Bills Super Bowl Window Closed Until Further Notice? Not So Fast
Worry about the kids, because the Bills are alright.
Buffalo's salary cap-fueled purge has the NFL talking heads exploding with nonsense.
"The Bills are having a fire sale! The Super Bowl window is closed. Buffalo is poised to take a huge step back in 2024. The good times are history."
To those doomsayers, I say stop trying so hard to drop a hot take. You look foolish.
When it comes to the Bills' ability to contend for a Super Bowl, it's all about a healthy starting quarterback Josh Allen.
Under Allen, Buffalo has emerged as a perennial power. The Bills have made five consecutive playoff appearances since 2019, and they are one of only two NFL franchises to win at least one postseason game each of the last four years. Allen is the only player league history to account for 40+ total touchdowns in four consecutive seasons.
With the cyborg-like Allen at the controls, Buffalo has finished as a Top 5 offense four years in a row. The three-time NFL MVP finalist is coming off an historic season statistically speaking. Allen led the NFL in total yards (4,830) and total touchdowns (44). He set the record for most games (11) with at least one touchdown pass and one rushing touchdown. His 15 touchdown rushes are an NFL single-season record for quarterbacks and the total ranks second in Bills' history (one behind Hall-of-Fame running back OJ Simpson).
© Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY
Allen will have a new center for the first time in five years as Mitch Morse signed with Jacksonville after being released by the Bills. On the other side of the ball, the Jordan Poyer-Micah Hyde All-Pro safety tandem is no more after seven years together and former first-round cornerback Tre'Davious White was cut.
Yes, there is a changing of the guard in certain spots, but the quarterback remains in place and he's not the only one.
The Bills still have Stefon Diggs a bona fide WR1 who has made 100+ catches three years in a row. They have Dion Dawkins, a franchise left tackle who just earned a three-year contract extension. Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid are two skilled tight ends in their prime years. The former has made at least one postseason touchdown catch each of the past four years while the latter set the Bills' franchise rookie record for receptions (73) in 2023.
On defense, All-Pro linebacker Matt Milano will be back after missing the majority of 2023 campaign with a leg injury. Linebacker Terrell Bernard enjoyed a breakout season, showing star potential with, and without, Milano next to him.
The safeties are gone, but all three starting cornerbacks from the Bills' 27-24 divisional round loss will return with Christian Benford and Rasul Douglas on the boundary and Taron Johnson in the slot.
Although there will be a few new faces on the defensive front, interior lineman DaQuan Jones has re-signed to play alongside Ed Oliver. As a unit, Buffalo has been a Top 10 defense in four of the last five seasons under Sean McDermott.
Add it all up and it'll be a marginally different version of the cast but the show's star character won't change. As long as Allen is healthy and available, the Bills are a top-tier team.
Go ahead and amuse yourself. Tell your jokes, shovel dirt on their name, but don't be surprised when they are celebrating a fifth consecutive AFC East title next January.
