In a room was the angry and beaten Buffalo Bills coach known as Rex Ryan. He was in a sweater vest that was royal blue in color and a throwback Bills cap to complement the look. He wore an expression that portrayed an individual who is simultaneously angry and impressed by his antagonist. He kept relieving the game that his team had just played against the Patriots. The Buffalo Bills had not played their best and this made Rex lose faith if they were still in the race for the AFC East. This leaves NFL betting in a quagmire.
He went ahead to express his thoughts on how he saw it impossible for his team to clinch the division title after being beaten by a team had a 3-game win on the Buffalo Bills. Furthermore, they had only lost a single game at the halfway point and their nightmare was worsened by No. 12’s unprecedented comeback. These are the factors that made Rex Ryan lose all traces of faith of winning that he had left. However, deep down he was still hoping against hope that he is wrong.
The Patriots quarterback called Tom Brady who was causing ripples in Buffalo Bills, stood in a tiny room that was located below the tunnel that was both chilly and dump. He had a designer trench that was blue-gray in color and he had a look that conveyed the message of a man who just had a very fulfilling day at work. Brady said that a mere 7 wins will get a team nowhere in a league that was as tough as the one they were in. This was after being asked how it felt to be ahead of the pack by 7-1 at just the mid-point of the season. He went to mention that the competition was just beginning as there was an uphill task ahead.
Currently, the NFL has progressed so much to the point that teams in the league have been forced to confront harsh realities. This so called reality is different from each and every team. In the same way that the Patriots and the Buffalo Bills are bound to proceed to the 2nd half of game into two different realities. The Patriots are in their usual spot –relentlessly competing their way to their 14th division title in the past 16 years, competing at a high level so as to attain the first position in the FAC and consequently in the road home games to the Super Bowl. Similarly, the Bills are in their own spot that they have grown accustomed to i.e. at .500 and expecting Bill Belichick and company and Bill to disappear over the horizon.
Devin McCourty who is Patriot’s safety mentioned that they had anticipated it to be all business. In addition, they were expecting to receive the best performance from Buffalo Bills despite the guys being out. This is why there was great focus on delivering victory on Sunday and they did just that.
Currently the reality of the Patriots is very bright and promising. Brady was unable to attend the 1st 4 games of the current season owing to his Deflategate suspension. Ever since his comeback, he is completing an astounding 73.1% of all his passes, scoring 3 touchdowns in a single game and averaging 329.8 yards. Furthermore, he has not got an opportunity to throw an interception. He appears to be in tip-top form compared to last season for a 39 year old-man. Circumstances where he is throwing the ball twenty or even more yards downfield in the current season has got him a 57.1% completion as well as 4 touchdowns. He had a 33.3% completion in a total of 16 games in the past season and a mere two touchdowns. Ryan commented that he had never seen Brady in such an excellent state before.
On the other hand, the Buffalo Bills reality is quite bleak. When they won over the Patriots in the 4th week in Foxborough, it turned out to be their 2nd of a total of 4 consecutive victories that was their brightest moment of the season. However, the Patriots quarterback on Sunday was called Jacoby Brissett and the offensive roaster of the Bills had fewer players with injuries. They commenced the game on Sunday by failing to put LeSean McCoy who is a running back and Sammy Watkins and Marquise Goodwin who are top receivers in the starting lineup. Instead, Mike Gillislee who is a backup running back and Robert Woods who is a receiver and Charles Clay who is a tight end played with their injuries.
That is the bitter truth and harsh reality of the matter. Injuries are bound to occur, occasionally a lot of them at an instant and still Tom Brady will still play for the Patriots team. This reality continues to haunt the Buffalo Bills even as road trip to Cincinnati, Oakland and Seattle are being scheduled.
Ryan mentioned that it would be interesting to relax one day and have a complete roaster. He added that they have to strive to restore the health of all the players. This will enable to properly reevaluate the team in a suitable manner.
Unfortunately, by that time New England would have progressed so much that they would be out of reach. The harsh reality is that even with home game of week 4 being the only disappointment in their annual record, the Patriots will certainly not be worried about the Bills. They have a brighter reality that consists of bigger plans, more goals and tougher challenges to triumph over.
Belichick told the Patriots to prepare for Seattle after they win next week. He added that the Patriots are now focused on the NFC West with the Rams, San Francisco and Seattle in the lineup. This implies that they will encounter numerous teams they are not conversant with, especially Seattle which will be a major challenge.
The Patriots departed the stadium in a mood that indicated they were ready to gauge themselves against the mighty Seahawks, an encounter that might happen in the first weeks of February. On the other hand, it dawned on the Bills that such dreams are currently beyond them. This is week 8, where reality is as harsh as the winter cold.
