The play which ended the Bills season was an interception thrown by Nathan Peterman and one which, with application of a strict interpretation of the meaning of a catch by the league officials in New York, could have been ruled incomplete on review. A fitting last play on both counts. I still held on to the fantasy that Peterman would be given another shot which would be a touchdown pass to Zay Jones to tie the game. But I also thought that if the Bills had won yesterday, they would have carried that momentum to Foxborough and dethroned the Patriots. Then the Steelers. Then the Vikings. They just fell a few steps short is all.
This was an infuriating game to watch for fans of both teams and probably only those with large wagers on the under found any satisfaction in it. Although the defences looked competent yesterday - if not quite good at times - the anemic performances by both offences made for generally excruciating playoff football viewing for those who made it all the way through. With the exception of a fourth down strike for the game's only touchdown, Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles looked like a recent call-up from the practice squad until he realized that running was really his best option. Tyrod Taylor looked a bit more polished for his part but with a receiving corps which is barely NFL worthy, he was unable to engineer the kind of scoring threat that wins NFL games. I wonder if his last play in a Buffalo uniform will turn out to be the one which knocked him from the game after his head was slammed backwards into the turf, and making way for Peterman who did what he has shown that he does best.
The Bills have a load of draft picks over the next two years, including picks 21 and 22 in the first round of this April's draft. I expect that one of those will be a quarterback. If Taylor does leave the team this off-season, I will remember him as someone who comported himself with dignity and professionalism in a Bills uniform - sometimes in the face of intense criticism. When he was benched in Los Angeles a few weeks ago, he handled it like a pro and went on to play well for the rest of the season. And - I will say this quite possibly for the final time - he always protected the ball and I always loved him for that. Speaking of professionalism, yesterday was probably the last game for Kyle Williams who wanted to retire a year ago. He has been the anchor of the defensive line since 2003 and will be missed.
Now that it's done, the 2017 Bills season has to be rated as a success with a drought-breaking trip to the playoffs even after appearing to opt early on for a rebuild strategy by jettisoning top players for draft picks. The current coaching staff and general manager have changed the culture for the better and Bills fans will be looking for more progress next year. I for one will want to see evidence that a division title (and the home playoff game that goes with it) is within reach.
A note on television advertising: I watch on an HD antenna so during NFL football games, I get the US network commercials, many of which are not carried on Canadian simulcasts that most viewers see (but most Canadian sports fans will have seen the ads on other broadcasts). Without using any proper methodology but based on ads I have seen broadcast during this NFL season, I have concluded that the most competitive industry in America has to be property and casualty insurance. Nationwide has a series of spots this season with Peyton Manning and Brad Paisley; State Farm uses Aaron Rodgers and Clay Mathews; Progressive doesn't use football players but has featured "Flo" since 2008 and everyone knows that no US insurance company has a larger advertising budget than GEICO. The combined annual network television spending of these four firms alone is obviously massive and I wonder if one of them might consider unilaterally disarming from some of its television spending and actually offering lower insurance rates instead. If 15 minutes can save you 15% or more on car insurance, imagine how much you could save with a company that you've never heard of and that doesn't spend many tens of millions (or more) on television advertising.
Look for one more post this season: the Superbowl edition on February 5th.
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