Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Wait, why did I limit myself to just the Buffalo Bills game for “Wandering thoughts”? Well, no more of that.
The point of wandering is to go outside of a specific scope. Let’s do it:
The Bills and Refs Chiefs are still the top-two teams in the AFC
It’s still only Week 2, but maybe rumors of Buffalo’s demise were greatly exaggerated.
Days after Buffalo’s squishing of all things fish, their Week 1 opponent - Arizona Cardinals - put on a clinic, starring one Marvin Harrison Jr. The Bills limited the fourth overall pick in 2024 to one catch for four yards last week, but he proceeded to go off against the Los Angeles Rams with two touchdowns on back-to-back catches to open the game.
If Arizona is "back" and Buffalo took care of them and Miami, it makes everyone feel good about the Bills. They chalk up wins, that’s just what they do, no matter the schedule.
As for the rest of the AFC, the Houston Texans looks solid, but the rest have started with some sort of mess.
Miami Dolphins? See aforementioned fish squishing.
New York Jets? They barely took care of maniac Will Levis and the Tennessee Titans.
Baltimore Ravens? 0-2 suddenly.
Cincinnati Bengals? Victims of their usual slow starts.
The Los Angeles Chargers could re-emerge as a threat to the conference.
Who else here is 2-0? The Pittsburgh Steelers? Um, OK.
And that leaves…
Oh, it's you. Go away.
A shift from a pass-happy NFL?
There is a noticeable shift towards the running game with the two-week total for team passing yards per-game, and the numbers are backing it up.
Of course, here in Buffalo, we saw them win by 21 and barely need to utilize Josh Allen’s talents.
While the Bills had a top-five rusher last year in James Cook, the offense still went through Allen. Not that it suddenly will shift, but it looks like Buffalo’s desire for more balance might have been ahead of the curve.
With Nickel (five defensive backs) being the default defense in the NFL, the counter is using bigger bodies to move the ball. The Bills’ win against the Dallas Cowboys last year serves as a blueprint for when defenses want to play smaller.
OK, that’s enough
Another injury to a linebacker on the Bills roster, as Terrel Bernard suffered a pectoral injury on Thursday night. Luckily, it is reported that Bernard avoided major injury, and will be out for about a month or so.
That said, suddenly the linebacking corps looks like this: Dorian Williams, Baylon Spector, Ed Ulofoshio, Nicholas Morrow and Joe Andreessen.
Williams and Spector will be carrying the torch as starters, but Buffalo addressed the linebacker depth this past offseason to avoid the "get A.J. Klein before he goes on vacation" moment.
At this rate of bad luck, it looks too similar. Then again, better now than the playoffs?
At least there is a chance that the story of Andreessen may get the next step: A game day jersey.
Please beat Jacksonville
The Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars have a weird history, one that does not lean Buffalo's way.
Jacksonville has won three of the last four games against Buffalo, including the past two matchups: Last year in London, and the inexplicable 9-6 brain fart against an Urban Meyer-led Jaguars team in 2021.
The Jaguars comes to town reeling this coming Monday at 0-2 after a pair of winnable games they found ways to lose.
Trevor Lawrence has lost his last 10 starts under center, while Jacksonville's only win in their last 11 (dating back to last season) was against the hapless Carolina Panthers.
A desperate Jacksonville team will want to get off the schnide, but this is a winnable game for the Bills.
On one side, this season, Buffalo has won the two they should have so far. On the other hand, another loss to the Jaguars is that classic "Billsy" loss that no one wants to deal with.
Despite their offseason, it was a fun Sabres weekend?
This is good fortune for the Sabres that Fan Fest and the Sabres Prospects Challenge was during a week where the Bills already took care of business.
However, there was a good turnout for those who were hockey starved. Friday night’s prospects game against the Columbus Blue Jackets was well packed, probably 90% capacity. I got to catch up with hooligans like Brayton Wilson, Brian Koziol, Paul Hamilton, as well as others on the beat like Joe Yerdon.
Not to be outdone, Saturday against the New Jersey Devils was sold out, and Fan Fest went off over the weekend as well.
The hockey was also very spirited, as the Sabres prospects showed why they have so much promise in the pipeline. Jiri Kulich and Ryan Johnson looked like players that didn’t need this tournament anymore.
I know it’s tough to get into the spirit of hockey when the team has been mired in a 13-year playoff drought in a league where half the teams make it in. However, it seems there was enough optimism based on this weekend.
That makes me feel good, despite Buffalo’s struggles on the ice.
Please let the Sabres and Bills be good at the same time. It has been forever since that has been the case.
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