of the bottom three teams in games outside their division, the AFC East fifth. That’s right in the middle. The Bills having a good record probably preserves that.

This assumes of course that they don’t somehow catch us in the standings this year

 

[captain stone]

Their record should be no better than 6-5...but because it's 8-3, they actually think they're somebody now...how feckin pathetic.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

They'll end up 9-7

 

[Soliel]

Never fear. They’ll blow it at a time of their choice

 

[supafly]

For the most part, my initial feeling is that they’re doing it with smoke and mirrors, but let’s just see how the next few games play out before we pencil in the divisional crown. Luckily, our coaching staff and players will never look past them. If they pull off the upset tomorrow, things might start to get interesting.