The Buffalo Bills have been successful lately, but they haven’t yet advanced to the NFL’s championship game. Many now feel that their window for winning the Super Bowl has already closed following a significant squad shuffle during the most recent offseason.
This may sound like a ridiculous assertion, given that NFL star quarterback Josh Allen is still just in his 20s, but it is worth investigating. In the middle of their careers, many excellent signal-callers were placed on subpar teams.
Which begs the question: Is Allen one of them? Will Buffalo continue to make the playoffs like they have every year, or have they damaged their roster too much to salvage it?
This argument is further complicated by the AFC’s heightened level of competition. Buffalo will have to contend with the formidable Kansas City Chiefs in addition to a plethora of emerging clubs. Is it plus their major losses too much to bear?
The Bills had to dismiss a number of veterans before to free agency in order to make ends meet. Additionally, they lost their two best wide outs in a trade and to free agency.
For a while, it seemed inevitable that Stefon Diggs would be traded because the two sides couldn’t agree on anything. Buffalo made the decision to trade him to the Houston Texans, bolstering a strong rival team within their own conference.
The Bills also traded back with the Chiefs on draft night, so this wasn’t the only occasion they supported an AFC opponent at wide receiver. This gave Kansas City the opportunity to choose Xavier Worthy, who many predict will be their best wide receiver this year.
Many other AFC clubs, in addition to the Chiefs, are hoping to take advantage of their circumstances and qualify for the Super Bowl. The Texans made significant progress in their debut season under C.J. Stroud, while the Baltimore Ravens came dangerously close to winning it all.
With what they expect to be healthy, elite quarterbacks, teams like the New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals will be hoping to make an impression. This year could also see a breakthrough for other near-contenders like the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars.
To sum up, the AFC is not for everyone. The days of scheduling Buffalo vs. Kansas City in advance of the season are long gone, and both teams will need to battle to make it back to the later stages of the tournament.
It’s unlikely the Bills will make significant progress this season if they are unable to adjust and get past their personnel turnover. It seems unlikely that they will finish in the top two in their league, hence finishing in the top two across the AFC will be difficult.
In the NFL, it is difficult to predict change. A squad that is expected to surge to the top will frequently fall short and finish toward the bottom of the pack. On the other hand, teams that are expected to struggle will frequently surprise everyone and keep winning.
The Bills haven’t shown that they’re anything but a contender, even though the situation is undoubtedly worse than it has been in prior years. While Sean McDermott prepares to embark on his ninth season as head coach of Buffalo, Allen remains at the top of his game. McDermott has established himself as one of the greatest in the NFL.
There is still a ton of skill spread out over the squad, even beyond the team’s stars. One of the top young running backs in the NFL is James Cook, while tight end Dalton Kincaid, who was chosen in the first round of the 2023 lottery, had several standout performances in his rookie campaign.
Ideally, Allen will have plenty of time to throw to his new targets because Buffalo’s offensive line is one of the best in the league. These include Keon Coleman, the 33rd overall choice, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Curtis Samuel, and Chase Claypool.
With his ability to leap ball and Allen’s tendency to hurl it down the field, Coleman should be a valuable weapon for Allen. Following a double-trade down that let them accumulate additional draft cash, Coleman was chosen.
The defensive side of the ball was more severely harmed by the offseason losses, despite the presence of some notable players. Taron Johnson and Rasul Douglas will try to do well in the secondary, while A.J. Epenesa, Ed Oliver, and Greg Rousseau lead a formidable defensive line.
Even though the roster isn’t what it was the previous season, the essential components are still there for the team to thrive. Buffalo might not lose a step in their quest for a Super Bowl berth if they are assembled properly before the season.
Buffalo might stumble after going through so many changes, but that’s not a certainty. Even if they didn’t make it to the NFL’s championship game, Allen and McDermott have continuously made this squad competitive. To anticipate anything different would be audacious unless shown differently.
The Bills’ window is not entirely closed, even if they don’t exhibit any high-level contention indicators this season. They might change their roster in the future, just as swiftly as they did this summer.
To be honest, a lot would need to happen before Buffalo’s Super Bowl window could be entirely closed. Even while things could appear bleaker for a while, it doesn’t imply it’s time to restart.
The Bills will be in contention for the championship as long as Allen keeps up his strong play. Super quarterbacks can succeed no matter who surrounds them, as Patrick Mahomes recently demonstrated, even though they may not be on the same level. Although performance might change, Buffalo shouldn’t become alarmed just yet.