Do you see that above? That's a lack of respect. This was a graphic from The NFL Network that someone tweeted to me prior to Sunday's game. You know who is missing from here? You guessed it, the Bills. Now, this isn't really an instance of fans complaining about not getting love from the national media because the Bills/Dolphins highlights ran as long as a commercial.
No, this is just flat out wrong because the Bills, at that point, were ahead of the Ravens because of their win against them in late September. Head-to-head is the ultimate wild card tiebreaker, but even with that, we don't get on the graphic. I don't wanna spend too much time on the slight. Instead, I wanna concentrate on being able to stay or to get on the "In the hunt" graphic.
Meaningless football in November and December has become a time-honored tradition in these parts. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of the discussion about losing out for a higher draft pick. I can talk all about moral victories and growing before the season starts because expectations are always low. Once you see your team in the "In the hunt" graphic, however, all bets are off. The moral victories and the getting better for the future gets benched.
You wanna make that list. You wanna believe that you can actually play meaningful football when it really counts.
As much as I enjoy going to the home finale for 10 bucks when I go home for Christmas, I want those tickets to amount to more than just a day of getting wasted and watching football with friends. I want that game to matter. And that only happens by staying "In the hunt".
These aren't the Sabres, who have been in the playoff hunt forever it seems like, often enough at least that getting bounced in the 1st round is deemed a failure. When you are the Bills and you haven't been to the playoffs in 13 years, you want a damn heroic run to the wildcard.
You wanna read scouting reports about teams that are between you and the playoffs instead of reading draft guides. You wanna pore over the standings and schedules. You want to check out defensive and offensive rankings and how they compare to ours.
Sometimes we forget that this is why we watch all 16 games. We watch them so we can get to the playoffs and maybe take that spotlight and shine it on ourselves for a change. Ah, the playoffs, man… There's a fever to it. There's an X-factor to it that you can't really explain or put into words. You just have to feel it. Sometimes, things are so special that you can't describe it because you really have to be there.
I want to be there. I want to have that chance to get in. I want fans to have an ideal that we can strive towards. Stumble, fall, I just wanna be there.
No matter what the NFL Network says, the Bills are only 1 game out of a wild card spot which means they are "in the hunt". Their schedule gets a lot easier after KC. After the Chiefs, the remaining 7 opponents have just 17 wins combined, with three of those teams having just one win. The schedule is pretty enticing right about now. 4-5 sounds a hell of a lot better than 3-6.
Do I think the Bills will make the playoffs? Probably not.
But the chase still needs to be there. Isn't that what people say about dating? The hunt is often better than the prize, people want to be chased? Maybe that's the case here. I just wanna be on that journey and even if the prize is the season ending after week 16 when they are mathematically eliminated or after a wildcard loss, I'll take it.
That's probably why I think they can beat the Chiefs. I'm willing them to win as a way to hopefully stay "In the hunt". Of course, the unpredictability of the NFL could mean that the Bills are still 1 game out after next week, but you really can't take a 3-6 team seriously, can you?
In the end, I just want to be taken seriously and staying "in the hunt" as long as possible will accomplish that.
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