Written By Cullen Tonge
Sunday’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts was one that all Bills’ fans want to put behind them ASAP. Some even turned off the game before the end of the third quarter when the Colts went up 38-7. For those who didn’t stick it through until the end, the Bills ended up losing 41-15. For those who did, I’m apologizing on the team’s behalf. It was one of those games where the Bills didn’t show up when they absolutely needed to. I’d even say this goes beyond the players. The coaching staff also made some questionable decisions and those obviously bring consequences. These consequences not only hurt the Bills in the game itself, but more importantly, in the standings.
The loss dropped the Bills all the way down to the seventh seed in the playoff picture. That’s right; the Patriots are in first place in the division, have a half game lead on the Bills, and sit in third place in the AFC. In a week where the Titans lost to the Texans, beating the Colts would’ve put the Bills one game closer to the top spot. Instead, they fell to the wild-card spot and are holding on by a thread. With four of their next five games against teams who currently hold playoff spots, this team’s skating on thin ice.
Buffalo travels to The Big Easy for a matchup with the Saints on a short week this Thanksgiving Thursday. After that, they get a longer week to prepare for the Patriots who come to town for Monday Night Football. Just six days later, the Bills have to go to Champa Bay to battle their old nemesis and defending Super Bowl champion, Tom Brady. The Panthers, who, by the way, are just a half game out of the playoffs, then come to Buffalo before the Bills have to go to New England to battle the Patriots for the second time in four weeks. Needless to say, these next five games hold the fate of the Bills in the palm of their hands.
Obviously the two games against the Patriots are the most important of the bunch and I would go as far to say that in order to win the division and get an automatic playoff spot, you have to win both. The Patriots play the Titans this week in New England. Then, they head here to play the Bills. After that, Bill Belichick gets two weeks to prepare for Jonathon Taylor and the Colts in Indy. They then play the Bills again, the Jaguars, and finally the Dolphins. It’s quite clear the Patriots have the easier of the remaining schedule than the Bills – including a bye week. The Pats catching fire at the right time winning six of their last seven, with the only loss in that span coming in overtime against the Cowboys.
Forgetting about the Patriots, the Bills still have to worry about Pittsburgh, who beat them week one and are 5-4-1 on the season. The Colts and Browns are right behind Pittsburgh at 6-5. The AFC is a very tough conference where losing a game to the Jaguars can bite you in the butt…that is exactly what is happening.
Going 1-3 against arguably the worst division in football is unacceptable and we shall see what consequences that’ll bring. There are still seven games yet to be played, but these next five matter the most of any of them. There’s still hope for the division, but the Bills have to play flawless football for that to happen. If they don’t, they are going to need a lot of help to even get into the playoffs.
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