Rex Ryan regrets premature playoff talk in first season with Bills

Of course no one foresaw that Ryan Fitzpatrick would provide the leadership at quarterback that was missing with Geno Smith.

And Ryan was addressing whether the Bills would be ready to play Sunday against the 10-5 New York Jets. He will be playing a game in January then will have plenty of time in the offseason to plan his next Super Bowl rant! But it’s not likely, because a Steelers loss to the Browns earlier in the day would clinch a wild card for the Jets and render a night game at The Ralph a pointless formality.

The Jets, in their first season under coach Todd Bowles, are facing a win-and-in scenario against the Buffalo Bills and their former coach, who was sacked after failing to lead NY to the postseason in each of the last four of his six seasons. Fitzpatrick threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns against the Patriots, posting a passer rating of 109.4.

Indiana QB Nate Sudfeld concurred with a chuckle when I pointed out that the two teams who were playing in the Pinstripe Bowl probably had the highest combined SAT scores of any squads playing in bowls games this year. Averaging just 210.7 passing yards per game, the Bills passing game ranks a whopping 27 in the National Football League.

Over the last week, Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley has been rumoured to be on the hot seat, as reports have suggested that not all is well between the coaching staff and upper management at One Bills Drive.

Fitzpatrick’s steady play during the winning streak has been MVP-like.

It was a good win, one that should solidify Ryan’s standing with his owner, but essentially a hollow victory.

Bowles isn’t one for treating different games differently, or using big games like the one the Jets have Sunday as a motivational tool. I’m trying to win every game.

Ryan showered praise on the fans, calling them the most loyal he’s seen. Ryan promised the playoffs but couldn’t deliver. You do not need to have a Harvard education to see what’s going to happen if the Jets lose this game. He and his players mouthed the usual cliche about building for the future.

The animus was not directed at de Aza’s talents, which are adequate for a bench/platoon player, but rather at Mets management for their unwillingness to spend money on a free agent big bat, particularly in light of the payroll savings that the team is getting from Michael Cuddyer’s surprise retirement a couple of weeks ago. We didn’t earn that this year. When the elements get tough, our fans are going to be here. We want to be in the role of we win, we’re in.

Yeah, build for next year. And for the fifth straight year, Ryan will miss out on postseason play. It becomes empty talk when you’ve been through it for 16 years. “This is your last shot at it this year, so you get to play against a team that has everything riding on it”. The lone area where this team has struggled this season is pretty significant.

Beating a bad Dallas team doesn’t change the reality that Ryan acknowledged after the embarrassment in Washington – that there are bound to be major changes when a team disappoints as profoundly as the Bills have this season. Taylor now has 517 rushing yards on the season, a record for Bills quarterbacks. They held a two-touchdown lead at halftime, but struggled to apply a knockout punch. Only this time being for a key victory as they march out of Buffalo, and into the playoffs.