The Buffalo Bills have defied early concerns about this season being a down year, showing that with Josh Allen at quarterback, they can still achieve great things.
The Bills are firmly in control of the AFC East, leading by four wins over their closest rival, the New York Jets (3-6), and are on track to claim their fifth consecutive division title.
However, questions still remain about just how good the Bills really are. At 7-2, they still have to prove themselves further. How do they compare to the rest of the NFL? These questions could be answered in the next six weeks, which includes a bye week, before they finish their season with games against the New England Patriots and the Jets.
So far, the Bills’ schedule has included only one win against a team with a winning record (Arizona), and losses to both Baltimore (6-3) and Houston (6-3). Now, as they approach a tougher part of the schedule, we’ll learn more about their true strength.
The challenging stretch begins with a game against Indianapolis (4-5) on Sunday, followed by home games against Kansas City and San Francisco, and then road games against the Rams and Detroit.
While their schedule may have seemed easy at times, the Bills have shown resilience by pushing through injuries and working around a roster reshaped after an offseason cap purge that led to the departure of six of their eight captains.
General manager Brandon Beane deserves credit for restocking the roster with young players who have stepped up in key roles.
Coach Sean McDermott has played a big part in developing those players while keeping the team’s culture focused on unity and teamwork, a culture that was missing before McDermott and Beane joined the team in 2017.
Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott have accomplished their goal of building a strong team in Buffalo, with the Bills now taking control of a division that was once dominated by the Patriots and their coach-quarterback duo of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.
However, one thing is still missing: success in the playoffs.
Under McDermott, the Bills have a 5-6 record in playoff games, with only one trip to the AFC Championship game. That appearance ended in a 38-24 loss to the Chiefs in the 2020 season. Buffalo has now been eliminated by Kansas City three times in the last four years, and once by Cincinnati.
Given that the Bills’ roster includes 17 players—nine of whom are starters—with fewer than three full seasons of NFL experience, is it fair to expect more from them this year? And how big of a role will injuries play?
Wide receivers Amari Cooper and Keon Coleman are dealing with wrist injuries, rookie defensive tackle DeWayne Carter is out for at least two more weeks after wrist surgery, and starting linebacker Matt Milano is not expected to return until December at the earliest.
On the positive side, victories like the one Buffalo had on Sunday, when they beat Miami 30-27 with a franchise-record 61-yard field goal by Tyler Bass with just five seconds left, can give the team a boost as they continue to figure out their identity.
“We’re fundamentally better than we were today. There’s still a lot to improve on,” McDermott said. “But we hung in there.” Keep watching a team that is still growing and developing.
