Bills 32, Dolphins 29

After every game, WGR's game-day sideline reporter and commentator Sal Capaccio writes his "Arrows Up/ Arrows Down" column on the station's website. Topping the most recent Arrows Down list was the Bills tackling which was absolutely brutal on Saturday night against the Miami Dolphins. He ended the Arrows Down list with "whoever threw the snowball" which hit him square in the back of the head as he stood on the sideline during the first half. 

If the lake effect snow bands had pointed at Orchard Park throughout the entire game on Saturday night, and if the alcohol-fueled fans in the stadium had been throwing snowballs through heavy snow squalls, it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway. But the snow didn't come until the fourth quarter - at least the snow falling from the sky. As the Dolphins players and bench were being pelted with snowballs from the stands, coach Mike McDaniels spoke with game officials about the Bills being assessed a fifteen yard penalty if public address warnings to stop throwing snowballs were not followed. The game was paused and the announcement was made that if the snowballs continued, such a penalty would be assessed. It seemed to work for the most part. The key assumption of course was that it was Bills fans who were the guilty snowball-throwing parties but it occurred to me that if I were a Dolphins fan in the stadium, after hearing the warning, I would have thrown as many snowballs as I could and I would have encouraged my Dolphins fan brethren to do the same. As someone rooting for the visiting team, how great would it feel to know that my actions caused a significant penalty to be called against the home team? The obvious risk would have been the administration of vigilante justice against me which would probably have been swift and severe. I've seen it in action and it can be quite violent. Lucky that no player was injured and that the snowballs subsided. Had I been in my seats 23 rows up from the Dolphins bench, I probably would have been turned away from the field to see the incoming munitions rather than risk being hit in the back of the head by one of them. Snowballs seemed harmless enough in the schoolyard when we were in grade three but they can be dangerous if packed well and thrown from a height. Frankly, I was appalled. And relieved when it mostly stopped. I know that there wasn't time to clear the snow from the stands and I guess it's hardly surprising that many of the 70,000 drunk footballs fans chose to do what they did (this was not the first time) but it definitely wasn't Bills Mafia's finest hour.

Josh Allen, on the other hand, despite fumbling the ball three times (and losing one of them), had a stellar game, making enough spectacular plays to guide his team to a nail-biting if not thrilling and important win. The bottom line with Allen is that he is extremely talented, physically powerful and entirely fearless - a very difficult combination to defend against. After the game, he explained that on the James Cook touchdown with time expired in the second quarter, he knew that he had taken too much time scrambling to his right and that throwing across his body was probably an ill-advised move. I'd say that he has earned the right to try just about whatever he wants. As it turned out, his leaping two-point conversion - a play on which he fumbled the ball one microsecond after manoeuvring one or two of the dimples of one end of the football over the plane of the goal line to tie the game - wasn't needed after all. Tyler Bass's short field goal as time expired would have given the Bills a one-point win. Either way, the Dolphins covered the spread.

And the Dolphins certainly played well enough to win the game and appeared unfazed by the travel and short week they had or by the weather. The Bills simply could not stop Raheem Mostert who racked up 136 yards on the ground; Tua Tagavailoa endured the cold and the snowballs and threw the ball quite well; Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle looked dangerous all night; on defence, the Dolphin pass rush and run defence were both solid. They played like their season was on the line (which it more or less was) but they came up just a bit short. Younger Bills fans think of the Patriots as their team's nemesis but it was the Dolphins who won 20 straight times against Buffalo throughout the 1970s. Squishing the Fish remains highly satisfying for Bills fans - especially in winter conditions. The teams have played twice every year since 1966 and the Dolphins still lead the all-time series 62-55.

I had really hoped that the World Cup Final would not be decided by penalty kicks. Despite a highly compelling and high scoring 90 minutes of regular time and another 30 minutes of extra time, the rules say that there will be no further team play after that. For hockey fans in particular who have stayed awake into the wee hours watching three, four and even five periods of sudden-death overtime playoff hockey, this seems like a mysterious way to decide a World Championship. A friend who follows soccer like I follow North American football explained to me that a sudden-death scenario in soccer would result in the two teams each locking up into defensive shells which would put the ghost of Roger Nielson to sleep and that, quite literally, no one would ever score. So, forget that. But maybe extend the extra time beyond the first 30 minutes into another 30 minutes and maybe another after that. Or make the World Cup Final a best of three. Just figure out some way to avoid penalty kicks as the final arbiter. I was happy for Messi I guess. Too bad his extra time goal didn't stand as the winner.

The 11-3 Bills travel to Chicago for a 1pm Christmas Eve game which is critical for them but for the 3-11 Bears, only important for players looking to pad their stats and enhance their contract prospects for next season and beyond. With the Chiefs pulling out an OT win in Houston yesterday, Buffalo can not afford a lapse against a team they should beat easily.

 

  

Bills 20, Jets 12

Halfway through the second quarter of yesterday's game in Orchard Park, Buffalo journalist Jerry Sullivan (often quoted in this blog over the years) sarcastically tweeted "And they say soccer is boring". This was in reference to the game's first ten possessions which ended in punts - most of the way to the total of 14 punts in the game. The wet, snowy and breezy wintry weather was responsible for some of the offensive ineptitude but I chalk it up far more to two dominant defences. The Bills were able to find the end zone twice as part of four consecutive scoring drives which spanned the second, third and fourth quarters. An NFL classic it was not and both teams can lay claim to having played well enough to win the game. But the Bills defence made things difficult and extremely painful for the Jets and quarterback Mike White. 

Not that anyone was questioning Mike White's toughness before the game, but as Tony Romo pointed out in the broadcast, no one will be now. White took several shots to the right side of his ribs, had to leave the game twice and was taken to a local hospital after the game as a precaution before rejoining his teammates for the flight home. Despite the violence of the hits on White, they were all clean and legal hits which generated no penalties. Matt Milano's hit in particular was so jarring to watch in slow motion as White's body contorted and "rag-dolled" before he went down and out of the game. It was hard to watch. I wondered if most quarterbacks would have turned turtle rather than standing in there, delivering the pass and taking the Milano hit (and others). I admire his bravery. He may be wondering this morning if it was worth it. 

Statistically, the Bills offensive performance was anemic at best with 232 yards in total offence and 14 first downs. The league's best team on third down coming in, they went 2 for 13 yesterday. Stat lines like that are rarely seen for the winning team but the Jets didn't fare much better with 309 total yards and 19 first downs, many of which came on third and long conversions. The Jets dominated the time of possession too but fumbled the ball away twice in the second half while the Bills didn't give it away once. The defence stepped up on the Jets final possession, forcing four consecutive incompletions in the final minute of play. It was a nail-biter for Bills fans but, as the saying goes, good teams find many different ways to win. 

The history of conflict between England and France is obviously a long one with no less than 20 wars between the two from the time of the Norman Conquest in the 11th Century to the death of Napoleon in 1821. The present day 200 years of peace didn't come close to ending on Saturday in Qatar but English fans probably felt like they had lost another war to France. The two countries had only met in World Cup play twice before with England winning both times - in 1966 (when England won it's only championship) and in 1982. Poor Harry Kane. After the English striker tied the game early in the second half on a penalty kick, he had another chance late in the game to tie it again (or "bring it level" as the soccer term goes) but he fired the ball over the net. The French keeper guessed correctly by moving to his right and may well have saved it had it been below the crossbar but we will never know.

The soccer penalty shot is indeed a fascinating event although a tough way to decide a game. I have seen goals scored when the shooter goes for the middle of the net, firing the ball directly at the spot from which the goalie has just moved, having guessed either right or left. It seems like a good strategy unless the goalie shares the same strategy and decides not to move away from the centre of the net. It feels like success or failure on a penalty shot is as much luck as it is skill. Harry Kane's luck had run out and France moves to the semi-final against Morocco. A France v. Argentina Final would be good and I gather is considered quite likely.

The Miami Dolphins are probably just arriving home as write this at 6am Monday morning. After losing two games on the west coast, they have a short week of practice before flying to Buffalo on Friday (NFL teams always travel the day before game day) for an 8.15pm Saturday night kick-off . The contrast between the weather in southern California (and south Florida) and the dark, cold and hostile environment of Bills Stadium in western New York will present a massive challenge for the Dolphins. The Bills lost in Miami in sweltering September heat in week three so it seems just to play the rematch in opposite conditions. As long as the Bills keep winning, they will hold on to the first seed in the AFC. 

Bills 24, Patriots 10

The football gods were smiling on Buffalo yesterday and making sure that things went right for the Bills in Minneapolis, Cincinnati and Santa Clara. This Monday morning, the Bills occupy the first seed in the AFC playoff race and, if they can hold that seeding, they will have earned a first round bye and home field for two playoff games (provided they win the first one). With the cakewalk that is the Chiefs remaining schedule, the Bills will probably have to run the table over their last five games to remain tied with them with three losses. That will not be easy but they are certainly capable of it with three divisional home games remaining and trips to Chicago and to Cincinnati. 

Looking back to Thursday night's game in Foxboro, my question is this: Is Al Michaels just mailing it in now? I hesitate to criticize the iconic sports announcer  - he of the "do you believe in miracles?" call from the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics - but  his play-by-play call of Thursday's game in Foxboro, MA was, at best, sleepy and low key and, at worst, almost comatose. The game itself certainly didn't lend itself to uncontrollable excitement on anyone's part (even a hard-core Bills fan like me found the broadcast almost relaxing) as the Bills ground out a methodical dismantling of the Patriots in a game whose score was closer than the margin in play was between the two teams. But isn't that the reason why Jeff Bezos hired him? To make a mundane game feel like its worth watching? To present the uncompelling as must-see? And his colour commentator partner Kirk Herbstreit wasn't much better either. Herbstreit has built a long and successful career broadcasting college games and he is solid and knowledgeable but, for me anyway, as plain vanilla as they come. Compared to Tony Romo whose insights remain fascinating, he's dull and predictable. The pre-game panel is another story altogether. With Ryan Fitzpatrick and Richard Sherman in particular, they're worth watching. At 78, Michaels broadcasting resume is second to none in American sports. Maybe he should hang 'em up sometime soon. I don't know who Bezos would hire in his place. Anyone he wants to I guess. Maybe Al just had a bad night but this was the first of Amazon's Thursday games I've watched closely start to finish and I was decidedly underwhelmed by the two men in the booth. 

As for the game and how the Bills played, Greg Cosell (Howard's nephew) of NFL Films said it best on WGR on Friday: it looked to him that the Bills knew that they were the better team going in and they decided to just line it up and dominate the Patriots with a simple game-plan, more running than they usually do and score just enough points to make the Patriots realize that they were just not going to be able to come back with Mac Jones and a B-list of NFL receivers. That's how it felt too. The Patriots offence felt like it was whatever the opposite of threatening is - and un-explosive and pedestrian too. 

WGR played a small sample of some of the calls which came in to New England Sport Radio WEEI after the game and while Patriots fans are predictably looking to run Mac Jones out of town, there seems to be a growing sentiment that maybe Bill Belichick isn't the football genius he's been made out to be for the last 25 years. The team literally does not have an offensive coordinator and Belichick has appointed defensive specialist Matt Patricia to call the offensive plays. After all, he was the Lions head coach for three seasons. How did that go? Who knows how Robert Kraft will handle this situation but his fan base has enjoyed unprecedented success during Belichick's reign, they have come to expect it and they are restless now that their team has joined the other 31 NFL teams muddling through varying degrees of mediocrity from season to season. Apparently, there is talk of Brady returning to the team. Maybe he can play until he's 60. 

I've been trying to watch the World Cup and I've had some success but not that much. That Alfonso Davies goal to open the scoring for Canada against Croatia was absolutely brilliant and the obvious - and maybe only - highlight of Canada's first trip the World Cup since 1986. By the way, 1986 was not just the last time Canada made the 32-team tournament (until this year) but it was the ONLY other time they've made it since the quadrennial event began in 1930. As a watcher of North American sports, my uninformed observation of watching soccer is that it sure seems like it's just too hard to score. And, compared to the the professional sports I watch, soccer lacks a consistent sense of urgency in its play. Someone said that while North American sports "explode", soccer "unfolds". I just find it hard to watch teams commencing offensive thrusts only to turn back and regroup if they don't unfold exactly as planned. I said to myself at one point as I watched Canada lose 4-1 to Croatia that if they pass the ball back to their own goalie one more time, I'd stop watching. They did so about a minute later and I turned it off.  

The college football final four is set and Michigan seems to have drawn the long straw as they will face the TCU Horned Frogs in the first semi-final on New Year's Eve. They are early 9.5 point favourites. The other match-up is between Georgia and Ohio State. Big Ten fans are hoping for a rematch between the Wolverines and the Buckeyes in the National Championship Game and I think they just might get that. 

For the Bills, the stretch run begins Sunday in Orchard Park against the Jets who fell just short yesterday against the Vikings. We will learn in the next day or two exactly when the Dolphins will play the Bills in week 15. I expect that it will be dark and I hope that it's cold and snowy too. 

Bills 28, Lions 25

I wanted to wait until (1) the NFL's Week 12 was almost complete and (2) the critical college games on Saturday were played before posting this morning. The Bills, despite winning for the second time in five days at Ford Field to improve to 8-3, now stand 5th in the AFC playoff standings with two division games coming up, starting with another Thursday game - their third this season - four days from now in New England. The Chiefs hold the first overall seed at 9-2 with the 8-3 Dolphins holding the second seed. The week 15 game in Orchard Park on the weekend of December 17th/18th will be a big one for sure with the AFC East division title probably hanging in the balance. The league can wait until after this week's games (week 13) to announce the TBD portion of the schedule for week 15 with three games set to be played Saturday the 17th - early afternoon, late afternoon and a night game. Look for the Bills v. Dolphins game to be either the Saturday night game or the Sunday night game. If it ends up being slotted into either of those night games, my hopes of attending my first live game in three years will be dashed. Don't think I have what it will take for a winter night game and driving until 3am.

As for this weekend's games, let's start with the Vanier Cup. Here's a good football trivia question: Which game has a longer history - the Superbowl or the Vanier Cup? The answer is the Vanier Cup but only about three months longer. Superbowl LVII will be played in Glendale, AZ in February but the 57th Vanier Cup was played Saturday in London, ON. Neither holds a candle to the Grey Cup which, as of last weekend, now has a 109-year history. The Laval Rouge et Or won their 11th Cup (in 13 trips) over the Saskatchewan Huskies at Western Alumni Stadium (formerly called J.W. Little Stadium which makes me wonder if something in Mr. Little's history was unearthed and deemed to be unsavoury) before an announced sell-out crowd of 8,420. London is quite a hike from either Laval or Regina which meant that only a handful of actual fans of the two teams made it to the game. After we graduated from university, a group of us attended the Vanier Cup every year at Varsity Stadium in downtown Toronto. We stopped going after the first year that the game was moved to the canvernous Skydome where the combination of a small crowd and a closed roof made for the most antiseptic possible atmosphere (and a longer walk to the Morrisey Tavern). We would have driven to London if the Western Mustangs had made it but probably not otherwise. The Mustangs fell a game short of  Saturday's game which would have made it a "home" championship game for them. The weather certainly cooperated and in the images I saw of the stadium, it looked more full than Mosaic Stadium in Regina did the previous weekend for the Grey Cup. So ends another season of three-down football. I feel like the core group of Canadian football fans (of which I am one) has no younger generations coming behind it to take up the cause. Twenty years from now, will be talking about the 129th Grey Cup and the 77th Vanier Cup? I hope so but I'm honestly not sure.     

By several orders of magnitude, the biggest game on Saturday was played in Columbus, OH where the Michigan Wolverines won "The Game" (the 118th in the storied rivalry) for the second straight year and guaranteed themselves one of the four spots in the College Football Playoff, also for the second straight year. Attendance at the Horseshoe was 106,787. The Wolverines gained ten yards on the ground in the first half but finished the game with 252 as they physically dominated the Buckeyes at the line of scrimmage in the second half. The No. 1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs will also be in the playoff but the other two spots are still up for grabs and dependent on the Conference Championship Games this weekend. In the running are: USC and TCU with Alabama and, yes, Ohio State still with outside shots. The participants are chosen by vote rather than by competition on the field so there is no certainty about which teams will make it - except that even if Michigan loses to Purdue in the Big Ten Championship or if Georgia loses to LSU in the SEC Championship, they are both considered to have earned their spots in the four team playoff.

After every NFL, each team's head coach delivers a brief post-game speech in the locker room with cameras rolling. We rarely see them from the losing locker rooms (maybe after the Conference Championships or the Superbowl) but they offer coaches the opportunity to deliver an inspirational or congratulatory message which reflects their personality, coaching style and communication style. On Thursday afternoon in Detroit, Sean McDermott's speech was worth seeing. He started calmly, recounting the previous week's blizzard, two flights to Detroit and the life lessons that such adversity can offer. He then erupted in joy declaring that it was "One Hell of an Effort!" to the cheers of the half-dressed players surrounding him. It was great to see some emotion from the usually stoic and tight-lipped coach. He then offered "Game Balls" to No 17 for the clutch throw near the end of the game, to No 14 for the catch and to "our little kicker" Tyler Bass who sheepishly appeared from behind a couple of behemoth linemen to claim his game ball for the winning kick. I really do think that McDermott and Beane have built a positive and sustainable winning culture.  

  

Bills 31, Browns 23

When Rex Ryan was hired as Bills head coach in January, 2015, one of his first efforts to endear himself to the local fan base was to have his pick-up truck emblazoned with “Bills” along the sides of the doors at a local auto body shop. The car reflects the man, they say. I don’t know what vehicle Sean McDermott drives (a Prius or Chevy Volt?) but one of the first comments he made in his post-game press conference in Detroit was to tell the story of how on Saturday afternoon he drove his own vehicle to pick up Von Miller and Sam Martin (who live either next door to each other or very close by, being former long-time teammates with the Broncos) in their Orchard Park subdivision to get them to the team facility. A snow plow driver spotted McDermott’s vehicle struggling with the deep snow on his way out of the neighbourhood and proceeded to plow the way for them (after the requisite photo opp) back to the main road. McDermott said that almost every player, coach and staff member (most of whom seem to live in Orchard Park) had a similar story of their epic journey to get to the stadium (and the team bus to the airport) through two metres of snow on Saturday. Some almost didn’t make it.

The stories of personal journeys through the snow made me presume that the team received special dispensation from the New State Troopers and local police for an exemption to the driving ban which was instituted late Thursday evening as the snow began. The only vehicles allowed on the roads in Erie County from Thursday onward were snow plows, emergency responders and any vehicle transporting Bills players, coaches or staff. And the Buffalo Airport was also closed – except for the Bills charter to Detroit of course. The team arrived at their hotel in Detroit just before 7.30pm Saturday. The Bills ended up with about as much practice as they would for a Thursday game – just like they’ll have this week as they prepare for their second game at Ford Field in four days. As Sal Capaccio explained on the pregame radio broadcast, even if the Bills played in a domed stadium in Orchard Park, the game would have been moved (or postponed) anyway as the snow would have made it impossible for 70,000 fans to get to the area, let alone allowing access by first responders, police and emergency vehicles. Yes, the stadium will have to be shovelled out by hand but the roads around Orchard Park will not be clear of the two metres of snow for at least a few days.

56,000 discounted tickets to yesterday’s game were sold on short notice and in the true spirit of American enterprise, many were sold at considerable profit on the secondary market. Hey, I was trying to sell my own tickets too but ended up with just a credit on my season ticket account with the Bills. The crowd, according to Bills radio play-by-play man John Murphy was about 75% Bills supporters and 25% Browns fans.

As much as wanted to see the late afternoon Cowboys v. Vikings game and the Chiefs v. Chargers SNF game, I couldn’t turn away from the 109^th Grey Cup at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. For what seems like decades now, the CFL manages to cap off disappointing seasons (in terms of fan interest) with classic championship games which leave casual fans thinking that maybe the three-down game is actually worth watching – and maybe more than once a year. With a dramatic ending which included each team blocking field goals in the final minutes, the Toronto Argonauts, the least deserving team in the league on account of epic fan disinterest in Canada’s largest city, managed a thrilling one point win over the two-time defending champion Blue Bombers. Amazingly, in a nine team (and in some years eight team) league, the Argos and Bombers had not faced each other in the Grey Cup since 1950. The Argos have won the Cup each and every time they have faced the Bombers in the big game. The game was “sold out” but it was a heavily papered house with plenty of empty seats throughout the stadium (which is by far the best one in the league). As someone from Regina said yesterday morning, CFL fans in Saskatchewan might show up just to cheer against their arch-rivals one province to the east. Some did that I guess. I ended up watching most of the Grey Cup for the first time in a few years and I’m glad I did. Will I go to the parade? Will there even be a parade? Maybe Larry Tannenbaum could just drive down Bay Street one morning with the coach and quarterback in his car. I would go down to watch.

The Bills returned to Buffalo last night and will fly back to Detroit on Wednesday for Thursday’s 12.30pm kick-off against the Lions who have now won three straight, including yesterday’s win against the Giants. To sum up some of yesterday’s football: Buffalo beat Cleveland in Detroit, Detroit beat New York in New Jersey and Toronto beat Winnipeg in Regina.

After the Bills game Thursday, the biggest game of the year in college football kicks off at noon Saturday at the Horseshoe in Columbus. The annual Michigan v. Ohio State game has never had more riding on it as the winner gets a berth in the four team playoff. The loser will end up in some irrelevant bowl game or other over the holidays

Vikings 33, Bills 30, OT

I’ve been tuning in recently to the syndicated CBS Sports Radio programming which the FAN in Toronto carries very early on weekend mornings. When its 5am on a Saturday, the host’s job seems to be to float opinions which are controversial, provocative or otherwise inflammatory enough to cause North America's insomniacs and early risers to reach for their phones and call in to explain why the host is wrong. It usually works well enough to occupy the airwaves through these hours when the human spirit is usually at its lowest ebb. Last weekend, host Zach Gelb decided to tell his overnight listeners (Alan McPhee referred to it and them as “vacuumland” when he occupied CBC Radio’s overnight airwaves in the 60s and 70s) that the NFL itself is at a low ebb with fewer and fewer compelling games, explosive plays or memorable moments. He suggested that maybe the shrinking participation in tackle football in the US – from junior and Pop Warner programs to high school and even high level college programs – is starting to filter upward in the form of a watered down talent pool in the NFL. TV ratings are down a bit across the board this season for the NFL but even so, it’s televised games continue to dwarf any other programming on conventional television. Viewership for the Thursday night package is off sharply but I’d say that’s mostly because they are carried by Amazon Prime in the US and not on regular television at all. A slate of Thursday night clunker match-ups doesn't help either. I didn’t call in to disagree but others certainly did.

I wonder if Zach Gelb was watching the Bills and Vikings epic battle in Orchard Park yesterday – or any of the close games the Bills have played already in 2022 in Miami, Baltimore, Kansas City and New York. Anyway, Zach Gelb, I know you have to say things at 5am which you may not really mean but I have a feeling you’ll be casting yesterday’s game in a positive light one day when you’re fawning again over the juggernaut that is the modern NFL.

It’s great to have your team involved in games which become instant classics but I suspect that they’re even more satisfying when you end winning one of them. In retrospect, analysis of most close football games isolates a couple or maybe a few critical plays which, had they gone the other way, would have changed the outcome of the game. I can think of at least ten of those from yesterday: the interceptions in the endzone for sure, the Singletary fumble which if the call on the field had ruled him “down” would have stood as such, the Cam Lewis almost interception which ended up being a miraculous 32 yard catch by Justin Jefferson on a 4^th and 18, the botched snap, fumble and Vikings touchdown to name a few. The Vikings should have won the game in regulation if the replay officials had noticed Gabriel Davis’s non-catch with 17 seconds left which helped set up the tying field goal. In short, for viewers without a rooting interest, it was an exciting and at times even shocking game to watch - and easily the best regular season game of 2022. Just like the playoff game in Kansas City in January, it was a testament to how exciting NFL football can be. I’m sure that even Zach Gelb can see that.

After the game, I was in the car and well within range of the WGR radio signal. The fans were angry; some were apoplectic. This team finds new and different excruciating ways to lose games every year, they said. Add this one to the list of franchise heartbreakers. Sure. The bottom line, according to Chris Parker (aka Bulldog) is that with Josh Allen, we’re going to get plenty of spectacular plays but we’re going to have to accept a few “What the hell are you doing!” moments along with them. In some games more than others; maybe for a few games in a row (and we seem to be in one of those stretches right now) but overall, Allen needs to play with an approach somewhere between aggressive and reckless to be at his most effective. He played that way yesterday and he plays that way pretty much all the time. Most teams would take it in a heartbeat.

At 6-3 (the same record as they had after nine games last season) , the Bills, amazingly, have dropped to third place in the AFC East and currently hold the sixth seed in the AFC playoff picture. Four division games remain with three of those at home. Up next, their Lake Erie cousins and perennial NFL doormat, the Cleveland Browns, come to Orchard Park on Sunday. Four days later, they play the Lions in Detroit in the early Thanksgiving Day slot. They should end up 8-3 after those games but who knows.    

     

Jets 20, Bills 17

"Classic Trap Game" is the term that NFL touts will often use to describe a game against a lesser-light which comes right before one against a much better team. Is that what happened yesterday in the dystopic suburban wasteland of New Jersey? Did the Bills take the Jets for granted as they have had the luxury of doing over the past few years? I'm not sure that's the right take on it but I did have a feeling going in that this game was a huge one for the Jets and their coach Robert Saleh obviously had them ready for it. 

I will channel a bit of Pat Burns here in terms of the way he usually took a contrarian view in his postgame comments: If his team had won a close game, Burns might say "well, if we keep relying on our goalie like that, we won't win may more" and after losing a close game, it would be more like "the effort was there and we played well enough to win; if a couple of bounces had gone the other way....". This is a "glass half full" analysis but I think that yesterday's game is exactly what the Bills needed as they come to the halfway mark of the regular season. After four straight wins, a loss to the Jets should and I think will be a wake-up call as they prepare for the 7-1 Minnesota Vikings in Orchard Park on Sunday.

There are certainly areas for concern with at least a couple which have spanned the last two games. Josh Allen has had two poor performances throwing the ball and the run defence has been equally weak over those games as well. When quarterbacks throw to wide-open defensive backs who should be clearly within their line of sight, it certainly looks mysterious on TV. Did the receiver turn left when the play called for him to turn right? How is it that he didn't see that defender? A friend of mine is a big Steelers fan (and a bit of a conspiracy theorist) and after the January, 1996 Superbowl, he was convinced that Steelers quarterback Neil O'Donnell had been paid to throw interceptions at two key points in the Steelers loss to Dallas. "There isn't any other explanation for it", he said, claiming that it simply wasn't possible for him not to have seen those cornerbacks or safeties. The Cowboys won and whoever paid O'Donnell cashed in on it handsomely I'm sure. Good thing I lost touch with him because there's never been a better time to be a conspiracy theorist and I'm sure that he's deep into the vaccine question. But the run defence is another matter. No suggestion of the entire defence being paid to miss tackles. They were injury depleted - with more injuries suffered yesterday. Teams will be trying more than ever to run on the Bills so they better stiffen up. And I think they will.

When the Jets lined up to punt on a fourth and one at mid-field in the third quarter, I called the fake out loud. I know the dog heard me. It seemed obvious to me that this was the perfect situation for it and the Jets executed it perfectly. It wasn't a deciding factor but it added to the feeling of the inevitability of a Jets win, for me anyway. With a strong defensive performance and solid quarterback play, the Jets deserved to win the game and they are now a good enough team to follow through on it. Zach Wilson, despite looking weak recently, played well, made good decisions and threw no interceptions. Maybe he just wasn't offered proper compensation.   

Apparently, the CFL held their Division Semi-Finals yesterday and I also heard that TSN continues to carry these games on live television. If I were making the decisions, I would try to not to have CFL games - playoff or not - directly up against week 9 NFL games. And I mean directly as the Eastern game kicked off at 1pm and the Western game at 4.30pm. They might do better against US College football by playing on Saturday. Who knows. Same thing next weekend as the Argos host Montreal at 1pm and the Bombers play BC in the late afternoon slot. Plenty of good seats remain for the 109th Grey Cup in Regina the following week. The game is officially "sold out" they say but with many thousands of tickets available for cheap on the secondary market. 

US College football continues to offer plenty of clunkers on its Saturday schedules with the exception this past weekend being the game in Athens, Georgia between the top-ranked Tennessee Volunteers and the No. 3 Bulldogs. Georgia won and now occupies the top spot in the AP Poll. Michigan and Ohio State remain on a collision course toward their Nov 26th game at the Horseshoe in Columbus with the winner guaranteed one of the four playoff berths. 

The Minnesota Vikings have won six straight games. That streak ends on Sunday in Orchard Park, I like the Bills 30-17. And I like Kathy Hochul to win over Lee Zeldin on Tuesday. If Herschel Walker wins the Georgia Senate seat, comedians across the US will rejoice.