***SWAMP WILD CARD WEEKEND - GM 3 - BUF @ JAX***
***BUFFALO BILLS @ JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS***
Wild Card Weekend is off to a wild start indeed and a great one for your boy Swamp, going 2-0 yesterday with both underdogs winning outright! Today's first game might be the most fun and interesting as two franchises who are new faces and starved for success take center stage. The Buffalo Bills, yes I said it, the Buffalo BIlls finally break their 17 year playoff drought as they backed their way in with the help of Lady Luck herself when the Bengals upset the Ravens in week 17. Man that was some real feel good stuff for everybody across the board but Ravens fans. In a season where most probably least expected it, the Bills have done it! With a first time Head Coach in Sean McDermott in hist first season, and after letting many key players walk during the offseason, somehow, they're in! As I mentioned in yesterday's write-ups, everything that has happened before this point no longer matters, the playoffs grant each team a new slate, and as we saw yesterday - anything can happen! I mean, the Tennessee Titans who arguably had no business in the playoffs went into Arrowhead Stadium and fought back from a 21-3 halftime lead to snatch victory from the Chiefs, wow man! That being said, the Bills face a similar situation today but in some ways, an even tougher scenario. The Jaguars have been a great story all year long as they also have had a bit of a playoff drought themselves, not having made it since 2007 and not having hosted a playoff game since 1999. Needless to say Jaguar nation is in full flux as well as they have removed the tarps in their stadium to unveil more seats to make available for this game and they've fired up the teal beer and food for the fans as well. Yesterday will be hard to top, but today's should be fun!
The Jags in my opinion have the best defense in the AFC and maybe the NFL next to the Vikings. These guys are unreal, from the defensive line, up through the linebacking core and secondary. They are full of young players too and it is scary to think of what they are on their way to being. Tom Coughlin heading back to his roots as the VP of football operations and Head Coach Doug Marrone have done a fabulous job putting this unit together. "Sacksonville" as they call it is lead by Calais Campbell and I could literally go on and on talking about each and every player on this defense and my admiration for them all. I am excited for this team's future and believe they are rapidly on the rise. I was happy to see them finally burst through that plateau of shameful football and gain some major respect this season. With that being said, I still think they are a real NFL QB away from greatness and while QB Blake Bortles has played much better as of late, I still think he is and will be holding them back from making serious noise. Every expectation is that they should handle and beat the less talented and banged up Bills squad today, but they are facing a team playing with house money, full of heart and guts, and especially this time of year - that is a dangerous combination. There are a couple interesting ties between these two teams with Doug Marrone facing his former team where nobody really knows what happen when he chose to suddenly leave the Bills organization after a short stint there as their HC, but we do know that something wasn't right there and that Marrone and the Bills organization parted on bad terms. Jax DT Marcell Dareus started the season on Buffalo and was traded away to the Jags earlier this year. That being said the Jags have plenty of extra motivation and edge to stomp out Bills Mafia today. The cherry on top here is Buffalo RB LeSean McCoy and his ankle injury from last week's game. He is going to give it a go today as we all expected but will he be himself? That remains to be seen. All I know is an ankle injury to an RB of his type where he thrives on quick cuts and changes of direction can be devastating and who knows if he will be able to last the game. So clearly after all that, I'm well aware that the odds are stacked against Buffalo here. However, I do think they have what it takes to hang tough in this one and in this particular situation and possibly with a little more help from their friend Lady Luck, maybe win outright.
We all saw the clips of the Bills rejoicing in their locker room after their win in Miami last week, watching Bengals QB Andy Dalton drive a stake through the Ravens and their playoff hopes and simultaneously launching Buffalo to the promised land. That was some really special stuff right there. We also saw their fans "Bills Mafia" around the Dolphin's stadium as they exited loyally doing the same thing, watching the Bengals and going absolutely nuts when the unthinkable happened. The Bills community is as strong as it gets, and these fans will travel in packs today down to Jacksonville as they have been waiting 17 long years for the chance to cheer their team on in the playoffs. Many have said that the Bills are just "happy to be there" and that this is where the road ends for them but I'm not so sure. DT Kyle Williams made sure to state in the locker room after the celebration ended that "this is just the start of something, not the end" and they truly believe in themselves and why shouldn't they? Yea they are facing one of the most dynamic defenses in the league today but I need to remind you that this is also the Jags first playoff game in a very long time AKA there is the same inexperience on BOTH sides. That being said, mistakes and jitters are bound to take their course throughout this game and with a QB like Blake Bortles combined with the Bills passion/luck or whatever you want to call it- I believe this will be a very close game. The Bills defense early on flourished on turnovers before hitting a tough lull mid-season but lately they seem to be rejuvenated and behind a ballhawking Safety Micah Hyde and standout Rookie CB Tre'Davious White, I like their chances to make some magic happen today. I believe the Bills will stack the line to stop Rookie RB Leonard Fournette and force Bortles to beat them through the air and I like their chances of cashing in on some mistakes or lame duck throws. On the other side of things, I guess the best kind of QB you can have against such an insane pass rush like the Jags have is a mobile one, and Bills QB Tyrod Taylor is one of the best at doing so. I fully expect him to use his legs to evade the pressure and pick up chunks of yardage to keep drives alive here. The Bills have nothing to lose and should play much looser than the Jags offensively, and that being said I wouldn't be surprised to see some trickery today as well. Like Bortles, Taylor also has a bit of a chip on his shoulder as well and is out to prove the naysayers wrong and what better than going out today, performing well and leading your team to winning a playoff game, on the road nonetheless! I also think the fact that McCoy is going to go out there injured and give it everything he's got will provide an extra surge for this Bills team to fight as hard as possible in this one. The late season addition of WR Kelvin Benjamin may also prove to be key here with the Bills in the RedZone and Taylor having no options other than to throw a fade route in the corner of the end zone where Benjamin can utilize his size to snag a jump-ball. So just to reiterate here, with two brand new playoff teams full of young and inexperienced players with SO MUCH on the line- I'm going to back what seems to be the team of destiny and this season's Cinderella in the Buffalo Bills and the generous 8 points in what should be a close game either way. Swampy doesn't get in the way of destiny man, ya just can't do it. Bottom line, while I see the Bills struggling against this Jags defense, I also don't see the Jags lighting up the scoreboard on Buffalo either, and I'm banking on the bad Blake Bortles to rear his ugly head and make some costly mistakes that the Bills will be ready to cash in on. If I know one thing it's that Bills Mafia will not go quietly, and in the words of the Swami, "nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills!" BILLS+8
