Bills: Don't get excited yet for the playoffs

Going into the season, I was a firm believer that the Buffalo Bills needed to enter this grueling final stretch of the season with a minimum of 8 wins if they were wanting to make the postseason. 

With Dallas, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and New England on the late-season schedule, anything fewer was not going to cut it. 

The Bills survived the first leg of the gauntlet, and they looked good on national television doing so.

I'll admit, after their lackluster outing against Cleveland, which could still come back to hurt the Bills at the end of the season, I wasn't confident in their quest to make the playoffs.

They beat the Jets, the Giants, Miami twice, Cincinnati, Denver, Tennessee and Washington.  A 21-67 combined record, with only Tennessee a winning record at 6-5 among those seven teams.   And some of these wins were scary wins, wins where the Bills had to come from behind to narrowly win.  Like Week 1 against the Jets, and Week 3 against the Bengals.

Yes, they were competitive against New England, but their offense look lost in what resulted in yet another loss to the kings of the AFC East this century.  The same offense that looked anemic in their loss to Cleveland, a loss that gives the Browns the edge should the two teams have identical records after Week 17.

But something happened.   The offense started gelling over the past three weeks.   Their last three wins, against Miami, Denver and now Dallas, the Bills have started to piece together stable drives.  And as we saw yesterday, it's not just Josh Allen.

How good is this offense, though?   We're going to find out over the next three weeks.   Baltimore, Pittsburgh and then New England.  No easy feat there, and all Buffalo Bills fans can hope at this point is that their current cushion in the Wild Card race can be enough to clinch a playoff spot prior to Week 17, so that they don't have to sweat it out in the cold tundra of Western New York in late December against the New York Jets to finish off the season.

And the Jets know this storyline that's playing out for the Buffalo Bills.  They've been there before, in 2015.   The Jets blew their chance at clinching a wild card in a situation where they were in control of their own destiny and missed the playoffs when the Bills won 22-17 behind a Ryan Fitzpatrick three interception game.

And they would love nothing more than to do the same to the Bills this year on the final Sunday of the season.   Especially after Buffalo's come-from-behind Week 1 win where the Jets blew a 16-0 lead as the Bills scored 17 unanswered to win.

So don't start planning on January football for the Bills just yet.   One more win, and the Bills Mafia can start breathing easier.  We're about to find out for real just how much the Bills offense has improved since their losses to Philadelphia and Cleveland.

Johnstown Field Hockey: Life Lessons Learned

Johnstown Field Hockey Facebook Page | link

At the start of summer, they had no idea if they would actually play in the fall.

But thanks to the overwhelming support of the area, the Johnstown Lady Bills field hockey team not only made their backers proud, they made the community proud as well.

Not only making it to the State Semifinals this past weekend, but in the fashion that they clinched their spot in this past Sunday's championship against Bronxville through a game winning goal with seconds left in overtime.  And even though they did not leave Western NY with the championship plaque, they left Alden High School as champions in the heart of those who live in Johnstown.

It's a Hollywood-esque story.   With almost a Hollywood ending.

The Johnstown field hockey story should be one reminder about why athletics matter in the educational experience of a child.   Some may argue about what role playing a game has in the academic world, and may use those arguments to justify striking ink through the line item on a budget.

But what these girls learned in the past 5 months, is stuff that cannot be learned in a textbook.   They learned hard life lessons that some people won't learn until well into their adulthood.  The generosity of a community, allowing a second chance through donations to help keep athletics like the Field Hockey program going in 2019.  The community wasn't forced to part with their money.   The people who backed this team did so through the goodness of their heart.

This is in addition to the team-building that these girls learned on the field.  A field that if it weren't for the generosity of their backers, would of never been able to step onto.

And then this story would of never happened.

Athletics matter.