Raiders 26, Bills 24

Bills defensive tackle Marcel Dareus is signed through the 2015 season, after which he will be an unrestricted free agent, having completed his five year contract. If I were his agent, I would be approaching Doug Whaley this week to discuss an extension. His bargaining position peaked after he left yesterday's game in Oakland with what looked to be a knee injury. With Dareus no longer plugging up the interior of the Bills defensive line, the Raiders began to run the ball seemingly at will which, as it always does, opened later opportunities in the passing game as they officially ended Buffalo's slim playoff hopes. As soon as Dareus left the game, it was like the team collapsed. The Raiders offence moved the ball and their defense stopped the run and found their pass rush too. A late touchdown by the Bills made the score close than the game really was. Just before the Raiders converted on a third down and 22 in the fourth quarter, I jinxed it by saying that if they made it, they deserved to win the game

So, the Bills continue to extend the NFL's longest current playoff drought as they will have to wait until at least next year to play their first post-season game since the Music City Miracle some 15 years ago. CBS decided to show that infamous play near the end of yesterday's broadcast to remind Bills fans of just how long it's been. It looked like footage from a different era (and I guess it was) as it was non-HD. Rob Johnson was quarterbacking the team that day in Nashville (and ironically led the team to what should have been a playoff win) in case anyone had forgotten his name. Now that the Bills have been eliminated, I no longer need to worry about the Bengals losing twice or about needing two teams to tie - or, for that matter about trying to win in Foxborough next week.

Doug Marrone will surely be back next year. But Bills fans will wonder who will be under centre next September. Will EJ Manuel start on Sunday in New England and begin the process of earning his starting job back which he lost after week 4? Or will the team try to ride the workmanlike Kyle Orton again? With no pick in the first round of next year's draft, it is possible that the franchise quarterback could be found in the second round, but it doesn't seem likely. How would this year's team have done with an elite quarterback throwing to Sammy Watkins? The Bills very good defense will be a year older next year and the window may be closing on players like Kyle and Mario Williams. Or not. Teams can change so much year to year but the Bills seem to swing between simply being bad and then being mediocre or slightly better. The defining play this season was Bryce Brown's fumble on his way into the endzone against the Chiefs.

I felt a little sorry for the Arizona Cardinals last night. They had a chance to clinch home field and a good chance to be the first ever team to play in a Superbowl in its home stadium. But a third string quarterback going against the Seattle secondary had no chance and now the Seahawks look like they could be the league's first repeat Superbowl winners since Denver in 1999. And if the Broncos lose tonight, the Patriots wrap up home field advantage through the AFC playoffs and look to be a good bet to get back to the Superbowl and maybe even win it for the first time in 10 years.