AvengerRam has 20 (simply awful) start thoughts…

Here’s AvengerRam…

1. That was tough to watch.

2. I'm going to start by giving credit to the Buffalo Bills for what they are - possibly the best team in the league right now.

3. The Bills defense is very strong, and Von Miller does seem to be the final piece they needed.

4. Josh Allen leads an offense that will keep opposing defenses off balance and strike with big plays.

5. But, for @#$%&'s sake.... we're the defending champions. There is no excuse for such a poor showing.

6. The biggest disappointment by far was the play of the offensive line. No push in the running game, and absolutely dismal performance in pass protection.

7. The lack of protection provides context for Matthew Stafford's poor outing, but I'm not going to fully absolve him. He held the ball way too long, and failed to spread the ball around meaningfully. And no... it wasn't because of his elbow.

8. Cooper Kupp did his thing, but he can't be asked to be the whole offense week after week.

9. Allen Robinson was the invisible man tonight. Very surprised by that. Whether it was a function of Stafford's lack of time, a lack of chemistry, or something else... time will tell.

10. Makes me think that we missed Van Jefferson more than I thought we would.

11. Makes me REALLY think that we need to stop messing around and finally sign OBJ. While I know he can't help for a while, we may need him to make another playoff run.

12. As for the defense.... we continue to be vulnerable to misdirection and quick throws. Those are, after all, the only things that can neutralize Aaron Donald.

13. The secondary was just plain bad tonight. I don't know what Jalen Ramsey was doing on the Diggs TD. Perhaps he rightfully expected help, perhaps it was his fault. Either way, it was embarrassing.

14. Can the defense come around? Absolutely.

15. Can the offensive line get where it needs to be? Its fair to doubt that.

16. I was surprised to see Darrell Henderson starting, and even more surprised to see Cam Akers with such a minimal role.

17. Nick Scott gets credit for forcing two fumbles. Those turnovers, along with Allen's two interceptions, prevented an even worse outcome.

18. As big and strong as Allen is, he's not going to last if he keeps taking unnecessary hits. Just ask Cam Newton.

19. I expected adversity this season, just as we had last year. Guess it's coming sooner than expected. We'll see how the team reacts. Certainly, having a couple of extra days to prepare to host a weak Atlanta team is favorable.

20. For seven months we had joy and revelry. That's over now (though the memories will last forever). Now we're back to the grind. This was a tough day. Better days will come.