Bills 38, Jets 3

Terry Pegula's first choice for the relocation of last night's game was, apparently, Beaver Stadium at University Park which is in State College, Pennsylvania in an area also known as Happy Valley. It's where the Penn State Nittany Lions play their home games on Saturdays and where Jerry Sandusky perpetrated his evil deeds against young boys, under the not-so-watchful eye of Joe Paterno. PSU is Pegula's Alma Mater and Happy Valley is about a 2 hour drive from Orchard Park. It seemed like a good choice but the league would not approve it because the stadium lacks the communication and video infrastructure for NFL coaching staffs and CBS broadcast requirements. The Rogers Centre was also considered but it was in mid-preparation mode for a music and dance event called "Sensation: Into the Wild". The Carrier Dome in Syracuse was hosting several indoor hockey games over the weekend and logistical considerations would have made it impossible to host the game before today, Tuesday, at the earliest. So, the league settled on Ford Field in Detroit, an modern indoor facility which was available and able to accommodate the Bills requirements for the usual video review and analysis which is part of any team's weekly game preparation. The team and its 53 players, coaches and staff extricated themselves from the snow in Buffalo and flew to Detroit on Friday. Roger Goodell looked a bit nervous in a sideline interview with Steve Tasker as he emphasized that the league did not want a football game to interfere with the needs of western New York citizens.

I liked Scott Chandler's touchdown celebration which was a snow shoveling motion, after he spiked the ball. Then, the disaster that is the New York Jets did the rest as the Bills cruised to their easy win in their first, albeit unscheduled, appearance on a Monday night since 2009. Robert Woods had by far the best game of his career with 9 catches, including a spectacular one-handed grab along the sidelines which wasn't quite as impressive as Odell Beckham Jr.'s catch on Sunday night but was still worthy of inclusion in this season's Bills highlight reel. The defence was solid once again and the Bills had their first blocked punt for a touchdown since 2004. EJ Manuel even came in and performed three successful hand-offs on the last offensive series.

Around 9.30pm, CBS scrolled the result of the Ferguson, MO grand jury deliberations which were that no charges would be laid against the white police officer who shot an un-armed black teenager in August. Overnight riots would ensue in the St. Louis suburb as they would in other US cities. Race relations still have a long way to go in the US, regardless of the specific facts in this case.  

The next challenge for Ralph Wilson Stadium and for Erie County is to get the stadium and surrounding area in condition to host a game five days from now. Temperatures reached 65F in the Buffalo area yesterday and there is just no way that the satellite parking lots (most of which are grass fields) can be in any condition to have cars parking on them on Sunday after seven feet of snow has melted on them. The stadium will probably be fine as will the paved lots directly surrounding it but for those going to the game (which I'm hoping will not include me), I would suggest that parking will be limited and extra time should be allowed.

The Bills are now 6-5 and were certainly hoping that the Saints could knock off the Ravens last night, one of the many four loss teams in the AFC playoff hunt. The Ravens won and remain a four loss team. The Bills chances at a playoff spot remain slim but still alive as their Lake Erie cousins, the Cleveland Browns come to Orchard Park on Sunday. The Browns, coached by former Bills defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, are another one of those four loss teams and obviously have a lot to play for.