To say yesterday, and the last 3 weeks, was "fun" and "impressive" would be colossal understatements. Take a bow Buffalo Bills!
Of course, no Super Bowl is won in the first 4 weeks of a season and it is far, far, far too early to declare victory on the 2023 campaign.
In the spirit of being wary of over-reacting or prematurely jumping to conclusions, let's check in on a few narratives that have been bandied about (some, even, by fellow Rumblers).
- "Diggs does not want to be here, should be traded / released, etc". - uh, no. Diggs has been awesome in every way possible, averaging 100 yards and a TD per game, is absolutely one of the best WRs in NFL, is our second best player (as he should be, as our second highest paid player), is our firy-est competitor, and is the single biggest reason (besides JFA himself) for Josh's ascension. We are lucky to have him.
- "Josh has no weapons besides Diggs" - uh, no. Diggs has been, by far, our best weapon, obviously. But he's "only" been 25.5% of our yards, and 28.5% of our touchdowns...again, he is by far Josh's best weapon, but he is not alone.
- "Dorsey is a terrible OC who should be fired (and BTW a massive downgrade from Daboll)" - uh, no. The balance, and results, of this offense have been elite. Period. We are second in the league in PPG (only because DEN allowed 70 to MIA). BTW the "unstoppable" (and admittedly great) KC Chiefs (more on that below) are a paltry 25.25 PGP vs. our 34.75 PPG (and BTW we're better on defense than them, too). To put that differential in context, if you subtract 38 points (which is how far they are behind us) from their 101, that would give them 63 points for the year, bottom 10 in NFL and a measly point above Jets, Steelers, Saints and Raiders ... all of whom are TERRIBLE offensively. Look, KC is defending World Champ, has been in 3 of last 4 SBs (and AFC CG in the "off" year) and won two. They ARE the standard. But so far this year, we have been better, there is no debate.
- "Our OL is terrible / needs to be upgraded / will get Josh killed / can't get a running game going etc." - uh, no. I don't have all the stats but Josh has had plenty of time, "only" been sacked 2.25 times per game (against some darn good DLs). These guys are doing fine, and I daresay are in top quartile of NFL.
- "Our DL can't get pressures / sacks and is Beane's biggest failure as far as resources invested vs. results" - uh no. Again, I don't have all the stats but (tied for) league lead in sacks, probably in pressures and QB hits, too or at least way up there, and quite decent against the run also. And our HoF DE starts practice this week, so yeah. BTW a lot of griping about the Ed Oliver contract - looking pretty decent so far.
- "Josh is overrated and is not in top 5 (or even 10!!!) QBs in the league" - I mean, good God this has been one of the worst takes / opinions of all. Yes, he single-handedly lost the game against the Jets but my God since then he has been absolutely magnificent - by far the best QB in the league the past 3 games.
- "Our defense is not as good as the stats, and is likely to decline due to the departure of Edmunds and the aging DBs" - uh, no. Second in league in PPG against (to DAL, which has been scary defensively). Even fewer points than the glorified (and very, very good Niners...who have not had to play MIA).
- "Bills Super Bowl window is CLOSED" - HELL NO!
Look, this team is not perfect, and we can't get too giddy over 3 early season games. It looks like we lost our best CB (and really a rock of our D) and our not so great run O and D appeared to be peeking their not so attractive heads yesterday, and all kinds of bad things can happen (as anyone who has been a Bills fan for more than 3 weeks knows all too well). But this team appears to be DESTROYING a bunch of the negative narratives.
On a side note, as much respect as I have for the Chiefs, I find it a little sickening how gaga the whole world is over them, which has obviously gone to a completely different level due to the Taylor Swift effect. In my own sick little mind I've said "good, it will perhaps take away their edge (mentally)", and it sure appears possible that may be the case. However, and I hate to sound like a whiny sore loser, but it sure appears the NFL's thumb is on the scale with them, perhaps now more than ever. Jet's fans are right to be furious about the back breaking penalty on Sauce last night, just as Bengals fans were right to furious about AFC CG last year. The refs have been fair in our games vs. them, thank goodness, and our losses to them can not be blamed on the refs, but I stress when the money is totally on the line, the league / refs will tilt the scales.
While I'm on this rant...how in the hell is it fair that KC plays Philly, Cinncy and us at home, and we are on the road for those games? And, how is it fair that our international game is against a team that has already been there for a week, and is favored to win their conference?
Anyway, the NFL tilting the scales is a worry for another day. Right now, the easiest thing would be to get a little too self satisfied, or even cocky, and throw up a dud in London against Jacksonsville. I am cautiously optimistic that will not happen, which is a credit to McD and the Team. On to London!
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