by Tony Fiorello
MIAMI GARDENS, FL - SEPTEMBER 12: a Buffalo Bills helmet rests on the field before the game between the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins on Thursday, September 12, 2024 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
· There’s not much that one can take from a regular season game that more or less resembled a preseason contest, what with so many starters sitting out. But good on Sean McDermott and company for figuring out who to sit and who needed more game action to brush up for the gauntlet known as the NFL playoffs. From here on out nothing else matters except winning, and the Bills will need all the help they can get.
· Also good on McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane for letting some guys play to reach certain statistical milestones and contract bonuses, such as Von Miller and Sam Martin. Things like that don’t go unnoticed around professional sports – a business where uber-rich owners are willing to penny-pinch to no end, so with the organization treating the players well that pays off in the long run.
· Despite the loss, our game ball goes to James Cook for tying O.J. Simpson’s single-season team rushing touchdown record. That’s a mark that’s stood for almost 50 years, and one that was certainly hard to obtain.
· One area that seemed a bit shaky – to the naked eye, at least – was the safety position. It wasn’t Taylor Rapp nor Damar Hamlin’s best day at the office, and I wonder if Cole Bishop could get more playing time. He’s more athletic than a guy like Hamlin, but how would his lack of experience hold up against the better teams and quarterbacks in the NFL? Only one way to find out, I suppose.
· As former Baltimore Ravens coach Brian Billick once said, “The time is here. It’s time to go to a Super Bowl. Why not? You’re in it. And why go (to the playoffs) if you don’t want to take a run at it?” On to the wild card round, and on to the Denver Broncos!
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