On fourth down, with less then a minute to go, Matt Ryan's pass misses receiver Taylor Gabriel but Bills rookie cornerback Tre'Davious White is flagged for pass interference, giving the Falcons a first down at the Bills three yard line. After the Bills spend their three time-outs, the Falcons score a touchdown with 48 seconds left, make the extra point, stop the Bills on fourth down on the ensuing series and win the game 24-23. Except there was no pass interference called and the Bills left Atlanta with what Jerry Sullivan of the Buffalo News called the team's biggest road win since 2011.
I generally like the idea of video review for challenges, turnovers and scoring plays. They do take time and they break the natural flow of the game but they usually get the call right. There were two reviews yesterday which I was convinced would go against the Bills but didn't. The first resulted in a Bills touchdown after what was ruled a fumble by Matt Ryan. I've seen plenty of theses kind of plays where, if the quarterback's hand is moving forward - and especially if that forward motion propels the ball forward in any way - the ruling is almost always an incomplete pass. The ruling yesterday must have been that Ryan had already lost control of the ball (which he had as it was clearly knocked out of his hand well before it began to move forward) before batting it forward like a desperate volleyball player using the third hit to get the ball over the net. Ruling: the call on the field stands: touchdown Buffalo.
The second replay review was on a Micah Hyde interception of another Ryan pass where Hyde appeared to trap the tip of the ball on the ground simultaneous with his hands grasping its sides. The ground can not be used to help make a catch - or at least that's what I was convinced would be the ruling - but the play which was initially ruled to be an interception was not overturned on review and the Bills had secured their third turnover of the game. A third replay review went against the Bills who had recovered a fumble after what was initially ruled to be an interception and was then correctly ruled an incomplete pass as the receiver never controlled the ball. Two for three on replay reviews. Had they lost either of the two which they won, the Bills would likely be 2-2 this morning.
It never ceases to amaze me how much the fortunes of NFL football teams can change from season to season (with the obvious exception of the Cleveland Browns who seem permanently mired in oblivion no matter how many times they change general managers and coaches or how many high draft picks they get year after year). After installing a new coaching staff and trading two of their top players in Sammy Watkins and Ronald Darby in the pre-season, this season looked like an rebuilding year for the Bills with a stockpile of draft picks coming in 2018 and 2019. But, after four games, the Bills look to me like they actually are good team right now. The Falcons came as close to winning the Superbowl last year as a team can come without actually winning it and they were 3-0 before losing to the Bills yesterday. Buffalo's only loss was to the Panthers who won in New England yesterday and they have also beaten the Jets who are a surprising 2-2 and Denver who won against the Raiders yesterday to improve to 3-1.
I sense that it won't be long before I receive an email from the Bills asking me for a deposit on tickets to a home playoff game, something that Bills fans have not witnessed since Jim Kelly's final game in December, 1996. A home playoff game is only possible for teams who win their division (with the extremely remote but mathematically possible exception of a fifth seeded wildcard team playing a conference championship game at home against the sixth seed). With the Patriots at 2-2, the Bills find themselves in first place in the AFC East at 3-1, a position they have not occupied this late in the season in nine years. Yes, I am projecting far too much at the one quarter mark of the season but I am feeling optimistic right now with my desire for important winter-time football in Orchard Park seeming a bit less like a wild fantasy than it did a month ago. There's still plenty of time for the team to come back to earth with a schedule which still includes a trip to Kansas City and two games against the Patriots. But the schedule looks quite manageable otherwise and I see no reason to think that the team can't stay competitive at least through November.
Up next is a trip to Cincinnati this Sunday before the bye week. The Bengals throttled the Browns in Cleveland yesterday for their first win of the season. Their anemic offence has looked much better the past two weeks after firing their offensive coordinator after following a week two loss.
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