My Happiness Plotted by Week During Buffalo Bills 2016 Season

Preseason: I am feeling pretty good about this years Bills team. They have a talented roster and if the defense can rebound from last year I can see them breaking their 16 year playoff drought. My happiness rating in the preseason is a 7 out of 10.

Week 1: The Bills lose a brutal game to the Baltimore Ravens 13 -7. The offense looked like it reverted to the Dick Jauron era but it was a close game and a tough loss on the road. I'm mad but hey, we play the Jets next week and we beat them twice last year. My happiness rating drops from a 7 to a 6 out of 10.

Week 2: The Bills home opener against the Jets was just about as bad as it gets. After a 37 - 31 loss in which Ryan Fitzpatrick of all people torched the secondary I was hurt. The Bills are now 0-2 with games coming up against Arizona and New England. I start to have my first thoughts about our 2017 draft position. My happiness drops from a 6 to a 4 out of 10.

Week 3: The Bills finally get their first win of the season in a nice 33 - 18 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. I should feel much better about this victory but with a meeting against the Patriots next week looming I am cautious to get my hopes up. It doesn't matter that Tom Brady won't be playing, the Patriots are still 3-0 without him. My happiness raises 1 point to a five out of 10 after a victory over the Cardinals.

Week 4: The Bills shutdown a Jacoby Brissett led New England Patriots team 16-0. It was the first time the Patriots were shut out in Gillette Stadium. Brady or not, a win against the Patriots and especially a shut out feels great. The Bills are back to .500 and I am flying high as a kite. My happiness shoots up 2.5 points to a 7.5 out of 10.

Week 5: Buffalo heads to Los Angeles to play the Rams in their first season since moving from St. Louis. The Bills played a complete game dominating the Rams 30-19. They now have a winning record and with the lowly 49ers coming up next week. I'm feeling like it might be ok to utter the P word soon...Playoffs. My happiness raised from a 7.5 to 8 out of 10.

Week 6: Buffalo absolutely dominated the San Francisco 49ers and even put in their backups by the end of the game. It's been too long since I have seen the Bills win so decisively. The Bills are now 4-2 and just one game behind the Patriots for the lead in the division with two divisional matchups coming up against the Dolphins and Patriots. They control their own destiny and that feels good. My happiness is now a 9 out of 10. I am practically bursting at the seems with Bills pride.

Week 7: What goes up must come down. It's a heart breaker for Buffalo as they lose to Miami 28-25 but the final score does not show how much Miami dominated the game. I'm upset about the loss but they just won four straight games. Am I really supposed to expect them to get to a fifth after the past 16 years? My happiness drops one point to a 8 out of 10.

Week 8: The Bills faceoff against Tom Brady for the first time this season and the Patriots are anxious to get revenge on Buffalo who shut them out earlier in the year. Tom Brady showed why he is Tom Brady and the Patriots did what they have done for way too long to the Bills and beat them handily 41 to 25. The Bills are back to .500 and my happiness has now dropped down to a 6 out of 10.

Week 9: Buffalo suffers a devastating Monday Night Football loss to the Seattle Seahawks and the referees. There were several bad calls in this game that went against the Bills which could have changed the outcome of the game. I am pissed off. The team now has a losing record again and the bye week is next week which means I have to think about this game for two weeks. My happiness drops a point to a 5 out of 10.

Week 10: Bye week. I'm still steaming over the referees from last week but I am starting to understand that the Bills probably aren't going to the playoffs unless they go on some big run to end the season. My happiness remains a 5 out of 10 this week.

Week 11: Buffalo wins a tight road game in Cincinnati 16-12 and are now back to .500. With an upcoming game against Jacksonville I'm feeling a little better. My happiness raises a point to a 6 out of 10.

Week 12: The Bills exact revenge on the Jacksonville Jaguars from an ugly loss in London which caused me to drink more than I should have, earlier in the day than I should have, last season. You can't get too excited about beating Jacksonville so my happiness only raises half a point to 6.5 out of 10.

Week 13: Buffalo heads out west to face one of the best teams in the NFL in a difficult road matchup. My expectations were not very high for a win in this game and that turned out to be proper way to feel. However, the Bills didn't just lose, they played terrible in one of the most important games of the season. I am mad as heck and my happiness drops a full point to a 5.5 out of 10.

Week 14: The Bills played an ugly game last week but they can still make the playoffs if they win out and after this Pittsburgh game, they have three winnable games on their schedule. However, the Bills backed up their poor performance the prior week with another stinker and the Pittsburgh Steelers beat them 27-20. There is still a 1 percent chance at the playoffs but it's nearly impossible. I'm back to feeling the lowest I have all season at a 4 out of 10. The last time I felt this bad this year the Bills were 0-2 and just lost to the Jets at home in prime time.

Week 15: The Bills face off against the winless Browns. Buffalo's playoffs hopes are almost done but I' just as amped up for this game because I don't want to be the only team this season to lose to the Browns. The Bills played a good game and the Browns helped beat themselves. It felt good seeing a team as bad as the Browns and reminding myself things could be worse than being a Bills fan. My happiness climbs a full point to 5 out of 10.

Week 16: Buffalo has a home game against Miami in December which normally is a good thing but after scoring the go ahead touchdown with just over a minute left, the defense let the Dolphins comeback and send the game into overtime. In overtime the Bills would get several chances including a missed field goal to win but couldn't get it done ultimately ending their playoff chances with a 34-31 loss to the Dolphins in overtime. My happiness drops two points to a season low 3 out of 10.

Week 17: The Bills should have a very winnable matchup against the Jets, but after firing Rex Ryan during the week and benching Tyrod Taylor to protect themselves from an injury clause in his contract, the team is a mess. EJ Manuel showed why he never cut it with the Bills the first time around and the Jets put it to the Bills winning 30-10 in an ugly game for Buffalo. The Jets swept the series against the Bills this season and Buffalo finished the season with two straight losses and a new search for a head coach. It's the same old story for this team and my happiness drops another point to a season low 2.0 out of 10. It would be lower but the Bills still have some talented players on the roster who I like. The silver lining with the loss to the Jets is the Bills now get the 10th overall pick in the draft. It'd be nice to not have to keep having thoughts like that year after year.