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In this case, he did the absolute right thing. It's working. You don't really have the wide receivers. Yes, they need better play from wide receivers. They need a better passing game. They're going to need it Sunday against the Bengals. I get it. But in that game you just kept doing it and doing it. Hey, everybody. Welcome Back to the Buffalo plus YouTube channel. I'm Mike Catalana. As always, please make sure to like, comment and subscribe. We are coming to you from the Connors and Ferris podcast studio. We are thrilled to be here with you to talk about the league podcast, talk about where the Bills are now coming off that win against the Steelers to start getting you ready for what they'll see with the Bengals. And our sponsor for the league, we are with Stellar roofing, windows and siding. We thank Stellar always for being with us. We appreciate their support and we're happy you are with us. Now, Dan and Jenna getting a veterans day off for this. So I get to come in and pontificate to you coming back from Pittsburgh. We were down there for the game, obviously. You could check out our post game pod. Getting ready for the Bengals this week. You're going to hear a podcast, what they're saying in Cincinnati with Dan Horde, the voice of the Bengals, a western New York Jamestown native who grew up a big Bills fan. And Dan gives us the insight on Joe Burrow, what he's meant to them coming back. So that's about them going forward. Before we get to our top five, bottom five in the NFL, I want to talk a little bit more about what we saw from the Bills in Pittsburgh, what it means for them now and what it means going forward. And I want to start with Joe Brady as the offensive coordinator and I loved his game plan on Sunday and here's what I loved about it. It's his game plan on Sunday against the Steelers. Joe Brady has not had what I would consider a great year. They haven't gotten the right vibe. He hasn't had the wide receivers. That group they put out there at wide receiver on Sunday was not great. I mean, we know where they are. Keon is back. We can, we'll talk a little bit about Keon and you know, you just got Brandon Cooks on the field and he played, you know, caught a pass and you know, you're trying to get Shakir involved. Shavers. I'll talk about all those guys. The game plan was very simple. How simple was the game plan? They ran the same play 29 times in the game. Do you know why they ran it 29 times in the game. Because it worked. And it worked again. And it worked again. It was James Cook, and I mean, I say Ray Davis had a few shots at it, too. It was the run game. It was the offensive line with the new guys out there. It was a lot of Jackson Haws. It worked. I know the Steelers are not good. The Bills pushed around that defense. The plan was good because it was like packers football in the 1960s. Just run the same play and see if they can stop it. They couldn't stop it. That's what a good coordinator does. In this case, he did the absolute right thing. It's working. You don't really have the wide receivers. Yes, they need better play from wide receivers. They need a better passing game. They're going to need it Sunday against the Bengals. I get it. But in that game, you just kept doing it and doing it. They were running. They kept pushing to the outside, and they were just. I. The Steelers were helping them. The Steelers D line shifts over. They were attacking to the outside, and James Cook got help. I mean, Alec Anderson played really well at that right tackle. And I believe Spencer Brown would have been doing the same thing or more. But give Alec Anderson credit. And Jackson Hawes, they were lighting people up, pushing that entire line with the way they wanted to go. And James Cook would get the cutbacks. And then sometimes when that. When they pushed back inside, he just beat everybody to the outside. It was smart. And the Steelers, I know they're not good, but they do. They do spend a lot of money on that line. Right. And so in that case, the Bills dominated them, ran all over them. Why do anything different? You know, you remember that game a few years ago, they played the Cowboys, the Bills did, and they just kept running it and running it and ran for, I don't know, the total amount. And it was like, yeah, it's working. Josh got in the news conference and he was like, yeah, it was working. I don't need to do anything differently. And the Bills did it. It was one of those games. I really do want to talk about Haas. We talked about it before the game, using him. He is a weapon in the run game when he's blocking. You know, it was impressive. And honestly, he's the most impactful draft pick in that game. I mean, Dion Walker played okay, and Max got less snaps, and I wanted to mention that, too. But, yeah, Jackson Hawes was a big part of it. And I don't know what the game plan is going to be Sunday. I know they're going to need to throw it more. I definitely know they're going to need to throw it and we'll see how that plays out. But I give it to Brady. Look, the man's coaching wife's going into labor. I'm going to give him that. That had to be quite a day for him. Fortunately, everything's great, baby girl. Congrats to the Brady's. The that's awesome. I'm sure that in whatever form, you know, I've been through it a few times. It's on your mind. I can't imagine what it's like to be away when that's going on. He's there with his team, met his baby daughter right after he got home. So great for him. But Joe Brady needed a day and I think he did it. And I mentioned it a little on the podcast, the reaction from the team to that win, that was they had a ball in this game. They had a ball. They stuck up for their quarterback, by the way, Cam Hayward. God, you've been around this league so long. I gave him more credit than he deserved. Stop your whining. We Jenna posted the video. Whatever Josh Allen did by laying on his back and moving his leg on Cam Hayward. Oh, he kicked me during the he's the quarterback laying on his back. Stop. Nonsensical. And to lose a game like that and to be whining about the other team's quarterback. And Josh talked trash to him. I said to my wife, I go, josh is the best trash talker in the league. She's like, josh Allen doesn't do. I go, yes, he does. The man talks some shit and he's doing it to D lineman and he got him to take a penalty seriously. And they took a cheap shot. I thought at by the way, I've mentioned this a lot of times in Jenna said cheap shot. That goes back to Tom Donahoe. Bill's general manager said that to me. He was not happy with something I wrote about him when he was GM of the Bills. We since had had nice conversations. I thought he was a, you know, good general manager. He's, you know, moved on in his life. I think he still might work for the Eagles in some form. But anyhow, he said it in that Pittsburgh accent, that's a cheap shot. And so there's a few of us that, that know that phrase. But they took a cheap shot at Josh Allen and everybody jumped up and all these things motivated them. That post game when those players are coming in and Alec Anderson's picking up Sean McDermott, the defense was fired up as they had fun. That was one of those games. It's a win. It's against a team they should beat. Was a team they were losing to at halftime. I didn't say it was perfect. I like the game plan on offense because it worked. If they don't turn the ball over twice and James had one of those, I think they get some points and then, you know. But the defense came through. Defense was good. Steelers offense stinks. I know that. But they dominated the Steelers offense, so all of that was good. I like the run game. I mentioned it. Oh, by the way, speaking of the run game, shout out to Tyrell Shavers. That dude, he is a very good fifth wide receiver on a team. Plays special teams, run blocks. He. I know it doesn't seem like much. He's running down there, picking up James Cook right away on a run play. The guy buys in. He runs those what they call Joe Brady routes where he's just clearing out for somebody else even if the ball's not coming there. That's the Matt Collins role. It is, yes. He caught one down the field. It would be good. Maybe he could come up with a few of those plays. But to do the dirty work, Tyrell Shavers does that without worrying about anything else. So shout out to him. The bar's low on Keon. I mean, you know, Sean's trying to pump him up like we're seeing encouraging things. I give him this. His one target was a touchdown. Kept himself available. Josh made the Play. One target, 33 snaps, one yard, one touchdown. It was maybe more than one yard. Whatever it was, more than one yard. We'll see where it goes. They need him on the field. They don't have other guys. You know, I didn't think they were going to sit him out, so he got on the field. Let's see where Keon is going forward and when. Then we'll see what they get out of Brandon Cooks. They're going to need some more. Maybe Kincaid is back this week. Let's see. Maybe Josh Palmer, I don't know. Let's see either one of those guys. I saw them both before the game, saw them after the game. Like, I'm sure they want to get out there. So let's see. I think Kincaid can be a difference maker for them. This is a young group of defensive players that's playing for the Bengals now when they play this week. So you can get some mismatches, maybe with the linebackers. I think that's a tough. He can be a Tough cover for them. So let's see if they get him back. But I, I like the run game. And my point to you guys is maybe this week they need to throw it. Let's see where Burrow is. You know, the Bills have had a good numbers wise, a good pass defense. They haven't played games against Burrow like they haven't played those guys, Ed Mahomes, but they haven't played against, you know, the TUA can throw the ball, he's got weapons, a few plays. But, you know, after the Lamar first game when they ran all over him, the offense hasn't played against the guy that's going to just go out there and try to pass it and light it up. And let's be honest, they ran on the Bills because you could run on the Bills. That's gotten better. Shaq Thompson's a big reason why that has gotten better. Guys got to play. I stick up for Terrell Bernard because I know the guy hasn't been healthy. Shaq's their best linebacker. Has been their best linebacker. Brings an attitude to this defense, no doubt about it. So Shaq's going to play. Shaq talked to the team, too, and I think he's one of those guys with the edge. You know, we've talked about it on this podcast. Or they need somebody that's going to stand up and say, get it together. Like, I need this. We need this. He didn't go into details, but I think he's been around long enough. And you have to be able to say that because you got to back it up by going out and playing. And he does. And I said it in the podcast after the game with Jenna, like, guys go backwards and you look and it's 45 hitting them. He just plays that way. And I don't think he seems like a guy who's been in the league, what, 12 years, doesn't look like it. Played a lot of snaps, 90 some percent of snaps in that game. Maybe he and Milano right now is the best combination. Dorian's going to play. I think when Bernard's healthy, he'll play. But I don't know if you could take Shaq off the field or if there's a reason to back to the offense real quick. I said maybe they need to throw more this week. But I think the way this team wins games and can beat anybody in the playoffs is a version of what we saw against the Steelers where you just, you just impose your will with your offensive line. You run the football and then Josh makes plays and that can be in the passing game. They're going to need. They're going to need more. You're not going to win three playoff games without throwing the football better. They need to throw the football. Josh needs to be a little better. He didn't throw it great. It was windy, made a few nice plays, made more with his legs. But I don't think the formula is 42, 34. Josh all over the place. Not with this group. Maybe next year when they change the wide receiver group and see what else changes. But right now, and I think it can work, I do think that's their best bet. But they got to be better on defense. So I mentioned Shaq, the toughness, all those things. Trey White played a lot of snaps. I, I think it might have been game plan wise because like Rogers is. Rogers hasn't been bad in the other ways with the Steelers this year. That team stinks. That offense stinks. Fans should be booing in Pittsburgh. So they just kept Trey out there. He made a couple nice plays, made a big play on when they got a three and out when they needed it. And Joey Bosa made a play. Now Joey Bosa is dealing with a hamstring. So we'll be at practice Wednesday to see where they are. But Bose's, that's what you want, right? He signed up for the guy, makes a big play, huge play in the game. And then Christian Benford was able to take it to the house. So Max didn't play as many snaps. I thought that would keep going up and up maybe this week against the guys they're going to throw out there. I will see what ends up happening with T. Higgins, but obviously you got to deal with Jamar Chase, who is, who is incredible player. So let's see how much it's Trey and Benford and how much Max plays. But I just wanted to shout out those guys for, for playing well. So again, it's going to be a fun atmosphere. Cincinnati is alive in that now, just falling apart. AFC North. You know, the Bills can basically eliminate the Bengals. Honestly, it feels that way. If the Bills beat the Bengals. I think their path to the playoffs is very, very difficult just because they have so many losses. I mean, they'd have nine losses, but I don't put anything past the Steelers and right now the Ravens in terms of losing games because especially for the Steelers and Lamar doesn't look healthy. But regardless of all that burrow, coming in to play against Joe, Josh Allen is going to be fun to see. All right, top five Bottom five for you. It hasn't been as much fun on the bottom five because there's some teams that are just sitting there all the time. You know, like the Titans. Show a little effort. I'm tired of giving them, you know, points for showing up. There's just some bad teams. Here's what I'm going to tell you. Jets aren't making my bottom five. Congratulations. Jets got a win. They got to win. Good for them. So I'm taking them out of my bottom five this week. Number five, I have the Falcons. God, talk about when you play them, not who you play. The Bills caught the Falcons when they were healthy and happy. And the Bills were awful in that first half. That team stinks. They stink. So, yeah, that loss looks bad on the Bill's resume because you look at what they are now. I put them fifth. The Cardinals are the Cardinals. They're just an irrelevant franchise to me. I just wanted to make sure they made this bottom five. So I have them at four. You pay no attention to the Cardinals. I pay no attention to the Cardinals. We'll put them at four. Three is the Titans. Just because they're losing, they're probably going to lose the most games. I don't know what they're going to end up with. A record. They deserve to be there. Oh, we fight hard, you know. Remember the Titans? Fine. We'll put them third. Second's the Raiders. Awful. I mean, they thought it was going to be something, you know, bringing in the old guys. It has not worked out. I think they want to lose. I think they need a quarterback, whoever that would be. So let's see how it plays out. And I got the Giants number one. I gotta tell you, thought there was this little chance maybe if that game was in New York, little chance against the Patriots that they would show up. They did so many stupid things. Let's start with a few. Jackson Dart is a talent. I guess we can still keep blaming Brian Dall as the reason he takes big hits. Dude, get out of bounds, all right? And I'll talk about the Patriots in a minute. Was dumb. He took a big hit. Their offense looked bad. The special teams were terrible. They gave up the punt. The kicker really basically stubbed his toe trying to kick a field goal. That might have been one of the most embarrassing things you'll ever see. They're down 17 7. They were driving. They got a penalty. They could have made it. 17:14. Looked like they were moving a little bit. I don't think they would have won the game. They get stopped. They try the field goal. He gets sacked. They get sacked on the play like the holder does. Just brutal, embarrassing. So it's not about Jackson. Dart. I think he could be fine. But you. You got to protect yourself a little bit. Coaches can only tell you so much. You're running along the sidelines, vulnerable, and he takes a big hit. So they were just awful. Their defense was awful. So I have them this week. Number one. Just because I kept the. The jets out. Top five pains me, and it's not with their record. This pains me to say. I have the Cowboys number five. And I think of it this way. Do you want to play the Cowboys right now? They're playing the Lions on Thursday night. Do you want to see them? Because their defense has got some juice now. They got Quinn and Williams. He's helping them a ton. They're getting. They're much better against the run. They're getting a pass rush. They're keeping that team in games, like, you look at the numbers. Their numbers are awful because their defense was awful, but it's much better. And that passing game right now is lethal. And I tweeted out on Thanksgiving, George Pickens is the best wide receiver in the league. Yes. JSN right now is the best. Jamar Chase, you're going to see him Sunday. Those guys are incredible. Pickens is just a beast at the moment. CD Lamb is really good, and right now he's. Pickens is the more dangerous player, and Lamb is really good. All right. Cowboys gave you your flowers there. They're five. I have the Broncos at four. They keep finding ways to win. I don't think they're great. I think what makes them difficult in the playoffs is going out to Denver is not easy. Bo Nicks made some plays, but he's flawed. The defense gave up a ton to Marcus. Mary Mariota, by the way, if you listen to that game, Mary Oto or whatever Collinsworth was saying. Where'd you come up with that pronunciation for the game? Anyhow, brief aside on that, I'll put the Broncos fourth because they keep winning, and right now they're battling the Patriots for the one seat. So we'll see. The Bears just. Just slapped around. My Eagles just beat them up. Impressive run game, pass game was okay. It was smart football for them. They. They had a turnover, but for the most part, they played solidly in the past game, made enough plays, and they pushed the Eagles around, ran all over them. That Eagles defense doesn't see that. I give them credit. Coming into Philly, the Eagles Offense is a mess, but their defense has been good and they just push them around. Something for the Bills to keep in mind when they play the Eagles if they're going to get their D line pushed around like that. So I'll put The Bears at 3. The Rams. I had the unequivocal number one last week and then I watched that game when I was in the press box in Pittsburgh and yeah, the Rams made the mistakes, a lot of mistakes. Matthew Stafford with three turnovers, a pick six, a bad fumble late and he's got dudes. The catch Nakua made, Devonte Adams. But their defense got lit up and Bryce Young was good, so that ends up being good. The Bills avoided Bryce Young. I don't know how good he would have been in that game when you're playing him, but he looked good. But the Rams did not and that hurts them. The Bears right now, they're. Those teams are fighting for the one seed and that's that buy. So I'll. I'll move them to two because they've been really good and I hate to do this to you Bills fans, but you know, it's coming right now. I'm going to give the Patriots number one. They were physical again. I know the Giants stink. I know, I know they played a terrible schedule, but they're playing the way you want a team to play. They are throwing the ball down the field. They are running it better. They are physical on defense and on special teams. I give it to variable. He's got that team believing everything now. Maybe it's early for them. Maybe. Maybe they won't be that team in the playoffs. Maybe if the Bills get the passing game going and they go into Foxborough, which they can clinch the division a week from Sunday. I'm recording this. They may have already changed that game. I don't know if they're going to flex that game whenever they play it. The Bill's got to beat them to avoid getting the division clinched in Foxborough. But they're going to win the division. I just think it's going to be very difficult for the Bills. They'd have to lose. They'd have to lose to the Bills. They'd have to lose to one of the other division teams and the Bills would basically have to win out. So regardless of that, they're good. I don't know if they're great. The quarterbacks could maybe really good. His wide receivers are making plays for him. Let's see when it gets ramped up against better teams and the Bills are one of those teams. So we'll see. We'll see them up close and personal. Look at me. I got to give the Patriots one and put the Cowboys in the top five. That tells you it's not been great. But Bills aren't there. They're right off the edge. They need more out of the offense and more consistency out of the defense. But maybe it's building and Sunday will be a big day. All right, that's going to do it for me. I pontificated enough for you. As always, please make sure to like, comment and subscribe we're coming to you from the Connors and Ferris Podcast studio and we are brought to you on the league podcast by Stellar Roofing, Windows and Siding. We thank them for being part of our team here at Buffalo. Plus Janet Dan ready to go. We will be at practice Wednesday. We got a lot of content this week. Live podcast Thursday night we will be in this studio Connors and Ferris podcast Studio live. So we'll be taking your comments and questions Thursday. We'll we are in Webster, New York a week from Thursday at Hooligans. We'll talk more about that. So if you're in Western New York, we're coming to Buffalo the next week so we'll be at Riverworks. So we've got all that going on but right now we're getting you ready for Bills and Bengals. Also make sure when it's out this week you check out the what they're saying in Cincinnati with Dan Horde. So I'm giving you all kinds of promos and getting you ready. So thanks for being with us and we will see you the next time. We'll see you on Buffalo plus.