It really was. It stinks we lost but two games w the Bills this year were decided by a net of 1 point and both went to the wire. They are better than us right now but not by a lot. And they are still my AFC SB pick (since prior to the season).
Part of me is really frustrated w Coach for throwing on 4 out of 5 3rd and shorts - which may have been the difference in the game. Part of me is saying, “wow, I haven’t been that into a meaningful fins game in a long time”. As a sports fan, you had to appreciate this game. It had everything - including snow. Playoff atmosphere. Big time players making big time plays - for both teams - the QBs, the big name receivers, Wilkins and Sieler, Phillips etc. I know it doesn’t feel like it but we forced 5 punts. Buffalo forced 4. Our inability to convert on those early RZ trips hurt us. Going for 2 when we did probably wasn’t the right call - and that hurt some too. But Buffalo had some self-inflicted wounds as well - running the punter, getting beat over the top by Waddle and Hill, shoddy tackling on Mostert’s big run. It was a heavy weight bout. It was exciting. It was fun. Can’t be mad about it like the prior two losses.
All of that said, for us to get to the next level we need better game management from Coach - both clock and play calling. I’ll leave it at that because I don’t want to derail my own post.
I thought we’d get killed. We almost won. We showed we are for real. We will make the playoffs. 2022 is not our year to win a SB but 2023 could be.
PS - every stat in the box score is close to even - shows just how close this game was
Part of me is really frustrated w Coach for throwing on 4 out of 5 3rd and shorts - which may have been the difference in the game. Part of me is saying, “wow, I haven’t been that into a meaningful fins game in a long time”. As a sports fan, you had to appreciate this game. It had everything - including snow. Playoff atmosphere. Big time players making big time plays - for both teams - the QBs, the big name receivers, Wilkins and Sieler, Phillips etc. I know it doesn’t feel like it but we forced 5 punts. Buffalo forced 4. Our inability to convert on those early RZ trips hurt us. Going for 2 when we did probably wasn’t the right call - and that hurt some too. But Buffalo had some self-inflicted wounds as well - running the punter, getting beat over the top by Waddle and Hill, shoddy tackling on Mostert’s big run. It was a heavy weight bout. It was exciting. It was fun. Can’t be mad about it like the prior two losses.
All of that said, for us to get to the next level we need better game management from Coach - both clock and play calling. I’ll leave it at that because I don’t want to derail my own post.
I thought we’d get killed. We almost won. We showed we are for real. We will make the playoffs. 2022 is not our year to win a SB but 2023 could be.
PS - every stat in the box score is close to even - shows just how close this game was
