From Queens to the Box
WHICH TEAM IS CLOSER TO WINNING IT ALL, THE BILLS OR THE SABRES?
Joe: On my last episode of Talking Buffalo, Pat Moran, who will never be confused with being Walter Cronkite, asked me a really good question that I’ll assume he stole from someone…
Which team is closer to winning it all, the Buffalo Bills or Buffalo Sabres?
Aside from the surreal “imagine if he asked me this in December?” part of it, I was kind of at a loss for words because I didn’t have an answer on the spot. I failed at thinking on my feet. Plus, I felt I wasn’t qualified to answer that question, specifically for the Sabres. And whenever I need to steal takes or ask anything hockey-related, I go to my jersey/hockey expert, Chris Ostrander from Two in the Box. He’s the only blogger from 2010 who won’t update his website look, but will call you out for wearing bad hockey gear.
Chris, I’ll save you the pleasantries, but I want to break this topic into four categories:
Players
Management
History
The field
What are your initial thoughts before you get to the players part of this discussion?
Chris Ostrander: I have to assume Cronkite didn’t eat nearly as many chicken wings as Pat does. The big thing for me here is who is closer today and who is closer over the longer term. There is also the obvious caveat that the Sabres are barreling toward a playoff spot, and if things go right this spring, they could render this entire conversation moot. But let’s assume for the moment that the Sabres aren’t quite strong enough to dispatch the Lightning, Hurricanes, or Avalanche in a seven-game series and look beyond this spring.
THE PLAYERS
Joe: Those are good points, and I agree with that. I do think if the Sabres somehow get to the Eastern Conference Finals—which, with the way they have been playing, is a possibility, as crazy as that sounds—that would equal the furthest the Bills went.
With that said, let’s start with the players. We can easily agree that Josh Allen is by far the best player in Buffalo. If you’re starting a team that has to win this year in the NFL, Allen is easily in the top five—like a fantasy football draft.
As for the Sabres, you have Tage/Dahlin as your best players, but they aren’t in the same realm as Allen. With that being said, it is a team sport, and I tend to believe the Sabres have a better all-around team. If Tage is out for a month, I think the Sabres—while missing a beat—wouldn’t fall apart and would play around .500.
Every night for the Sabres, there’s always a different hero. You can’t say that about the Bills. Furthermore, the Sabres are younger and have way more cap flexibility than the Bills do.
Chris: Cap flexibility is a huge deal, in my opinion. Part of that is due to the Bills paying Allen $250 million. One thing I would add to your point about the team aspect: Allen has an outsized impact on each game, while the Sabres’ best players are playing, at most, 30 minutes a night. When you have a nuclear weapon at quarterback, you’re almost always going to be a competitor. So long as he’s taking snaps (and Brandon Beane isn’t using 34 draft picks on defensive linemen), the Bills are going to be in the thick of the AFC race.
The Sabres need to continue crafting a well-rounded lineup. It’s entirely possible that with a trade or two this offseason, the Sabres could be seen as one of the best teams in the East entering the 2026–27 season.
I think the cap situation really becomes a factor for the Bills in the coming years. At some point, they’ll need to pay for kicking these contracts down the road. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe it was the Saints who had to suffer through a season of cap jail after juggling extensions and restructures toward the end of Drew Brees’ career.
THE MANAGEMENT
Joe: The Saints definitely did. But keep in mind that was after like 15 years of trying to win by manipulating the cap. The Bills are about halfway there, so I do think they still have a few more years of flexibility—but not nearly as much as the Sabres do.
Speaking of which, I wanted to move to management, which includes ownership, GM, and head coach. I think you’d probably be inclined to say Lindy is a better head coach than Joe Brady. I mean, one guy has over 1,000 wins and the other guy has zero. However, I do think there could be some questions as to how long Lindy stays as HC. His contract is up after this year, and I’d like to assume he’s coming back—but maybe, and this is a HUGE maybe, Jarmo wants his own guy or Lindy wants to retire.
Then you have Jarmo vs. Beane. Beane seems to have way more power than Jarmo, I think. Both are known to be aggressive—or at least Beane wants the public to think that. I feel Beane has way more pressure and may want to move heaven and earth to get the Bills a title.
Then there’s Terry Pegula. For years, he’s been super frugal with the hockey team. I bet if this were 2016, Alex Tuch would have already been re-signed. He’s spent a ton on the Bills when it comes to paying players and you can’t say that about the Sabres. I wonder if he’ll change his tune now that the Sabres are good.
Chris: This is a tough one. Ruff may indeed be done after this year. He may feel like ending the drought is a good bow on his career. He may also wish to hit 2,000 games, which he would reach with one more season. Under normal circumstances, this sort of year would earn a coach an extension. I wouldn’t rule out an extension being agreed to quietly, with the Sabres waiting to announce it. But the lack of any leak puts some doubt in my mind.
I can definitely see Jarmo wanting his own guy. Since his impact as GM has been limited so far, there’s a lot to learn once he fully takes control. If he makes the wrong choice—or the wrong acquisitions—they could take a step back. I don’t mean to throw cold water on what the Sabres have done, but there are still unknowns. This surge is four months of good hockey rather than a long, sustained run.
Also—do we think Beane survives if the Bills disappoint? Or does he have more rope? Because if he gets this wrong, Pegula could justify a reset. Still, I think the Bills roster is closer—mainly because of Allen.
I’d favor the Bills in management, but just barely.
THE HISTORY
Joe: I think as long as Beane gets along with ownership and doesn’t have issues with the head coach, he’s got a job here for a while. For him to get canned, it would probably take missing the playoffs—which I don’t see happening.
Switching to history…there’s definitely a “LOL Sabres” mindset. Fourteen years without playoffs will do that. If the Sabres had made the playoffs even two or three times during that stretch, maybe I’d feel differently as I still have a this has to be a mirage and if someone puts out “These guys are good, scary good” t-shirt, I’ll be blocking some accounts.
There’s less pressure on them now. They’re playing with house money and are younger. The pressure on the Bills is DEFCON 1. Just ask the locker room after that Broncos playoff game.
So the question is: has the pressure gotten to them—and will it keep building—while the Sabres are just entering a new world of hope and zero expectations?
Chris: That whole Pegula/Allen thing was preposterous. How out of touch do you have to be to think Josh Allen wants to chat right after that loss? Just brutal. I actually thought Sean McDermott had more power than Beane, which might speak to that internal dynamic.
But you’re right about history. The Sabres have mirrored the Bills’ drought—years of futility and irrelevance. They’re playing with house money now, but expectations will shift quickly once the playoffs start—and again next season.
The Bills, though? Massive pressure. If they don’t get it done, what’s the legacy? Do they become the Rivers’ Charges?
THE FIELD
Joe: The legacy will be they had a great QB but couldn’t get the job done. It won’t be like the 90s Super Bowl Bills where it will be a bunch of Hall of Fame players with their heads held high. It will just be Josh Allen being viewed as a fallen hero.
Now to the last part...the field. This is where I honestly go towards the Sabres a bit here. I feel that if you are a playoff team in hockey…ANYTHING can happen.
The Panthers were an 8th seed 3 years ago and got to the finals. The Habs, yes, it was during covid, reached the finals when they were like the 24th best team before covid halted that season and made everyone go to the Canadian/American bubble. An expansion team made it to the Finals once within the last 10 years. The Predators made it to the finals as an 8th seed and the LA Kings in 2012 won the whole thing as an 8th seed. I could keep going with hockey teams making a deep run after being thought as an afterthought.
As for football...It has been a long time since like a 6th or 7th seed has made it far in the playoffs. I feel like you can pencil in the Steelers/Chargers for wildcard losses yearly. My overall point is while the Stanley Cup playoffs are intense and maybe even harder, anything can happen. While in the NFL, that doesn’t feel the same with the unpredictability.
Chris: You’re not wrong. A goalie can flip a series. But does that mean you don’t see the Bills as AFC East champs going forward?
Joe: No, I still think they’ll compete for that. I just think it’s easier in hockey to catch lightning in a bottle and shock everyone.
FINAL VERDICT
Joe: So you’re at the casino—who are you betting on to win a title first?
Chris: I’m taking the Bills. In the short term, they’re closer. Beane just needs to keep the roster competitive and Allen needs to stay healthy. Until it looks like he is going to falter, Allen is the determining factor for me.
Joe: I agree…but I think we might be a little early on this. If the Sabres make a deep run, this could flip quickly. Either way, it’s been a LONG time since both teams have been good and it’s a pretty great problem to have.
What Is a Bandwagon Fan?
We all have our low moments in life where we flirt with the dark side. Especially when you’re younger, a little lost, and trying to figure out who you are. That’s what happened to me after Super Bowl XXVII, when the Buffalo Bills got absolutely steamrolled by the Dallas Cowboys.
I was 13. Going through puberty. A little chubby. Already dealing with enough. I didn’t need the Bills getting their doors blown off on the biggest stage added to the pile. At that point, I basically was in Bills gear everywhere. That was my identity to go along with Skidz and an occasional “Merry Go Round” sweater.
But losing three straight Super Bowls?
I needed a change. So I did the unthinkable.
I became a Cowboys fan.
It’s ironic now, because I can’t stand Jerry Jones, and the whole corporate-machine vibe of that franchise repulses me. But at the time, I didn’t care about any of that. I just wanted to be on the winning side. The Cowboys were the new hot thing that used to be a thing, but then the 80s happened and they went into the toilet. They became the hot girl who just walked into class. And I jumped on it.
I got two Cowboys hats, a t-shirt, and one of those “Doomsday Defense” posters with like eight defensive guys on it.
I was all in. In junior high, that was the era where you started making your own calls on what you wore, and that came with consequences.
If you rocked a Starter jacket from teams like the Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, LA Lakers, Chicago Bulls, New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, or New York Knicks or basically any team that was either brand new or suddenly good, you got labeled immediately:
Bandwagon fan.
And the upperclassmen didn’t play around. They’d press you on the bus like reporters.
“Name five players.”
If you couldn’t rattle off guys like Kendall Gill or Dell Curry or Sherman Douglass, you were cooked. Me? I could name the entire Cowboys defense without blinking because I was obsessed with following the league.
Didn’t matter. Nobody believed me. And you know what?
They were right.
I was a bandwagon fan.
It came at a time when the Cowboys were rolling, the Bills had me fed up, and I just wanted something different. Something easier. Something that felt like winning. And it lasted…what, a few months? By June, I could already feel it fading. Once football season started creeping back around, I knew.
That wasn’t me.
You don’t just switch off who you really root for. Not for long, anyway.
Which brings me to now, because I’ve seen a few think pieces floating around about the Buffalo Sabres becoming a “bandwagon team” and if fans should want outsiders to jump on it.
Yes, Sabres fans have suffered. Yes, they’ve heard your punchlines. Yes, they’ve been waiting a generation for this moment. And that’s exactly why everyone else should clear out and leave them alone. Anyone who’s managed to stick with this team for the last 15 years and beyond has earned this. The rest of you haven’t, so don’t try to crowd in their territory. They’re not your charity case, and they don’t need your pity. This is their moment, not yours, so get out of the way.
I have no idea who these people are talking about. I’m the first to say Buffalo sports fans are assholes and have very thin skin when it comes to outsiders taking a dump on the team. But when it comes to ballwashing our teams? Get your towels and Manscape.
I haven’t seen waves of Sabres fans online screaming that outsiders aren’t allowed on the ride. Sure, maybe there’s one random troll with 25 followers yelling at Duane or someone from Trainwreck, saying if you didn’t suffer through 2021 you’re not welcome. And yeah, that tweet probably gets screenshotted and RT to hell and suddenly it becomes:
“Wow, look at all these fans gatekeeping!”
That’s how it works now. The fringe becomes the headline.
But in reality?
I can’t think of anyone—fans, media, players—whose opinion I care about less when it comes to “who’s allowed” to root for a team. There’s room. There’s always room.
If people want to jump on because the Sabres are finally fun again, good. That’s the whole point. Sports are better when more people care. The only scenario that might make me pause is if Jack Eichel suddenly said he’s pulling for the Sabres in the Finals. Then I might raise an eyebrow and go, alright, let’s relax here. Even then, I’ll probably allow it because he had every right to want to blow this pop stand when he wanted out.
Right now, we are in a good vibes era. The diehards feel like they earned it. They sat through the losses, the rebuilds, the nights where you’re watching out of obligation more than hope. But if there are some weirdos out there that only want it for them, well, that doesn’t mean you need to guard the door once things get good.
A bandwagon fan isn’t some unforgivable sin.
Sometimes it’s just a kid, frustrated and searching for something better, grabbing onto the nearest winner. And if you’re lucky, you grow out of it and find your way back to who you actually are.
Even if it takes a few Cowboys hats to figure it out.
Is the WR Train Becoming a Smokescreen?
The “WR Train” made a stop last week after the Buffalo Bills had KC Consiuielo in for a visit. Oh, you thought the WR question was answered within the ranks of Twitter and content creation with the addition of DJ Moore?? THINK AGAIN!
There are a lot of reasons why this happened outside of just “the Bills are interested” or that they want intel so that years from now, when he’s a free agent, they can look back at their notes. I mean, they already met at the combine or at the other 75 draft pitstops before the actual draft.
One thing I haven’t seen enough of is that this could also be a smokescreen…I don’t want to be accused of being “My cousin Vinny” with being Alakazam’s worst nightmare by telling you how he hid the cards, but is this a big deal? or is it just let’s expand the never-ending Bills content merry-go-round that I am hypocritically writing about.
Remember, the Bills had Xavier Worthy in for a visit in 2024, and they passed on him—and even traded out of that spot so KC could draft him. In 2023, the Bills didn’t have Dalton Kincaid in for a pre-draft visit, and I’m pretty sure after he was picked, some Bills beat person said, “Well, they didn’t need him to come in because they already got all the information they wanted at the Combine.” In 2022, only James Cook was selected out of their pre draft visits. In 2021, no one was drafted out of their pre draft visits.
It’s an old game where these visits are just an endless cycle of way too many layers to the offseason where all options are on the table, even the ones we don’t want to admit. As a cynic, Football is a business—and an underhanded one at that. And I am team let’s consider that this could be a smokescreen.
I’m not against the Bills drafting a WR in the first round, but it wouldn’t be my first choice, and I would have questions. Now, if this KC guy is by far the best player on your board—fine. But we’ll never know how their board looks and they’ll just lie to us on Bills Embedded.
But yes, I’m pulling that break cord above my seat on the WR train because I just don’t think it makes sense economically speaking.
I get it—drafting WRs equals cheap, controlled production.
The problem in this case is that if you draft someone in the first round, that guy may have issues getting on the field during his rookie season and to me that wastes a cheaper contracted season. The Bills already have two tight ends they are very high on. They already have their core three WRs in Moore–Shakir–Palmer, with Keon Coleman being the wild card (or bust card).
I’m not drafting a WR in the first round to be my No. 4 option this season—especially in an offense that plays a lot of 12 personnel and has the rushing champion on it. If you are upset about Mel Kiper having the Bills draft a CB in the first round, this kind of feels like the same thing AND I think the WR room is better than the CB room. If Palmer wasn’t there or Brady had a come to Jesus meeting with wanting to throw the ball out of 11 personnel like it was 2021, I’d go for it. However, I’m of the mindset that a guy you draft in the first round needs to play right away.
I know Keon Coleman being forced to play in his rookie season is fresh in people’s minds, but that’s how it should have been. If it’s a position of need and you’re drafted in the first round, it should be baptism by fire—not sitting on the bench and learning from veterans.
In my opinion, rookie wide receivers tend to have a big impact and transition to the pros easier than other positions. So that’s why I have reservations about using a first-round pick on a WR. Now, if the Bills want to draft one in the third round—or if Joe Brady has an epiphany and wants to bring back 2021 Josh Allen with nonstop throwing and work the 2nd TE in on goal line situations—I’ll definitely listen.
But first round?
That’s a statement.
Now if you want me to get into hype bro season…If Brandon Beane really wants to shake things up—if he wants to say, “We’re not tied to old plans, old roles, old assumptions, and wants the SHADES MEME TO RETURN!! .” Then yeah…Drafting a WR in the first round would absolutely do that!!
Or… and I’m coming back down to earth here..Maybe this is all just smoke.
And the Bills are sitting back, watching everyone chase the wrong train.
Stathead of the week
Josh Allen’s QB rankings since 2018
Passing TDs: 3rd (220)
INTs: 2nd (94)
Passing yards: 3rd (30102 yards)
Sacked: 9th (229)
Dad Shots
-- The IOC ruling that trans athletes cannot compete in the Olympics comes off as making a beef when there isn’t even a beef to be had. Less than 1% of people in the U.S. identify as trans, and as much as transphobic people want to pretend that Bronny James is going to grow breasts and join/dominate the WNBA, or pretend that Imane Khelif—who boxed for Algeria in the 2024 Olympics—is trans because she doesn’t fit their standards of attractiveness, there hasn’t been a precedent for this at the Olympics. Only one grifter swimmer has complained about being “screwed” after tying for fifth with a transgender athlete. With what the IOC has done is to go along with the republicans hell bent crusade against the transgender community. Thos will now become a gateway drug for people to bring up at every school board meeting, putting an unnecessary magnifying glass on trans kids and justifying the “concerns” of F-150 bumpersticker reply guy crowd.
And I don’t buy the “this is for women’s sports” argument from every republican talking head or Facebook boomer snitch tagger. These are the same people who have trashed the WNBA, the U.S. women’s soccer team, and countless other women’s rights efforts throughout history. It’s a right-wing “controversy” with little to no substance.
This sort of transgender banishment is being legitimized by the people who are supposed to rise above manufactured outrage, not enshrine it.
— Death, taxes, and Buffalo sports fans turning into art critics the second anything visual drops. Uniforms, logos, statues, vibes—doesn’t matter. We will debate it like it’s a Supreme Court case.
So the Bills finally unveiled the buffalo statues outside the stadium, and honestly…yeah, they nailed the size part. Which is funny, because we spent a year being told by designers (via the Embedded propaganda machine) that fans didn’t want some massive, intimidating beast. I nearly dislocated my neck disagreeing. This is Buffalo. Everything should be oversized and slightly aggressive. That’s the brand. Everyone wanted giant Buffaloes, which I feel the unveiling succeeded in. I kind of wonder if Pat McAfee -who the Bills fucking love beyond reason-might have influenced this decision to go bigger or maybe the outcry after the Embedded guy said fans wanted a smaller Buffalo reached the Pegula ivory tower.
Now, do these things look like a Cybertruck mated with a Transformer and gave birth in Orchard Park? A little bit. It’s got that “futuristic but also confused” energy. The herd concept feels more like something players should run under the Buffaloes balls in pregame intros while entering the field while smoke cannons go off and someone yells “LET’S GO” into a mic. That said…the nighttime look? Pretty sick. The smoke idea? Even better. It’s got presence.
Overall grade: B. Solid. Not life-changing, not embarrassing.
--I wonder how many season tickets the Sabres will sell next season. I know the vibes are hot and they are selling out the arena. But will we ever get to that 05/06 waiting list era? Obviously they probably have to make a legit run in the playoffs for that to happen. Jeremy White had mentioned that he had a conversation with Pete Guillei about sabres season tickets being on the move. Is that a lot or a little?
One of the reasons the Sabres had a long waitlist 20 years ago was that the Bills were a disaster. Fans were LIVID at Tom Donahoe and they were in year 5 of the playoff drought. They finished 2005 with an 5-11 record, fired Donahoe, replaced him with Marv Levy at GM (Meh), Mike Mularkey took his toys and went home (Kind of embarrassing but bye) and hired Dick Jauron (Blah!). Ralph Wilson was also complaining about revenue sharing and they evil relocation narrative started to become a thing. I think the Bills downfall at that time made the Sabres jettison to the #1 sport in Buffalo at that time, all the the sweeter.
I don’t think you can say that about the Bills today. They are still kings in that town. More importantly, people who may double up as Bills/Sabres attendees, may not have enough money IF they just bought PSLs to the new stadium.
--So Daredevil season premiere decided to just throw in there that Matt Murdock and Karen Page are now a love interest? No backstory…just they’ve been fucking. Fine. Love story in comic book genres are usually bathroom breaks anyways.
--The Bills added some depth. Outside of Sherfield who is useless as WR, but good on special teams which I’m sure Pat Moran is thrilled about, the other 2 OL are interesting after I Googled them.
Austin Corbett (G/C): 94 career NFL games. 2018-19 Browns, 2019-21 Rams, 2022-25 Panthers. Played 13 games in 2025. In the 2025 season, Carolina Panthers offensive lineman Austin Corbett earned a solid 67.2 overall PFF grade, ranking 30th among 81 qualified guards, notes PFF. He recorded a 60.9 pass-blocking grade and a 66.7 run-blocking grade across 673 snaps, allowing 14 total pressures and 3 sacks, according to PFF.
Lloyd Cushenberry III (C): 80 career games. 2020-23 Broncos, 2024-25 Titans. Played 15 games in 2025. PFF graded Cushenberry a 55.2 overall in 2025, ranking 36th out of 40 centers, with a 65.5 pass-blocking grade (20th) and 51.2 run-blocking grade (39th). His 2024 season was cut short by a Week 9 Achilles tear, following a career-best 73.2 overall grade in 2023.
Is this more about depth or guys who can compete for starting jobs?
-- I dunno, but that cruise line commercial where the 3 generations of father and son end up going on the same cruise over the years that makes me emotional…can get bent. I don’t want to cry thinking about cruises. Show me a commercial with food, babysitters, drinks, more babysitters, daycare, pools, and more food. That will get me to use buy your cruise instead of me cruising for the tissue box.
-- Citi Field is much better than Yankee Stadium and it isn’t even close.
—I don’t know dick about baseball but this is my fantasy baseball squad
-- If you made it this far…thank you for reading! Please share and subscribe. I’m scheduled for Talking Buffalo which drops on Monday so give a listen and fast forward Pats talking parts. Also, if you want to send me money, I won’t object. Just kidding! [Shifty eyes]
I forgot that you were briefly a Cowboys fan and I’M SICKENED BY IT!