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I am in Bills mode today, and so, I’ve decided to publish my VERY EARLY predictions for the Buffalo Bills 2013 season. Take it for what it’s worth, from a person who follows the daily goings on of this franchise very closely, and also (1) has a Twitter account under the name GregTheBillsFan, and (2) is also an admitted optimist.
(Obviously this is all based on few-to-no major injuries, too.)
Buffalo Bills 2013 Season:
Week by Week Predictions
New England – W (1-0)
Week one. I can’t wait for week one! Brady looks insanely great, still, again… always! It doesn’t matter who he’s throwing to. BUT, they’ve lost Welker (a Bills killer) and won’t have Gronk, nor obviously Hernandez. Brady makes up for just about anything else lacking on offense, but the true strength of the 2013 Bills is actually looking more and more like it will be the Mike Pettine defense. That may sound strange as the Bills’ defense was beyond porous last year. They were awful! However, if our D can pressure Brady enough that our 80-plays-per-game offense can score ~24-30 points… there’s a chance this one goes our way. Certainly the Bills are putting a LOT of effort into getting this particular win, at home, to start the season. We’ll see if they can do it.
Carolina – W (2-0)
Mostly guessing here. (Even more than the rest of these guesses!) I think the Bills gain confidence from the BIG week one win over the hated Patriots, and (I think) they are better than Carolina, and at home… Bills win. EJ Manuel impresses, looking better than Cam Newton.
@ NY Jets – W (3-0)
Ha! The Jest! Um… do I need to explain why the Bills will win this one, AND the Nov 17 game at The Ralph? No. I do not.
Baltimore – L (3-1)
The entire region is super-energized by this completely different Bills team. Aggressive, hard-hitting defense. Explosive, point-scoring, high-paced offense. THREE and OH?!? And then reality settles in as the Super Bowl champs come to town and methodically earn themselves a relatively easy win. (By a TD or so.)
@ Cleveland – W (4-1)
Thankfully, the Bills head to Cleveland after the sobering reminder that a perfect season is nowhere within their reach. Though Cleveland has some interesting young talent, the Bills had no problem there last year, and should have even less of a problem this year.
Cincinnati – W (5-1)
This is a tough one. In the recent past, the Bills have always seemed to be able to beat Cincinnati. The exception being the last time they played, losing 23-20 in a game that they truly should have won. (Typical Fitzpatrick/Old Bills blundering.) Before that, the Bills had won ten consecutive meetings between the clubs. (The Bengals last beating them in November 1988! On their way to the Super Bowl.) SO… history would suggest that the Bills, at home, stand a good chance of winning this one. It should be a VERY interesting defensive game, actually. Both teams should have better-than-average defenses … AJ Green vs Gilmore and Byrd. CJ Spiller and Stevie Johnson vs the Bengals D… IF they are the team they seem to be shaping up to be, the Bills eke out a win at home.
@ Miami – L (5-2)
Time for more reality setting in. Traveling to Miami … big game for the also-revamped Dolphins since their visiting division rival has a nice jump on the season at 5-1. Bills either out-matched (only defensively) or overconfident, lose in a game they wish they could forget.
@ New Orleans – L (5-3)
NO! NOT AGAIN!!! The Bills head to New Orleans (Coach Marrone‘s old stomping grounds) to face Sean Payton‘s Saints, and though they score 30 points or more, they can’t keep up with New Orleans’ offense at home. Two losses in a row, and now three out of four… the city of Buffalo is in a panic!!!!
Kansas City – W (6-3)
Thankfully… the Bills come back to the comfy confines of The Ralph, and get to play a game against the Chiefs! Another opponent the 2012 team had no trouble with. The 2013 team will, again, have less trouble. Easy, confidence-rebuilding win.
@ Pittsburgh – L (6-4)
How not nice of the NFL schedulers. They keep throwing these really tough-to-beat teams in, JUST when the Bills regain their confidence!! Manuel has been compared (by GM Doug Whaley, formerly of the Steelers organization) to one Ben Roethlisberger. But the real Big Ben will likely wear down this much-improved Bills D… and Polamalu and company will remind Manuel that, well, he’s still just a rookie. Bills lose. Again.
NY Jets – W (7-4)
The schedulers are not completely heartless, however. Just before a bye week, their pride again wounded by their current 3-4, up-and-down skid, the Bills wear large grins as the incompetent NY J-E-T-S, Jets Jets Jets! come to town for another thrashing. Bills get their biggest win of the season as Mike Pettine completely confounds poor little Marky Sanchez and his offensive offense.
BYE
No loss here! Good news! Good news!!!!
(You have to say that like Roscoe P. Coletrain…)
Atlanta – L (7-5)
Atlanta is good. Really good. The Bills are enjoying their crazy, much-improved, way-over-500 record after their week off… glad to be hosting a really good team. Home game, in December—but this one is the Toronto game. Played in Canada. In a dome. Still, the place is rockin’. Already a 4pm, nationally shown game, might even get flexed? (Moved to Sunday or Monday night?) BUT… Atlanta is too good for this team of youngsters. Plus, they are coming off a ten-day break, too, having last played the previous Thursday (Thanksgiving Night). Falcons find a way to win, in a really exciting game. Bills drop another, to go 7-5.
@ Tampa Bay – L (7-6)
Buffalo travels south again, and has a similar result. The Bucs are hard to predict, but have enough talent to hold off this Bills team in their own stadium. Rian Lindell kicks the game-winning FG, but feels bad about it, because he’s such a nice guy. Bills lose again… their hopes are beginning to crumble. 🙁
@ Jacksonville – W (8-6)
BUT THEN … they get to play the JAGUARS!!! Another confidence-boosting game. (It’s nice to have the last-place schedule sometimes!) Bills defeat former teammate Paul Posluzsnzy and friends. Fairly easily.
Miami – W (9-6)
Having already lost to Miami in their previous meeting, the Bills know that Miami, in Buffalo, in December… they can’t lose this game. The RBs put up 250 yards on this really good Miami D, and the Bills win by 10 points or more, convincing some that the playoff drought may indeed end THIS year! Especially with New England faltering, if ever so slightly.
@ New England – L (9-7)
And in an appropriate ending to this upstart season, for a reenergized franchise … the Bills travel to Foxboro to face their arch-rival, the Patriots. The Bills have never (I said NEVER) won in Foxboro. Never. Ever! They have come so close. Many times. But have never won there. To make the playoffs, they will almost certainly need to win this game. But, unless Tom Brady is injured… I think the Patriots remind the Bills that they’re not quite done just yet. The MUCH-more-fun-to-watch (and much better?) Buffalo Bills are sent home after a hard-fought, exciting last game of the year… losing to the New England Patriots, finishing with a 9-7 record.
Of course, all of this is clearly just speculation. First, as I said at the top, the Bills need to not have any major injuries—certainly no season-ending injuries to key players—which has actually been one of their problems over this 13-year playoff drought.
And, obviously, I can’t even know this team… so what about all the others? Just guessing as to how they are going to play. (Except for the Jets. We know for certain that they will be horrible.) 😉
But, for now, in August … that’s my prediction for the 2013 Buffalo Bills season.
Guess they don’t even have to play the games now!
Go Bills!