Bills Offensive Line Continuity Key to 2024 Super Bowl Hopes
Despite the heartbreaking defeats of a playoff loss and the finality of triple zeroes on the scoreboard, the Buffalo Bills’ Super Bowl window is not yet closed.
Made more difficult by quarterback Josh Allen’s impending cap hits? Sure. But as long as he’s under center, Buffalo has got a shot.
Questions remain about how this roster will look after a potentially tumultuous offseason, but the core ingredients exist for a deep playoff run. It’s a passing league, and the Bills have more than an MVP-caliber passer. They have an elite receiver and the offensive line to keep Allen upright.
Buffalo won’t be adding a starter to the offensive line this season, but that may be an addition in itself. Continuity is a staple of developing an offensive line. At a position that is so reliant on communication, too many moving parts can stunt the front five, especially in pass protection.
Each of the Bills’ starting offensive linemen played at least 96 percent of snaps in 2023. That is both an impressive mark and something bound to regress next season.
Even so, a mostly healthy unit helps Buffalo remain potent. Left tackle Dion Dawkins put together a seventh consecutive strong season on the blind side. Right tackle Spencer Brown finally took the jump Bills Mafia had been waiting for, unsurprisingly tied to a stretch of good health.
Veteran center Mitch Morse may have shown some signs of age as the season went on but is still a strong communicator and by all accounts an elite leader. His best game as a pass protector, per Pro Football Focus, came in their playoff defeat against the Kansas City Chiefs. Free-agent acquisition Connor McGovern played up to his $7.45 million average annual value without much concern.
Where this continuity may best help the Bills is at right guard. Rookie O’Cyrus Torrence was the weakest link up front in 2023, but his campaign wasn’t without flashes of the power that made him a second-round pick. It’s too early to make a genuine long-term verdict on his play, but the benefits of interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady returning, as well as his fellow linemen, should pay dividends.
![Florida State Seminoles wide receiver Keon Coleman (4) rushes with the ball for a touchdown breaking the tackle from Florida Gators linebacker Scooby Williams (17) during the second half at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 25, 2023. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]](https://www.si.com/.image/ar_16:9%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cg_xy_center%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_640%2Cx_1391%2Cy_279/MjA0NDE2OTIzNzgwMjYxNjY0/usatsi_21974853_168403188_lowres.jpg)
Buffalo was the NFL’s ninth-best pass-protecting and 17th-best run-blocking team in 2023, per PFF. It’s easy to feel confident in that continuing into next season.
So many quarterbacks around the league are spurned by targets that aren’t good enough and offensive lines that make life difficult. Checking both of those boxes while having such a unique talent under center should be a reminder of just how good the Bills can be, even if they must weather the storm of an uncertain offseason.
