Bills' veteran Pro Bowler scoffs at Super-Bowl-or-Bust pressure

In this story:
The Buffalo Bills have won five consecutive division titles, second-longest active streak in the NFL. They also have five straight 11+-win seasons, again the league's second-best. And during their five years of dominance, the Bills have won at least one playoff game.
If it wasn't for Patrick Mahomes and those pesky Kansas City Chiefs (who have beaten the Bills in the playoffs four times), Buffalo would be authoring one of the great runs in NFL history.
MORE: Bills' A.J. Epenesa steals 'Hard Knocks' spotlight by snatching 11-foot reptile
In the middle of this success they also sport a 29-year-old reigning MVP quarterback in Josh Alllen in his prime. Put it all together and — as close as they've been and as good as they are — 2025 just has to be Super-Bowl-or-Bust for the Bills. Right?

According to the main man responsible for protecting Allen ... wrong.
MORE: Sean McDermott names starting quarterback for Bills' preseason opener vs. Giants
"I don't believe in Super Bowl or bust ... that's not a thing. It's just gossip words," Bills' four-time Pro Bowl left tackle Dion Dawkins told ESPN's Kevin Clark during a Thursday morning interview. "There's one winner every year and there's 31 losers. Does that mean if we don't win the Super Bowl that all our contracts expire and we go home? No. There's never Super Bowl or bust."
I asked Dion Dawkins about a "Super Bowl or bust" narrative in Buffalo.
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) August 7, 2025
"Does that mean if we don't win the Super Bowl that all our contracts expire and we go home? No. There's never Super Bowl or bust."
However: he wants better @EAMaddenNFL ratings for the Bills OL! pic.twitter.com/dLSShfb2oV
In the 66th season of Buffalo pro football, Bills Mafia might not love to hear Dawkins' casual approach. There is sentiment — and, yes, even narrative — around the league that if the Bills don't indeed at least get over the Chiefs hump and play in a Super Bowl then head coach Sean McDermott will be fired and wholesale changes made to a team that is great but not somehow not quite good enough.

— Enjoy free coverage of the Bills from Buffalo Bills on SI —
More Buffalo Bills News:

Richie Whitt has been a sports media fixture in Dallas-Fort Worth since graduating from UT-Arlington in 1986. His career is highlighted by successful stints in print (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), TV (NBC5) and radio (105.3 The Fan). During his almost 40-year tenure, he's blabbed and blogged on events ranging from Super Bowls to NBA Finals to World Series to Stanley Cups to Olympics to Wimbledons to World Cups. Whitt has been covering the NFL since 1989, and in 1993 authored The 'Boys Are Back, a book chronicling the Dallas Cowboys' run to Super Bowl XXVII.
Follow richiewhitt