Ultimately, maybe the first Buffalo Bills game was a taste of what was to come.
These Bills, favorites in the eyes of some to go to the Super Bowl, started their season with a defeat against the New York Jets. This end is embarrassing enough, but on top of that, the Bills allowed Zach Wilson to throw a touchdown pass, which should have led to the firing of everyone on this defense.
The Bills then recovered with three victories, including this impressive 48-20 victory over the Dolphins, and their fans were able to start dreaming and hoping again, which is what they have been doing non-stop since 1960, because it’s the only thing they can do.
But the dream has become a nightmare, even more so since Monday evening. There, the Bills found a way to escape a game against the poor Broncos because they had an extra player on the field, a huge brain cramp reminiscent of the time Homer Simpson estimated that Ted Nugent would make a good candidate for President of the United States.
To alleviate this disaster, the Bills fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey this week, a panicked move reminiscent of the time the Canadiens fired an assistant coach two hours before a game at the Bell Centre. It also risks giving the same thing, that is to say absolutely nothing.
With Dorsey gone, all eyes will turn to Josh Allen, because it’s the easiest thing to do, but also because the Bills quarterback has already committed a total of 14 turnovers, a season-high in mediocrity in the NFL. At 27, he’s already on a third offensive coordinator, and clearly, it’s his confidence that needs to be rebuilt.
The Bills now have a very ordinary record of 5-5, and we understand all the pain of the people of Buffalo, a city that no one in the world wants to live in, except perhaps our colleague Guillaume Lefrançois. We also understand that it can’t be easy to be a fan of this team, firstly because every season inevitably ends in the valley of disappointment.
This one is heading to exactly the same place.
It is no surprise that the coach of the Jets, Robert Saleh, made it known this week that basically, Aaron Rodgers will himself decide the date of his return.
PHOTO ADAM HUNGER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Aaron Rodgers
Since the Jets gave the keys to the city to Rodgers, with the aim of winning a first Super Bowl since the advent of color TV, we have a bit of the impression that he is the one calling the shots. He could decide the menu in the cafeteria and we wouldn’t even be surprised.
Rodgers, who leaves for Los Angeles every week to undergo magical treatments, could therefore return somewhere in December, if obviously the Jets are relevant at that time, having not been since 1969.
In the meantime, the Jets, who have scored a whopping eight touchdowns this season on offense (no, no one else has done worse), will ask a rookie, running back Israel Abanikanda, to bring a little bite to this unit. We wish him good luck.
It’s not good to celebrate an injury, but what happens to Deshaun Watson – with a shoulder injury, his season is over – reminds us how the Cleveland Browns are not capable of taking a single good decision, never, since they existed.
PHOTO DAVID RICHARD, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Deshaun Watson
Already the hiring of Watson was dripping with controversy, plus the Browns had to give three first picks to the Texans to get him last year, before granting him a guaranteed sum of $230 million, unheard of.
They will now have to rely on a rookie quarterback, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, the same one who gave the Ravens three interceptions in the fourth week of play.
These things only happen to the Browns.
No need to look long, Sunday’s big game will take place on Monday, because that’s the night the Eagles will go to Kansas City to face the Chiefs.
Also worthy of interest at the end of the week: the Bills who will try to revive themselves against the Jets, and the Steelers who will want to prove their legitimacy by going against the Browns in Cleveland, like in the old days.