Bills Could Play Spoiler, But Season Still a Disaster
The Bills are not a playoff team at 7 and 8, and despite all the hype you will hear this week about Rex Ryan having a shot to derail his former team’s playoff run next Sunday at the Ralph, it won’t change the fact that Ryan’s Buffalo express has been a hit-and-miss bust.
Despite the disastrous season, a win over the 4 and 11 Cowboys and a chance to beat the Jets gives Ryan something to shoot for in a season that will mercifully come to an end after Sunday’s game and we can all get back to the all-too-familiar “wait-‘til-next-year” talk.
While Rex is talking cautiously about the Jets game—probably because he’s afraid he won’t be able to deliver—there’s no question that a victory against the team that dumped him would help a little in terms of revenge. But the 10 – 5 Jets under a new coach and with good old Ryan Fitzpatrick behind center, can guarantee a playoff spot by beating the Bills, and my guess is they will.
The Bills do have a strong ground game and a slightly above average quarterback, but the team’s ability to deliver the goods is strictly hit-or-miss, and the lack of discipline that has plagued the team all year is not likely to disappear against the Jets. A wet field and lots of wind are what the Bills need to control the ball on the ground and keep their defense off the field against Fitzpatrick’s high-powered offense. Buffalo won’t outscore the Jets, but maybe they can control the clock and give themselves a chance.
There are probably many of us here in Western New York who will be silently pulling a bit for Ryan Fitzpatrick on Sunday, given the fact he gave us his all when he played for Buffalo and he has never made it to the playoffs despite an above average 11-year career. And this season he has strong weapons in his arsenal, including top receivers Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker, and no one could ever question his heart. He came up big again last week in leading that overtime drive to beat the Patriots and he has tied the Jets single-season record for touchdown passes (29) with one more game to go.
It may be big game for Rex Ryan against his old team and for some Bills players who hope to come back next year and will be playing for a job. But the fact is the game means a lot more to the Jets who can clinch a playoff spot with a win than to the Bills who will be heading for the bus. At least there’s something more than Rex’s revenge angle on the line in what otherwise would be a totally meaningless exercise like the muddy win against Dallas.
My feeling is Ryan Fitzpatrick will show up Sunday and the Bills will finish at 7 and 9, a fitting record for a team that just couldn’t get it right. Rex will have another preseason to sell tickets and my guess is fans will line up and go for it. What choice do they have? Maybe the Bills can build on the longest playoff drought in North American sports—15 and counting—and we can look forward to another “wait-‘til year” postseason, a ritual we know all too well.
