Good Teams Win Ugly
As a fan of football, watching the Bills vs Titans this past weekend was not very enjoyable. There were untimely penalties, terrible offense on both sides and tons of punts. However, as a Bills fan it was beautiful.
No I am not happy with the way the team played or even having to sit through the game but good teams like the Patriots, Packers and even the Broncos with Peyton Manning’s dead arm find ways to win games that they shouldn’t and Buffalo found a way to do that on Sunday which is very encouraging.
By no means am I saying that the Bills are a good team, although I do believe they are above average but it is encouraging knowing they are a good enough team that even when they play bad they still can put themselves in a situation where they can win the game.
The defense played great all game. They kept it close despite being on the field for large chunks of the game which was probably exhausting. If my memory serves me correctly in the 1st quarter alone the Bills only had 6 plays and held the ball for a little over 2 of the 15 minutes.
It’s become pretty obvious that the Bills are in dire need of their playmakers back. Without McCoy and Karlos Williams the running game just isn’t the same and I am the biggest Boobie Dixon fan there is so I am rooting for the guy. With both McCoy and Williams healthy the Bills have the type of thunder and lightning running combination which can be very dangerous. Shady is shifty and when Karlos gets going downhill he is like a steamroller. However, the real missing link is Sammy Watkins. No he is not having a great season so far but he is the #1 decoy in the NFL this season. Teams still have to pay close attention to him and sometimes double him and that opens up the underneath and out routes for Percy Harvin and Charles Clay. Watkins just being on field instantly makes both Harvin and Clay better.
Tyrod’s performance was beautiful which makes today’s news that he is out with an MCL injury even more painful. Why does God seem so intent on preventing the Bills from having decent QB play for a prolonged period of time? Tyrod could not get much going in the passing game but he had three huge runs of over 20 yards with one going in for a score and other being on a critical 3rd and long. Even when he got knocked out of the game for a play with what was obviously a painful horse collar tackle (and later would be confirmed to be an MCL sprain). However, Tyrod only came out for a play and pushed through the pain to lead the Bills the rest of the way to victory. His leadership and willingness to play through pain is very encouraging because that type of behavior tends to rub off on your teammates.
On Sunday, I was just as frustrated as the rest of Bills fans with the performance of the team on the field and their continued knack for committing untimely penalties. However, while reflecting after the game I realized that these are the type of games that playoff bound NFL teams eke out. In today’s NFL you need to win at least 1-2 games a year that you don’t deserve to in order to have a good chance at making the playoffs. The Bills have their first of the 2015 season and hopefully that is a good omen towards ending the NFL’s longest playoff drought.
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