Just when you thought the game was going to be a blowout for the Patriots when they went ahead of the Buffalo Bills 21-0 in the first half of Sunday’s game at Gillette Stadium, the Bills pulled another rabbit out of their helmets. Old folks like me need a disclaimer from the front office in Buffalo warning us to watch this team at our own risk.
Televisions across Western New York’s Cardiac Care Units probably went suddenly blank by order of cardiologists and rightfully so. I’m not convinced this version of the Buffalo Bills may increase the death rate of their fan base before the regular season is over.
I’m not going to rehash all the analytics that blew the minds of prognosticators who gave the Bills a prayer’s chance in hell of winning the game when they hit the locker room down 24-7 at halftime.
However, what I will do is share how one old fan of this team spent halftime pacing on our deck in Wyoming trying to decide whether I had the stomach to watch the second half.
To the best of my aging brain’s recall, I’ve never walked away from a Buffalo Bills game during the existence of this franchise. Sabres games are another story :)
While debating the merits of whether or not it would be a good idea to return to the game, I thought about how frustrating this team has been over the years. So close you could taste a championship so many times… perhaps almost as close as the New England Patriots thought their team was to clinching the AFC East title on Sunday.
The Patriots may very well win the AFC East title for the first time since 2019. But, as Sean McDermott said earlier in the week about this game, the Bills are on their own journey.
And what a hell of a ride it’s been so far this season.
As I continued to take in some fresh air, I thought about that ride and why I somehow made it this far as a Buffalo sports fan. Loyalty beyond the pale has always been my calling card. No matter how dysfunctional the relationship, I will be loyal, sometimes to my own detriment. It’s been my own personal journey moving toward a more functional relationship with loyalty.
At this point I realized the third quarter of the game must surely be well underway. Do I bolt and just take the dog for a hike and work out my frustration getting some exercise, or go back and likely frustrate myself watching New England pull out the hats and tee shirts, kissing the AFC East title goodbye?
Completely expecting the score to be in the 38-7 range, I tapped on my phone.
Patriots lead 24-21.
WHAT?
James Cook scores on a three yard run to bring Buffalo within three points of tying the game. Then Dawson Knox scores his second TD of the game and the Bills get their first lead of the game, 28-24. But New England persisted and TreVeyon Henderson scored on the kickoff return. Patriots up 31-28.
By this time, I was almost ready to puke along with Josh Allen. Thankfully at least I didn’t have national TV examining my stomach contents.
Tossing his cookies aside, Allen engineered another masterful drive capped off by James Cook’s third touchdown of the day… an 11 yard rush that cinched the game 35-31. But not before the defense managed to hold off the Patriots for the remaining six minutes and 48 seconds.
Whew.
Mind boggling comeback victories are hard on us old people. Josh Allen is not only making his own case for a second MVP, he’s making his case for why he’s right to criticize the Bills’ fanbase for leaving games early this season. If that game on Sunday wasn’t a lesson in staying to the end, I don’t know what to write here.
What I will write is this. Joe Marino on his Locked on Bills podcast Monday gave a very logical explanation about why the Buffalo Bills are a “tale of two halves” kind of football team. He said the Bills’ coaching staff have to coach above the talent of the players on defense.
Buffalo is so impaired by injuries to Ed Oliver, Michael Hoecht and others on defense, it takes the defensive coaching staff until halftime to figure out how to scheme this defense into proficiency. Think about that the next time you want to rip the coaching staff.
The Bills will travel to Cleveland next Sunday to take on the Browns. If I make it that far I’ll be sure to sit tight throughout the entire game.
Editor’s babble: I was going to title this post “Bills trying to kill off elderly fans” but my husband thought that was a bit dramatic. You can find more of my blabber on Xwitter @RobynMundyWYO… and check out our Tee Time with Robyn podcast on most Thursdays live on youtube. Have a great holiday season and Go Bills!
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