Rex Ryan Wants To Face The Patriots Right Now
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Rex Ryan is the most unpredictable man in the NFL. When he's down, he is down, so much so that he once declared his team's playoff hopes dead after a Week 15 loss in 2009, only to later make the playoffs and advance all the way to the AFC Championship Game.
But when he's up -- oh, boy, is he ever up.
And the morning after he took his Bills into his old home in New Jersey and emerged with an ugly 22-17 win on Thursday night, you can bet the head coach is feeling quite confident.
So confident, in fact, that he wishes his team could play the Patriots right now.
On to New England: "I'd sign up to play the Pats right here, right now. 70 mph wind. Might level out their passing." pic.twitter.com/QqNLLqrsQk
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) November 13, 2015
Eeeeeeassssy there, Rex.
Thursday's win got the Bills to 5-4 on the season, and it kept them right in the thick of the race for a wild-card spot in the AFC playoffs. Yet with a Monday night meeting with the Patriots in New England next up on the schedule, the Bills are going to need to bring a much better game than the one they brought to the Meadowlands on Thursday night.
The Bills still own the 24th-ranked offense in the league, averaging just a tick over 200 yards passing per game. Defensively, they remain middle-of-the-pack, and middle-of-the-pack typically isn't enough to stifle Tom Brady's offense. (70 mph winds, admittedly, would help in that regard.)
The last time these two teams met, the Patriots were actually underdogs. Brady threw for 466 yards and three touchdowns, and the Patriots put up 40 points. The Bills scored a couple of garbage-time touchdowns to make the final score close, but the Patriots simply ran over the Bills in their own stadium. Even the hyper-confident Rex acknowledged as much on Friday.
But of course, these days, it seems like Ryan can't speak at a press conference without referencing the Patriots. He said earlier this week that he didn't circle the meetings with the Jets on the calendar; he only circles the games against the Patriots. It's a trend that's continued from Rex's first days with the Jets six years ago, and it's not one that's going to end any time soon.
And for that, we should all be thankful. Even when the games are dreadfully painful to watch, Rex at least provides a little extra reason to keep watching.