With three games remaining, the Chiefs schedule gets a little more difficult now: home to the Texans, at the Steelers then at the Broncos. Conversely, the Bills schedule gets a little easier: home to the Patriots and Jets then at the Patriots. At 13-1, the Chiefs are well-positioned to earn the top seed in the AFC playoff bracket, two games ahead of the Bills. For the Bills to jump ahead of the Chiefs, they must sweep their remaining games and hope that the Chiefs lose two of three. This scenario is certainly possible but probably not likely.
With another stellar performance yesterday in Detroit, Josh
Allen took another step toward earning MVP honours for 2024. His likely closest
competitor, running back Saquon Barkley of the Eagles, ran for a rather
pedestrian 65 yards yesterday in a win against the Steelers. While Allen didn’t
post numbers quite as eye-popping as Jared Goff did yesterday, he did manage
362 passing yards with two touchdown passes, two rushing touchdowns and, once
again, no turnovers. Goff came within six yards of hitting 500 and had five
touchdown passes in a loss. Allen’s quarterback rating of 122.4 was slightly
better than Goff’s 118.9.
Over the last two weeks, the Bills have played in the NFL’s
two highest-scoring games this season. They have become the Edmonton Oilers of
the 1980s who seemed to win every game 8-5. The offensive juggernaut they clearly
are led Lions coach Dan Campbell to try an onside kick early in the fourth
quarter with his team down by 10 points. It backfired as Mack Hollins made an
athletic play by recovering the kick and returning it deep into Lions territory
setting up another touchdown – this time a five-yard pass to Ray Davis. One
strange statistic from the game is that Bills receiver Amari Cooper had no
touches on the day and no targets either. James Cook continued his strong play
with 105 rushing yards and two touchdowns of his own.
Recent polling of NFL fans clearly indicates that the
preferred Superbowl match-up is Buffalo v. Detroit. Neither franchise has ever
won a Superbowl and the Lions have never been to the big game although they
came close last season, losing the NFC Championship Game to the 49ers after
blowing a 17-point lead. Football fans have grown tired of seeing the Chiefs -
just as they grew tired of the Patriots a decade earlier. If yesterday’s game
was any indication, a Superbowl between Buffalo and Detroit might be one of the
highest-scoring championship games ever, with two outstanding quarterbacks with
weapons to match.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell is the face of Detroit’s
franchise and his turnaround of the team which in 2008 lost every game to
finish 0-16, has resulted in him being handed the keys to the City. On our
satellite television service, US network affiliates originate from Detroit and
Campbell can be seen all over the airwaves in local business television advertising,
from law firms to car dealerships to retail stores. Every business in the state
of Michigan would welcome his affiliation with their brand. He has endeared
himself to the Lions fanbase by imparting his own physically imposing,
gruff-voiced tough guy persona on to the identity and character of his football
team. When he was first hired in 2021, he talked the talk as they say –
referencing kicking opponents in the teeth and “knee-capping” them - and he has
clearly now shown that he can also walk the walk. The team’s results speak for
themselves, with the Lions now standing at 12-2 and remaining in position to
earn the first seed in the NFC playoff bracket. But with yesterday’s loss, they
are now tied atop the NFC with the Eagles with their division rival Vikings
likely to join them in a three-way tie with a win at home over the Bears tonight.
Last season’s implosion in the NFC Championship Game notwithstanding, the Lions
haven’t enjoyed success like they have under Dan Campbell’s leadership – at
least not in the Superbowl era. The team joined the NFL in 1930 and won four
NFL Championships in the 1950s, most recently in 1957.
In a couple of hours, early on this Monday morning, I’ll be
having what is, by my count, my seventh colonoscopy. Every three years since
the age of 40 is what’s recommended for those like me with a strong family
history. I stuck close to home yesterday and, yes, everything came out
according to plan. By far, the best part of the entire preparation process and
the procedure itself is deciding what to eat once its done. Thinking omelette
or maybe a cinnamon roll.
The Bills return home next week for a game against the 3-11
Patriots. They are early 14-point favourites. I’m surprised to see that the Chiefs
are two-point underdogs at home to the Texans on Saturday. Expect that line to
tighten as the week goes on.
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