New-Look Buffalo Bills Must Return to Old Opportunistic Ways

It’s the team with the NFL’s longest active postseason appearance streak. It’s also a playoff contender with a new sideline leader.

The Buffalo Bills are now under the command of former offensive coordinator Joe Brady. This after Sean McDermott guided the franchise to the playoffs each of the past seven seasons and during eight of his nine years with the club.

It’s still a very talented squad, led by quarterback Josh Allen, who now has veteran wide receiver D.J. Moore to throw to. A year ago, running back James Cook led the NFL in rushing yards. The defense had its ups and downs, especially against the run. That unit is now under the command of new coordinator Jim Leonhard.

Allen and company will begin the season on September 13 against the Texans at Houston. The Bills then play three straight home games against the Detroit Lions (on a Thursday night), Los Angeles Chargers and the defending AFC East champions, respectively.

Buffalo Bills get younger on defense

T.J. Parker — Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network South Carolina / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

These days, the Bills are now chasing the New England Patriots for division supremacy. General manager Brandon Beane bolstered that aforementioned defense in free agency, and with six of the club’s 10 draft choices. It was the second year in a row the Bills added six defensive prospects via the draft, led by a pair of second-round picks in edge rusher T.J. Parker (Clemson) and cornerback Davison Igbinosun (Ohio State).

In 2024, the club led the National Football League in turnover differential with an impressive plus-24 margin. Buffalo finished with the third-most takeaways in the league (32), while the team tied the single-season NFL record for fewest turnovers in the league (8) set by the New Orleans Saints in 2019. McDermott’s club managed the feat playing in one more game (17) than the Saints five years earlier.

Bills were lot less opportunistic this past season than in 2024

That turnover-differential number shrunk to plus-1 this past season, in part because the team wound up committing 11 more turnovers than it did in 2024, with 13 of their 19 miscues by Allen. On the other hand, the Bills managed 12 fewer takeaways than in ’24, finishing with 13 interceptions and seven opponent fumble recoveries.

The last time Buffalo finished the season with a fewer takeaway number than this past year was back in 2016 (18), the year before McDermott’s arrival. It should also be noted that the defense totaled only 36 sacks. You have to go back to 2018, the last time the Bills missed the playoffs, to find that low of a number when it came to corralling opposing quarterbacks.

New-look Bills’ defense will be mix of experience and youth

Leonhard obviously has a lot of young talent to work with. However, Beane also added some savvy veterans in free agency in edge rusher Bradley Chubb (Dolphins), cornerback Dee Alford (Falcons), and safeties Geno Stone (Bengals) and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. The latter spent time with the Texans and Bears this past season. Earlier this week, the team added two-time Super Bowl champion defensive end Michael Danna, released by the Chiefs back in February.

Chubb was a 17-game starter for Miami in 2025 and led the club with 8.5 sacks. Alford finished the year with four takeaways, two sacks and 13 passes defensed. Smith totaled two picks and a pair of sacks. Finally, Gardner-Johnson played in a total of 13 regular-season contests with Houston and Chicago. He picked off two passes, forced a fumbles, and totaled three sacks—all of this in his 10 outings with the Bears.

If Leonhard’s defense can slow down the opposition on the ground, and this unit can regain its opportunistic touch, the Bills may be poised to regain that top spot in the AFC East. Of course, those could be two pretty big IFs if all the new faces take too long to gel.

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