It has been nice to have the Buffalo Bills riding high the past several years. Sure there has been no Super Bowl appearance but the seasons have been exciting with two AFC championship games. The ultimate prize has remained just out a reach.
There have been no “wide rights” but the league has changed the rules a couple times after the Bills’ season ending losses: one providing for both teams to have possession in overtime, and the other to add precision to the spot of the ball. Either or both of those changes might have taken the Bills to the Super Bowl if they had been in place previously.
The national and local media all have the team primed for another run at the prize this season. The New York Times’ Athletic, in their annual projections for total victories for all 32 teams, has Buffalo at 11.2 wins, the highest in the league.
There are still a few issues that linger leading up to the home opener on Sunday night against the Baltimore Ravens:
- There were plenty of injuries in training camp although none appear to have led to weeks-long or season-ending situations thus far except for defensive tackle DeWayne Carter who is out for the season. The safety position is a major concern. A 34-year-old Jordon Poyer isn’t going to be a major factor. Here’s hoping that such things will be only minimally disruptive during the season.
- The team has the MVP quarterback but the receiver group lacks a major star. Khalil Shakir had a great season last year and Keon Coleman showed promise. One or both need a breakaway year.
- The backup quarterback will once again be Mitch Trubisky. The reality in the NFL these days is that no team can really afford a top-notch veteran QB in the backup role, so like the Bills many teams will hope and pray all season that their guy in the starting position remains healthy.
- Will Tyler Bass remain healthy as the team’s kicker and will he perform consistently throughout the season? The fact that the team brought in some other kickers for a try-out last week is an indication of their concern.
The schedule for the season is difficult but perhaps not as bad as in some other recent years. Here is my breakdown of the games:
Eastern Division. The Bills should remain the dominant team. Mike Vrabel is a good coach and the New England Patriots will be a better team than they have been since Tom Brady and Bill Belichick left town. A lot depends on how well QB Drake Maye is developing. The Miami Dolphins and New York Jets look to be also rans again. The Bills should get at least five wins out the six games within the Division.
Cannot/should not lose to opponents. The games against the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, and Cleveland Browns are must wins. Only the Saints’ game is in Orchard Park.
More of a challenge. Games against the Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (played here), Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Texans, and Cincinnati Bengals (here) will be legitimately difficult games. Four wins would be nice but three might be more realistic.
The tough ones. The Bills play the Kansas City Chiefs – again! – in the regular season. And then there are the Ravens and the Philadelphia Eagles. The good thing about those games is that they are spaced throughout the season — Baltimore in the opener, the Chiefs in early November, and the Eagles as the second to last game. Plus they will all be played at Highmark Stadium! The Bills have had a knack for doing well in such high-pressure games. Hope for at least two out of three here.
These hopes/projections would produce thirteen or fourteen wins – five from the Eastern Division; three cannot lose games; three or four of the challenging games; and two of the prime games.
The Eastern Division should be the Bills’ for a sixth straight time. Thirteen or fourteen wins would give the team a good shot at a first-round bye in the playoffs.
After the shoulda/coulda/wouldas of the past several season fans legitimately expect that the Bills can and should get to the Super Bowl and win it. None of us are getting any younger. Nothing else will do.
The new stadium
This will be the goodbye season for Rich/Ralph Wilson/New Era/Highmark.1 Stadium. It seems like only yesterday that people had trouble getting to the game on time for the first game ever in August 1973.
If a stadium could talk the current building might get a nice chuckle thinking that the current facility was completed in just 16 months and cost just $23 million. That sum might pay for a section of seats in the new $2 billion second coming across the street.
There are a ton of memories in the old building. There were more losing seasons than winning ones but the winning ones are what we will always treasure.
The 53 seasons finale should be a good one. Go Bills!
Bluesky @kenkruly
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