Philadelphia Eagles 24 – Buffalo Bills 31
Grey Scherl notes the non-dream team being beaten by Cinderella: If you asked me a month ago who would win in a matchup between the Bills and the Eagles, I would have answers the Eagles without hesitation. Michael Vick and the ‘dream team’ would be a sure fire pick over the team that picked third in the draft. So what changed? Ryan Fitzpatrick’s offense finally started to match what he was doing on the field last year, and this has led to them winning. I mean, they beat the Patriots. The Bills are playing some top rate football, and their record shows it. The Eagles, on the other hand, are playing like a bad dream for Andy Reid and Mike Vick. Vick threw four picks to Fitzpatrick’s one, and the Eagles couldn’t stop Fred Jackson on the run. The Bills look like a well oiled machine ready to fight for the top spot in the AFC East against the New England Patriots, while the Eagles look like a team desperate to get that second win and turn their season around.
While Rhett Davis thinks the Bills are for real: Buffalo and Philadelphia both showed a lot in this game. The Bills showed that last week’s loss was just a fluke, and that they will bounce back better than ever. The Eagles looked as though they would come back in the late seconds of the game, but they couldn’t get the job done with many turnovers. The Bills are a formidable team and it’ll take more than the Eagles’ ‘Dream Team’ to beat them.
My Take: At this point, the Jets sure have an uphill battle to get into the playoffs. It’s hard for me to see the Jets this year taking the Bills head-to-head twice, and at this point for a playoff berth, they’ll likely need to do that AND beat the Patriots. The Eagles, as bad as they look, have an easier path given the weakness of their division. Anyone is capable of beating anyone else in that division, though the Eagles have huge holes to fill on their offensive line and with their linebackers that it’s hard to see being filled, and that will likely cost Andy Reid his job. The Bills surely seem headed to the playoffs, but instead of calling them “for real” I just wonder if they’re quite good enough to make noise when they get there. They have a real shot, right?
