By Brandon Simmons
The Bills are Trying to Eat
The Buffalo Bills have been a surprise team all year and it’s still a shocker to me. At 8-3, the Bills are sitting nice at the current 5th seed spot for the AFC playoffs, mainly with one of the best defenses in the league. However, a lot of the attention is going to quarterback Josh Allen. The 2018 first round pick is quickly solidifying himself as this team’s franchise quarterback. The University of Wyoming product has a good arm, and from time to time, can scramble whenever needed for some extra yards. He has improved drastically from his rookie year. After 11 starts this year, he has an 8-3 record throwing for 2869 yards, 15 touchdowns and 8 interceptions on 60% completion; which can be compared to his 2018 record of 5-6, throwing for 2074 yards, 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions on 52% completion. Perhaps is learning curve could be helped by the aforementioned defense. The Bills are ranked in 3rd against the pass and have held 6 teams to under 200 yards passing, going 4-2 within that mix. This unit does not have a star name that rings out but it doesn’t really need it. Defensive linemen Shaq Lawson and Jordan Phillips have this team rolling with 12 combined sacks while linebacker Tremaine Edmunds leads the team in tackles.
Buffalo is playing like it’s trying to eat more than chicken wings in the playoffs, but they might just be limited to one plate. They have the third best record in the AFC, but are 2 games behind the New England Patriots, which is why they are 5th as opposed to 3. That 5 spot is pretty safe for Wild Card positioning but they are a team led by a young, playoff-inexperienced quarterback, who will have to go on the road and face some tough offenses. They are 4-1 on the road so far but that was against the New York Jets, New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins. The story could be different when they go on the road to see the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots. It could even alter their postseason chances if things go awry down the stretch. If the Bills hold on to their seat at the playoff table, they will likely leave a bad taste in their opponent’s mouth.
Ravens vs. Niners Sequel?
Last week, I brought up a stat about the Week 12 primetime games featuring playoff contending teams, all above .500, but San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens made that turn out into a total wash. However, it might have prompted the hype their matchup this Sunday but also for another game they could meet for in February. The Ravens and Niners are on a tear right now and have the perfect makings of Super Bowl matchup. Both teams have been beating their competition with stout defenses and led by young quarterbacks as well as smart coaches.
If you look at some of serious contending opponents of these two franchises, there’s not a lot in their way to get to that point in the postseason. The Ravens have ran through some of the top dogs in the AFC damn near flawlessly and QB Lamar Jackson is beginning to get into his passing form to deliver more downfield strikes. The Niners are in a similar mode as well; they have a stable of running backs that have been holding the offense down but seem to be getting more solid production from their wide receiver group. They have not beaten a lot of strong teams outside of the 37-8 demolishing of the Green Bay Packers Sunday night, but they seem to play dominant enough to the point where you want to believe they can take out any team in the league right now.
Should this matchup come into fruition, nobody is going to turn it down. Really, the matchups sell themselves individually. The number one ranked passing defense of the Niners looking to challenge Jackson to see if his arm is better than his legs, This 3rd ranked Ravens rushing defense is going to take the challenge of getting after San Francisco running backs Tevin Coleman ad Matt Breida, to slow down the 49er rushing attack. Something has to give, and each team will give us a look this Sunday when they meet up.
Steelers Brought Defense for Dinner
If you did not realize that the Pittsburgh Steelers were fighting for the final playoff spot while going through a semi-controversy at the quarterback position, you can blame it on the defense which is playing great. In their last 5 games, they have gone 4-1 and have held opponents to under to under 200 yards passing in 4 of those games. This stretch has covered up the fact that the offense has been struggling to maintain with injuries happening to key players, such as James Connor, who missed this past game with a shoulder injury. Connor’s absence has affected this offense tremendously. When he missed Weeks 9 and 10, the Steelers did not even touch 100 yards rushing. Not only that, the team just benched Mason Rudolph at QB after his performance against the Cincinnati Bengals this past Sunday.
But when your defense can get after the opposing quarterback and generate some turnovers, it almost doesn’t matter who is under center. This team is ranked 8th in the league against the pass and 2nd overall with 14 interceptions. Linebacker T.J. Watt is 3rd in the league with 11.5 sacks while newly acquired cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick is tied for the lead in interceptions with 5. This Steelers team is young on defense, so when Ben Roethlisberger comes back next season, it will be a solid core that can do some damage. Right now, they will still damage a lot of good teams to their level, which is a dangerous thing for playoff contenders at this point of the season.
Shoutouts/Shutouts
Shout out to Buffalo Bills pass rusher Shaq Lawson for reminding people of his name. Lawson was responding to some apparent trash talk by Broncos o-lineman Connor McGovern, which prompted this motivational moment:
Shut out to Washington Redskins rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins for his early selfie with a fan. Sunday, in the Redskins win against the Detroit Lions, Haskins skipped out on the final play of the game to take a selfie with a fan. I was reluctant to give this shut out to him, because it the Redskins and they don’t have many wins this year, but build better habits from here on out. Congrats on the win though.
Shout out to Lamar Jackson and Monday Night Football announcer Joe Tessitore. In the Ravens’ blowout win over the Los Angeles Rams, Jackson threw for 5 touchdowns. On his 5th touchdown, Tessitore coined the achievement by the Ravens QB as a Jackson 5. Yes, it was a little cheesy but it definitely flt right at the moment.
Shut out to the Sunday Night and Monday Night Football games being trash though lol.
Thanksgiving is upon us, but you might want to make sure you are in front of a TV by this weekend for some of these games. Of course, the Niners and Patriots are going to be a Super Bowl preview on Sunday at noon, so you might want to schedule your travel plans around that. The Browns are visiting the Steelers in a rematch of the “Helmet Gate” game from a couple of weeks ago. The Cowboys are hosting the Bills on Thanksgiving Day. It’s probably going to be the first time a lot of people get to see the Bills in action this season and judge for themselves how good this team really is. Also, these two teams have a reputation this year for not beating any quality opponents, so this looks like a big matchup for both squads on paper. This game is really going to tell a lot about how the rest of the season for these teams will play out. But until then…I’ll holla.