SB Nation Reacts Results: Has panic set in with Bills Mafia?

Ebbs and flows. Every NFL season is loaded with them, and the same holds true for our weekly Reacts polls asking Buffalo Bills fans whether they're confident or not in the team's direction. Following a win, even ugly ones, upward spikes are expected. In a loss, whether close and agonizing or a complete blowout, fans tend to fall of the wagon.

That the Bills lost in Week 4 shouldn't have been a complete surprise to the fan base. Buffalo was on the road playing a uniquely dangerous Baltimore Ravens team intent on proving they're far better than that 1-2 record implied. And so they were.

In turn, losing doesn't mean the Bills are worse then their 3-0 record implied to people. It's just that the NFL is a week-to-week league that has most within the sport re-evaluating nearly everything with each new game.

Admit it, you really didn't believe the Buffalo Bills were going 17-0 this season. The most seasoned die-hard fans likely wouldn't have said so given the amount of roster turnover and the clear youth infusion happening at One Bills Drive.

This week's results might surprise a few people — and that's because while there was a drop in confidence, it wasn't a precipitous fall. Are we Joshin' you, Mr. Brightside?

Right now, 88% of voters are confident in the Bills' direction. Last week, with Buffalo 3-0 and entering play against the Ravens, the confidence rate was at a season-high 96%.

It's a reminder never to get too high or too low in your expectations of the Bills.

In Week 5, the Bills have a great opportunity to pick themselves up after a sound beating. Performing well and winning on the road in Houston would remind people that Buffalo still has one of the NFL's elite teams.

The Bills are set to reconnect with Stefon Diggs on Sunday, but not so he can catch passes once again from quarterback Josh Allen. This marks the first game for Diggs against his former team, and it remains one of the hottest topics in the league this week.

Without Diggs, the Bills have adopted an "everybody eats" offensive identity. We hear it almost every day. But what's really at the heart of it? Is it about checking egos and prioritizing team over individual stats? Perhaps it really has everything to do with spreading the ball around more to help Allen and the offense evolve.

Regardless we understand that game to game, anyone could have a day, whereas before it was almost assured we'd see Stefon Diggs having said day or no one at all.

Within that framework, we wanted to know who voters think best fills that role vacated by Diggs. Simply: Who is Allen throwing to when it's 4th & 4 and they need the completion to convert (and in a situation where he isn't able to scramble)?

Believe you know who it is, and that the answer's a simple one? Well, most voters said that it's wide receiver Khalil Shakir, who garnered more percentage of votes (63%) than the other seven options combined (37%). Looking at the results, it essentially came down to three players between Shakir, tight end Dalton Kincaid, and running back James Cook. Lumped in among the 1% of votes for other players is rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman. That's not a referendum on Cole, more just a byproduct of his being four games into his NFL career. Of note: No highly regarded free-agent signing was able to touch any of Buffalo's drafted skill players.

The question now becomes who steps up in Shakir's absence? Allen won't have Shakir to rely on in key situations thanks to an ankle injury he played through in Baltimore last weekend.

Does losing Shakir (as well starters in defensive tackle Ed Oliver and safety Taylor Rapp) impact how bettors feel about the Buffalo Bills' chances covering the spread with FanDuel ?

It doesn't appear so, at least not at this point in time, with 65% of voters saying the Bills will cover in Week 5.

Head coach Sean McDermott understands there's a lot of work to do and it's a long season featuring few opportunities to absorb mistakes. There's some pretty clear evidence to show that the Bills don't match up well with highly physical teams. That must change if they hope to remain in contention.