In 1995, after two seasons as head coach, Wade Phillips was fired from the Denver Broncos. He was replaced by Mike Shanahan who has led the Broncos to two Super Bowl victories and one of the most consistent teams in the league. The Buffalo Bills, on the other hand, have not had the same fortunes after they fired Wade Phillips after the 2000 season.
Buffalo has not made the playoffs since 1999 and has not won a playoff game since 1995. What once was a team that won four consecutive AFC titles now was another constant rebuilding franchise going through coach after coach and quarterback after quarterback.
Going into this season, it was announced they would begin playing some of their home games in Canada. That just seemed to put the nail in the coffin in Buffalo’s legacy.
- B/R Ticket Guide
But things took a turn for the better for fans of West New York’s team. As home underdogs to Super Bowl hopeful Seattle, the Bills pulled off a stunning upset. And not some win the game on the last play of the game upset (hello, Carolina). They hammered the Seahawks, dominating them in every facet of the game in a 34-10 thumping.
Now it’s not just Buffalo’s great play as much as the competition they now face in the AFC. With Tom Brady injured and the Patriots squeaking by the Chiefs (who didn’t see that game as a blowout), not only is the AFC East up for grabs, but perhaps the whole conference.
Indianapolis and San Diego, the other two teams that rounded out the perennial AFC favorites, lost at home. Add to that their division, which features a still rebuilding Miami Dolphins team, and a New York Jets team that was one failed two point conversion attempt away from losing to those Dolphins.
Of course, this was just week one and there is still a lot more football to play. But walloping the Seahawks is a great start for a potential sleeper.
comments (7) write a comment »
write a new comment
2 months ago
The Bills beat a disoriented Seahawks team at home. The Seahawks had no receivers and Marcus Stroud ran over Rob Sims (who played through a torn peck) the entire game. The Bills also got some good/lucky breaks on special teams. I think there are still a lot of questions to be answered from the Bills.
"You don't win the Superbowl in one week."
from 2 months ago
Funny, nobody was discounting the victories over the Bills last year when they had 13 players on the injured list. The sign of a good team is one that wins all the games that it is supposed to win and some of the games it's not. Good/lucky breaks on special teams? WTF? Not sure what game you were watching, NFC, but what specifically was luck? So the fact that Buffalo's special teams have been ranked at or near the top of the league for the last few years is all based on luck? A 21-20 win can be characterized as luck. A 34-10 win is simply an a$$ kicking. I agree it was only one win against what I am convinced is a horribly overrated Seattle team. But it was a win nonetheless.
from 2 months ago
Being a Bills fans my entire life, I have watched this team struggle over the last decade and each year knew that weaknesses in this team (mainly the lines-offensive and defensive) would be exposed and the team would be mediocre. Marv Levy addressed the O-line during his tenure as GM and the D-line was addressed this off-season. Injuries hurt this team immensely last year, but the talent was in place. Barring any major injuries, the 2008 Bills will be a playoff team. Bills have had the #1 special teams unit for the past two seasons and they are their way to #1 st unit for the 3rd straight season. The Bills are talented, young, and well coached and are going to be are force in 2008 and beyond.
Florida Bills Fan
2 months ago
the bills were missing some players too and useing rookies in and out of the lineup i gess the cowboys were real lucky last year when thay played the bills last year because the bills hade a bunch of players out hert
from 2 months ago
man,i wanted yhe bills to inthat
from 2 months ago
sorry about the first post,(my cat attacked the keyboard)what i meant to say ,i was pulling hard for the bills to kick dallas buts.still a good try . this year y'all really got a shot and not just because of brady going down.your front office has done a great job.they are putting a really good on the field, but the phinns won't be a cake walk anymore
2 months ago
Enough is enough about how you can not put stock into the Seahawks game. Since when has Haselbeck ever had top flight WRs? If I am not mistaken the 'Hawks defense was healthy and it was the Special Teams that did most of the damage.
I still do not think the Bills are the team to beat. We will have a better idea after this Sunday. Esp seeing as how the Pats and the Jets are going head to head aswell. If the Bills win this week I would like to think that we can roll into the bye week 5-0.
Then we can talk about who is the team to beat.
write a new comment