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Buffalo Plus: A Buffalo Bills podcast
The Bills 'DON'T BLINK': JOSH ALLEN and Buffalo's DEFENSE pull off CRAZY COMEBACK vs Patriots
00:24:15
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- [00:00]
A
That first half, I was like, credit to New England. They're moving the ball, they're scoring, all that stuff. But this was big boy football in the second half. And the Bills can play like.
- [00:18]
B
This is the Buffalo plus podcast.
- [00:22]
A
Welcome back to the Buffalo plus podcast. Mike Catalana. I am Jenny Cottrell. Dan Fates back in Western New York. Please be sure to like, comment, subscribe as well as share. Bills getting the win here at Gillette Stadium. 35, 31. Buffalo moving to 10 and 4 on the season. Michael, this game was drunk.
- [00:43]
B
It was. But I thought it was a different kind of Josh Allen comeback. Yeah, it was. How do I say this? We get to compare all the Josh Allen comebacks. Like the Baltimore game, insane. The Tampa game, back and forth Cincinnati game. They got that help on the defensive. Touchdown. This one was drive down the field. Touchdown drive down the field. And I'm saying it five straight times.
- [01:07]
A
Yeah.
- [01:08]
B
And then, by the way, the guys on the other side of the field decided to play defense in the second half. And it was a wild difference between first half and second half. Just awful to awesome. Just like that.
- [01:21]
A
It was one of those games where so a lot of my family, they are New England fans. And I got a text message from my uncle when it was 21, nothing. And he's like, oh, look who's gonna need a box of tissues. And I said, I said, I said.
- [01:33]
B
To him, I said, such an uncle thing to say.
- [01:36]
A
I said, I'll text you when I'm worried. Never texted him. There is something about this team. They did it against the Ravens. We saw them do it against the Bengals last week. They just have that poise. And Shakir Khalil, Shakir talked about it, halftime, where this team was at.
- [01:53]
C
Such a chill vibe between everybody on this team, no matter what the score is, like, it's crazy. You're down 247 and everyone's chilling or like it's early. I've said it a thousand times, but as long as there's time on the clock, we know we have a fighting chance. Just the guys we have on this team. So everybody's pretty relaxed, you know, it's a pretty cool thing.
- [02:15]
B
So when I'm listening to Shakir and he's telling me that, I'm thinking, oh, my God, imagine what the people at home would watching the game or even here in the state. I'm going to assume you were not chill watching that team in the first half.
- [02:27]
A
I'm. I'm going to be honest for this team. I just felt like it Was all going so bad. It was so brutal. I mean, the run defense was atrocious. It felt like they really couldn't get any momentum going on the offensive side of the ball. How many, like, how many rushing yards did they give off in the first half?
- [02:41]
B
Like, 170, 177, I think it was at halftime. They had given up missed tackles. Brutal. And they were making the mistakes, the penalties, the inconsistent. Even. Even Josh made a one bad throw. Brandon Cooks didn't hold on to the ball like that first drive. Great catch by the Patriots. Moodie makes the catch, and then Brandon Cooks spins around, can't hold onto it. It was like whatever could have gone wrong seemed to go wrong. And they even gave up a field goal at the end of the half. So it's 247 at the break.
- [03:13]
A
It was. I wonder what they do at half, because I know, I know there's the joke about, like, there's not a lot of time. So I think it's one of those moments where it's like, stop. What is it? Score. Stop. Score is what they always say. But I think it's a little bit of that. Like, are you really going to play like that in the second half?
- [03:31]
B
So let's start with the second half kickoff. Ray Davis. And it's funny even I talked to Shakir, and then afterward, he's like. I said, how about that Shakir Ray play? He's like, the guy's awesome, isn't he? Isn't he awesome, is what he's telling me. And then so he makes that run, and then boom, boom, boom. Josh takes him down the field, and I'm like, okay, but let's see the defense. And then they send Milano. I don't know what they gave Milano for breakfast today. He and Trey moved the clock Back to, like, 2019 today. Trey's interception was great.
- [04:02]
A
Yeah.
- [04:03]
B
He had pass breakups.
- [04:04]
A
Oh, oh, a light down.
- [04:08]
B
You got it.
- [04:09]
A
Okay, we're gonna keep talking. Yes, go ahead.
- [04:11]
B
Just gonna keep going. In fact, I'm gonna.
- [04:13]
A
Actually, honestly. Yeah, let's do that. This is why you watch Buffalo. Plus, the light looks so.
- [04:23]
B
It looks like the bell's in the first half, and this light looks like the second half.
- [04:26]
A
We're pointing, too.
- [04:28]
B
Those guys played great. Milano was flying and you said he was talking.
- [04:32]
A
He was. That's the most I've honestly ever heard him talk. He was jawing back and forth. So specifically, I think Mac Hollins is one of those players that when he's on your team, you love him. When he's not. He gets under other guys skin. And you could say there, there was a lot of smack talk back and forth but truly that is the most I've seen Milano speak at all during a game. But you could tell there's moments where it was very personal for him. But yeah, he had a couple of great sacks. Just the, the phys, like that pressure that he brought, the tackling that you saw Trey White's interception. Overall, like this team, they have something special. Because I will give the Patriots a ton of credit. Early in that, that first half I was like, credit to New England. They're moving the ball, they're scoring, all that stuff. But this was big boy football in the second half and the Bills can play that game well.
- [05:21]
B
It was methodical for the Patriots in the first half and I didn't think, I thought Drake May looked very much in control. Nothing spectacular. Ran the ball, got those couple of opportunities, ran it in twice, made a beautiful throw early in the game, didn't make any mistakes. And it was like, this is too easy for this guy. Now I will say this, I think he's a talented guy. I think he has the ability to play and I think he's going to be a guy that Bill's got to worry about for a while. It's not there yet, right? It's like people crowning him. This was a moment for the Patriots and I talked to a lot of Patriots people that were like, okay, well, want to see what the kids got?
- [06:01]
A
This was a litmus test for me.
- [06:03]
B
And so for this moment in a big spot that Josh Allen has been so many times, it was a stark difference between the two of them in the second half.
- [06:11]
A
Well, early on, Drake May rushing touchdown chance of the mvp. Another rushing touchdown MVP chance here in Foxborough. And I remember being like, mvp. Okay, we'll see. You know, Josh is the reigning mvp. And then what Josh did in the second half, you said the five straight touchdown runs for this team.
- [06:31]
B
Yeah, five drives in a row end of the first half and then four straight in the second half.
- [06:35]
A
Incredible. It's. It feels different. Does that make sense?
- [06:44]
B
What feels different?
- [06:46]
A
It feels different because I, I feel like in the past this team is like pulled it out of their ass sometimes. And it's like you're like, all right, they can't keep doing this. I don't know why. If maybe I'm just desensitized because I've seen it so many times. But this team keeps doing it and the confidence level that they have and the composure that they have down the stretch. And I look at the playoff picture right now, obviously the Chiefs were just eliminated from the postseason.
- [07:10]
B
Just sweat. Let's just pause for a second at that. That sounds.
- [07:14]
A
So we're not sure about the Chief. Like Mahomes injury. That looks pretty bad. You don't want to see that. But like the fact that Kansas City has been knocked out of the playoffs.
- [07:23]
B
Takes that off the plate.
- [07:24]
A
I tweeted out the Grinch smile. I've just felt like the.
- [07:27]
B
Oh, and by the way, the Ravens must have played well. They shut out the Bengals, I think. Or they were shutting them out and they play the Patriots next week.
- [07:35]
A
Yeah. But in terms of the division, for the Bills to win the division, New England still needs to drop another divisional game.
- [07:41]
B
Yes.
- [07:42]
A
So they would either need to lose to the jets or the Dolphins. More likely the Dolphins, obviously. But that's not till week 18, so there's that.
- [07:49]
B
So it could. They could keep this in play the rest of the way through.
- [07:52]
A
But do you know what I'm talking about?
- [07:53]
B
Well, I know exactly what you're talking about because here was the difference in this game. Even the Cincinnati game last week, like, you're scared to death. Bengals are going to get the ball back.
- [08:01]
A
They fumbled at the goal line.
- [08:03]
B
Right. You had all in this game that second half. Yes. That touchdown by the Patriots, I think. I don't know. I don't know if it was on A.J. he's supposed to be protecting that backside there. He came inside and the guy went right around him. And so he takes it for the touchdown. Other than that, they totally shut down the Patriots in the second half. Totally. And when they got the ball back twice, Bill stopped them both times. Bosa with the huge play, the deflecting the pass. And then they stopped him again. And then they just ran out the clock. The Ty Johnson run, all those things. Usually their games, you know, they won the Baltimore game, the deflected pass to Keon. Right. They have always something wild. No, this was boom, boom, boom, boom down the field and an actual good defense in the second half.
- [08:50]
A
But do you think that there's something to that in a way that's been different in years past? Like, I have. I'm always confident in this team in the postseason because you have Josh Allen. But I just feel like the way this team is winning this season, it just feels like. And especially with how the other quarterbacks looking out there in terms of the postseason picture, to me, it's like I got that kernel of hope.
- [09:12]
B
Yeah. No, I am with you on that.
- [09:14]
A
It'S actually more than a colonel.
- [09:15]
B
You know what it is. So I asked Bosa about momentum. He's like, it's absolutely real. Because every once in a while you'll talk to somebody and I'll be like, you know, momentum and then this.
- [09:23]
A
When people say there's no momentum in sports, I'm like, you didn't play sports.
- [09:26]
B
You know what it's like when you're down on the field and you can see it and feel it and they know, hey, Josh knows. I'm taking this down the field. Defense is getting them the ball right there. And this wasn't like Trey had that one turnover. It was basically a punt, but it was still a good play. This was more actually better. As terrible as they were in the first half. But I'm with you on that. Like every other team in the league is going to be going, we get these guys, we better bear. And even the games they lost, I mean, that Atlanta game was so bad. They had a chance. Houston was terrible.
- [09:56]
A
They had a chance. Yeah.
- [09:58]
B
Like, I give them that. They do not quit. And they said it like, it's like when you got 17 on the field. Yeah. You're never out of it.
- [10:06]
A
Yeah. And Josh was asked in the post game, like, what play kind of like sparked this team in the second half. You mentioned Ray Davis. Yeah, I want to give him a shout out because I feel like he has been. He hasn't had a ton of opportunities this season, but the way he's been making plays in special teams and some of the moments that he's had, I think he's had a lot of patience and he's shown it. But like, overall, you know, you think of like where the Bill's running backs room is. J. James Cook. That touchdown from James Cook. The body control was incredible.
- [10:35]
B
Seeing that and how big that was because it would have been a fourth and goal, probably go for it, like you're saying, and boom, they call it the touchdown. And then how about Josh's play on the third and 15 when he got it to Knox for the touchdown? I mean, they get pulled back, they lose the touchdown that Josh scored because of the hold and that it was on Torrance. He doesn't get called for holding very often. I don't know how many times. Gets called for the hold and then Josh comes right back. That's a dagger play. That is a.
- [11:06]
A
Well, they thought they had him.
- [11:07]
B
They thought they had.
- [11:08]
A
Third and 15. And then Josh finds Dawson Knox. Shout out. Dawson Knox becoming a new dad. Congrats to him and his wife. Two touchdowns today for him. What did I say? Pre game or in our predictions?
- [11:19]
B
Yep.
- [11:20]
A
Dawson knocks anytime. Touchdown cashed.
- [11:23]
B
Look at you.
- [11:23]
A
I'm Dan Feet.
- [11:26]
B
Now. They did. And honestly, what was the crowd like?
- [11:30]
A
They were obviously very much into it early. A lot of, like, Josh Allen sucks. Drake May is the new mvp. MVP chance like I talked about. And then when. Which touchdown was. It was right before the Henderson touchdown.
- [11:45]
B
That was the. That was the Josh. Oh, is that. That was the Cook touchdown. Yeah.
- [11:52]
A
And it was obviously very quiet in here. And then the Henderson touchdown, the way back, it like revved up the crowd again. But no, it was loud. It wasn't deafening. It wasn't Houston. Houston, honestly.
- [12:04]
B
Right.
- [12:04]
A
But also, I think with it being a dome, it just sets up differently.
- [12:07]
B
So I was on the Patriots pre game.
- [12:10]
A
Yeah.
- [12:10]
B
Network. Sorry, you mean to be doing that? And I said that I thought I.
- [12:16]
A
Was a little aggressive.
- [12:17]
B
For the Patriots, a loss could be a good thing.
- [12:21]
A
Yes.
- [12:22]
B
But I don't feel that way with the way they lost this game. This is not like tough game. You lose now. The win streak is over at ten in a row. But we come back now. They showed their flaws in this one. That was like. That is a team who might not know. They know how to win games. They don't know how to win this kind of game. Yet you had Josh Allen and the Bills down, and not only did you let them come back, they dominated you in the second half. And I said beforehand, Josh keeps in his head. He doesn't say much about it. Like, straight May, all this stuff. He heard all that stuff this week. And then he came out and by far outplayed him in this game. I mean, not even close. Yeah, it was a dominant. It ended up being a dominant performance by Allen. And so we'll see how the Patriots respond to this. Like this.
- [13:11]
A
This game fell through their fingertips. Slipped through their fingertips, I would say.
- [13:15]
B
And like I said, maybe stolen from their fingertips. Well, this second half was. That's why I said it wasn't like luck, a fortunate bounce, nothing. It was. The Bills dominated. Like I said, you talk about the difference in two halves. It was just incredible how much differently it went in the second half.
- [13:32]
A
So what were your thoughts? Like, what were you thinking at halftime? We were like, this team.
- [13:36]
B
I said it was embarrassing. I thought the Bills played embarrassing football. They didn't look prepared. They looked almost like distracted. And I don't know what it was because they made some dumb mistakes, didn't hold on to the ball like they.
- [13:49]
A
Looked a little checked out.
- [13:50]
B
Yeah, oddly. And look, they can't explain it. What happens. Just so you guys know, Sean McDermott coached in the second half too. You know, sometimes I see that their adjustments are phenomenal. And I know it's easy to say, well, why don't you do it in the first half? That's not the way adjustments work. Like, you come in thinking this is going to be a plan. Patriots did some things, might have caught them off guard. That happens sometimes. Bills were not effective, did not tackle well at all in the first half, came out with a little different mindset. And Josh, that early touchdown was incredible because it's boom. All of a sudden, it's 10 point game, plenty of time, get a stop and then move it on. So now I was very impressed. I'll put it to you this way. The way this team played in the second half, that team is very, very, very difficult to beat. They were smart, they were good on defense, methodical on offense. And I thought Joe Brady called a great second half. Mixed the run in the pass. Well, they got Shakir down the field. They threw a slant to Shakir and then a deep ball, relatively for this team of deep ball.
- [14:52]
A
I'm like, also receivers got some PI calls. Keon, that I, I did think that was a little soft.
- [14:59]
B
That was a soft call. But Bills will take it. Oh, and by the way, early in the game, I thought McDermott should have challenged it. He was asked about it.
- [15:05]
A
Yeah, he was. He essentially said he didn't have like the info. He was like waiting on the.
- [15:10]
B
And I don't know what. Well, how did they do this sky thing where, you know, with the call all of a sudden on the Bills, on the Patriots catch. On the Bills catch right away they're like, replay assist.
- [15:19]
A
Yeah, replay assist.
- [15:19]
B
I don't know why it didn't apply in the first one. I thought they should have challenged that. They did not. I. I would have done it anyhow because they were rushing to the line. But I don't know what's a catch or not.
- [15:30]
A
Well, that and I think, I think Sean has taken a lot of bad challenges as well. So maybe he's a little bit more gun shy about just throwing out the flag with that. But I understand that obviously that was not a catch and it led to their first touchdown.
- [15:45]
B
I also didn't like the punt. Like the one time they had third and 15 and he threw the screen and it was fourth and like seven and they punted the ball, but they pinned him deep Though they did pin him deep twice on the punt.
- [15:57]
A
So, yeah, I was like, okay. I mean, I got it, but.
- [16:01]
B
But my, My point on. They make adjustments at halftime better than the other team. And in this case, the defensive adjustments. Shout out Bobby Babich. Shout out Sean McDermott. The defensive adjustments were huge. They brought pressure, like you said. I thought Bosa. That's why you pay the guy. I thought Bosa was really good in this one.
- [16:21]
A
He was huge to have back.
- [16:23]
B
And. And they. And they made those plays. And now we'll see what happens.
- [16:27]
A
I thought Kincaid had a couple nice, really important catches as well.
- [16:30]
B
He made a great catch at the goal line.
- [16:32]
A
Yes.
- [16:33]
B
Bad throw by Josh that could have been picked. Kincaid reached back and grabbed it. That was a very, very impactful. It doesn't show up much on the stat line, but a very impactful play by Kincaid.
- [16:46]
A
Another one, Ty Johnson. Essentially, the game on the line going to Ty Johnson. That says a lot.
- [16:52]
B
I don't know if Josh said it, but he looked like he checked out of that. I love the play because obviously you're thinking it's probably Cook or Josh is going to run it. Give Ty credit. He had a nice play on a screen pass. Two, took it for a first down instead of like a. He beat the guy instead of like a third and five, it's first down. Then they move down the field. So like I said, I thought they used their guys. Well. They still don't get a ton out of wide receivers, but with Josh Allen, tight ends making plays and the running backs, it was enough, I think.
- [17:21]
A
I think earlier on in the season, they were trying to force it more to the, to the receivers, and then now it's like, you know what? That's not the way for us to win. That is not the formula. We're going to get the tight ends involved, we're going to get the running backs involved. Involved. And that has shown to be really productive for this team. It's. It's. They asked you on the pregame show if the Bills had the, the horses in terms of wide receiver to get the job done. Go to the super bowl, and you're like, I, I. You were saying essentially, like, I think that there will need to be adjustments in the off season, but the way they're doing it now, the collective group effort is getting the job done.
- [17:54]
C
At least.
- [17:55]
A
At least it has been. This game did feel like a rivalry game, though. Yeah, this felt like a playoff game. It really did. With the cold, the wind started whipping through. Close game, Big moments down the stretch, that to me was cool and it felt like this is becoming. You know, we've talked about so much how it really hasn't been a rivalry because Patriots dominant Bills have dominated. But it feels like there's the. The starting of that here.
- [18:18]
B
No doubt about it. I thought that's the way it played out. Look, they're going to play. I think they're playing again.
- [18:22]
A
I do too.
- [18:23]
B
But I was looking around. You didn't see any AFC east champion T shirts or hats.
- [18:27]
A
I did not.
- [18:28]
B
Yes.
- [18:29]
A
It was not a T shirt and hat. They.
- [18:31]
B
They knew it, felt it. Absolutely. This team and certainly did that in the second half. So they may very well still win the division. As you said. They, you know, they get. They're going to need some help and need the Dolphins maybe to step up. But was nice that they came here and did this because I do think they're going to meet in the playoffs.
- [18:49]
A
I agree as well. All right, so the bills are 10 and 4. We now look ahead. They're going to Cleveland coming up next, a week from today. Where is this team at right now?
- [19:01]
B
Well, they'll be down 213 to Cleveland at halftime. No, I'm kidding. That's close. Look, Myles Garrett might get the sack record against the Bills. I don't know what he is one away. Something like that. You got to go there, take care of business. I'm sure it's going to be cold and miserable in Cleveland and just honestly, this is when you got to buckle down and do that week to week. It's the next game. That one is really, because you got Cleveland, then you have the Eagles after that, and then you end with the game against the Jets. So I think this team to me looks poised, poised to win out. I feel that way. I feel like they look like a team. They love December. They play well in December to win out. I feel like that's what they feel to me. But you just gotta. You can't play like you did in the first half in this one.
- [19:45]
A
Yes.
- [19:46]
B
Because if you do that in the playoffs, it's going to be.
- [19:48]
A
Yeah.
- [19:48]
B
You know, you're going to play against the best team.
- [19:50]
A
Say the stakes are way higher and the. And the. The margin for error is that much lower. All right. Anything else before?
- [19:55]
B
I don't think so.
- [19:56]
A
Okay. I'm trying to think if there's anything else. No, I don't think so. Another. Another Bill's win it. It's cold. It's only going to get colder, but yeah. All right. Okay. Please be sure to comment in what you thought of this game, Give your honest thoughts, too, of what you were saying in the first half.
- [20:16]
B
Were you chill at halftime?
- [20:18]
A
It's so funny. I get so many texts and I'm like, I. I think we all are so reactionary. Just every sports fan in general. It doesn't matter who your team is. It's easy to be like, yeah, this. These Bills are. They're chill.
- [20:32]
B
They are chill.
- [20:32]
A
The Chill Bills and Josh.
- [20:34]
B
So, by the way, Josh was asked about the week, and that's a baby. What did he say?
- [20:40]
A
Well, I've known for sure. Yeah. I was like, that's very funny.
- [20:43]
B
That was pretty funny because, you know, it is the truth. Like, he just told the world. But yes, he knew about it. But kind of cool for those guys. You see them as, you know, growing in their lives. Dawson having the baby. Shakira, his wife had the baby. And now Josh is talking about that, and he did.
- [21:01]
A
There was that cutaway during the game, I don't know if you saw it, of Alan getting sick. He's not sick. He just says he, you know, he has to throw up before games sometimes he doesn't get it all out. So that's just what he does.
- [21:12]
B
He said sometimes the cameras catch it. Sometimes. That one. They caught that one.
- [21:16]
A
Yeah. I don't think I've ever seen that. Neither have I. I know he throws up before the game, but the more.
- [21:22]
B
You know, I was going to tweet he threw up because.
- [21:24]
A
Morning sickness. Sorry.
- [21:26]
B
That's true. I was going to say he threw up because he watched the Bills run defense, which would have been a good.
- [21:32]
A
Sweet second half, though.
- [21:33]
B
That is. Well, I think they had given up the touchdown. The 62 yard.
- [21:37]
A
Oh, it was right after that.
- [21:38]
B
Yeah. Yeah.
- [21:39]
A
Okay.
- [21:39]
B
That made you throw up.
- [21:40]
A
All right, so for Mike and Dan, who's back in Rochester, please be sure to, like, comment, subscribe and share. I am Jenna. We will catch you next time here. Oh, we hit 42, 000.
- [21:49]
B
Yay. Thank you to all our subscribers.
- [21:51]
A
We love you all. All right, thank you so much for watching the Buffalo plus podcast. We will see you and have plenty more coverage ahead. Oh, oh. Shout out. Riverworks.
- [21:59]
B
Yes, we'll be there Thursday. If you're watching this in Buffalo or if you're in Rochester, you want to come. Riverworks Thursday night meet and greet five to seven. Podcast seven to eight.
- [22:09]
A
All right, we would love to see you there. That's going to do it for us. Thank you so much for watching Buffalo Plus.
- [22:24]
B
This is the Buffalo plus podcast.