The Buffalo Bills will be in Las Vegas this weekend to take on the Raiders and they may quite possibly be facing a “no-won” situation. Now, I know what you’re thinking. What the heck, Skare? The Bills are favored by 4.5 – 5.5 points against the Raiders and that says volumes, especially when the opponent literally resides in the home of “the books” that set those odds.
OK. Fine. You got me. I’m not talking about the scoreboard, where I agree with the oddsmakers. Buffalo can definitely win the actual
game. But we’re fans. There’s more to it than that and I don’t like this week because I don’t see an easy path for us to win…
The Narrative
It’s never too early to start thinking about the division and that’s currently a two-team race in the AFC East. While Buffalo currently leads the way, the New England Patriots are nipping at the Bills’ heels with a head-to-head win already. As of right now, we can’t let them pull even.
Yes, Buffalo controls their own destiny. Just keep winning and all is well in the standings but for now, we can’t escape the narratives. The Patriots made it to a Super Bowl before Josh Allen, a fact I detest. That’s led to all sorts of chatter, including opposing fans besmirching Allen and company who have been consistently excellent for what has now become ages.
That’s a huge part of the game for fans and I have a lot more fun when we’re more firmly on top. Against the Raiders, it’s going to take a lot to avoid that annoying chatter from increasing.
I sat around last Sunday hoping the 3 – 1 team from Las Vegas would put the 2 – 2 Patriots below .500, and I’m thinking Rumblers readers were too. Not only didn’t that happen, but the Raiders were flat out embarrassed by New England. Drake Maye threw for 374 with a near perfect passer rating and four touchdowns to zero interceptions.
Not only are the Raiders a common opponent between us and the Pats, but it’s happening in back to back weeks and it’s a comparison league. If we don’t beat the **** out of the Raiders, it’s only going to fuel the irritating chatter.
The Raiders allowed scores on seven out of ten drives. All but one of those drives was a touchdown. Their secondary allowed Maye 11 yards per passing attempt. Look at this passing chart!
It only gets more grim when you factor in the other side of the ball. It wasn’t like it was a shootout. The final score was 45 – 17 and one of the Raiders’ touchdowns was definitively garbage time.
So yes, the Bills are a game ahead, but to keep the chatter at bay they’re going to need to win convincingly. The Bills should be expected to win, but the Raiders are still a 3 – 2 team. Yes the wins come against teams that are a combined 1 – 14 (Dolphins, Chargers, and Saints). But they’re still wins. The Raiders also fought Kansas City to the end, losing by just a field goal.
For now, we may have to resign ourselves to a little more irritating chirping.
