When the Montreal Canadiens won four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1976 through 1979, it was often said their top farm team, the Nova Scotia Voyageurs, were easily better than many of the weaker NHL teams during that period. The Canadiens organization was so strong and so deep that most players drafted by the club out of the Junior hockey ranks had little chance of making the big club - at least in the first few years of their pro careers.
Bills General Manager Brandon Beane has built possibly the best and deepest roster in the NFL over his six years at the helm. Yesterday in steamy Miami Gardens, FL that depth was tested as it had never been before over his tenure. I consider myself a fairly serious fan of the team but there were players taking the field yesterday, on both sides of the ball, whose names were entirely new to me. I'm not a serious enough fan to be familiar with the Bills entire Practice Squad roster but after the game yesterday, I think I probably now know most of them. And to think that with so many starters out going into the game and with so many more dropping in the south Florida heat as the afternoon wore on, they came within a play of winning the game. The team has faired quite well over the past few seasons in terms of avoiding multiple serious injuries (Tre White's knee ligament tear last Thanksgiving notwithstanding). This has been attributed to the team's top-notch training staff, physiotherapy program, kinesiologists, dieticians, sleep and hydration technicians etc etc. But more likely, in my opinion, is that they've just been lucky and the tables have clearly turned on them early this season. Let's hope that their version of the 1970s Nova Scotia Voyageurs can get the job done at least in the short term.
As with pretty much every close football game, if any one of four or five plays had been made or gone the other way, the Bills would be sitting atop the AFC East at 3-0 as the Dolphins are this morning: Allen was sacked deep in his own end in the first quarter and fumbled, gifting the Dolphins an easy short field and they capitalized accordingly. Matt Milano had a touchdown in his hands and dropped it. Tyler Bass uncharacteristically missed an easy field goal. Josh Allen also (1) had Isaiah MacKenzie open in the near corner of the endzone late in the game and threw the ball at his feet, (2) fumbled the snap at the end of the first half, costing his team a chance at a field goal (3) was flagged for a personal foul late for ripping a defender's helmet off, costing his team 15 yards on the final failed game-winning drive. Bass almost got a chance to win the game at the end as time expired just before a spike attempt.
The depleted Bills dominated the game statistically by outgaining the Dolphins by 285 yards (497 to 212), earned 31 first downs to the Dolphins 15 and held the ball for more than two thirds of the game. The Bills second string secondary held speedster Tyreek Hill to two receptions for 33 yards. Even though they lost the game, long-time Buffalo journalist and perpetual naysayer Jerry Sullivan tweeted "I'm even more convinced that they're the team to beat in the NFL." High praise indeed from the glass-half-empty Sullivan.
When Dolphins punter Thomas Morestead stood at the back of his own endzone late in the game, the television camera angle made it appear (to me anyway) like he had shanked his punt badly to the left and it looked for a second like the Bills would have excellent field position for a potential game-winning touchdown drive. But the play resulted in a safety as Morestead's punt landed a direct hit on the buttocks of his teammate Trent Sherfield before bouncing out of the back of the endzone. The "butt punt", as it is known this morning, will make all of the 2022 NFL blooper highlight reels when the season is done but Morestead redeemed himself on the following free kick by pinning the Bills deep - too deep as it turned out - for their drive for the winning field goal.
Things do not get any easier in week four as the Bills travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens. At least the heat shouldn't be as bad in the Chesapeake area as it was in Miami but Lamar Jackson will present a huge challenge for the Bills depleted defence. At least they will have a full week to recover.
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