In Winning The AFC East, The Buffalo Bills Have Declared Their Window Is Wide Open

By Michael Malaszczyk

via: buffalorumblings.com

I stand corrected: it wasn’t too late to save the season when the Bills fired Ken Dorsey.

The Bills have won the AFC East, despite the Miami Dolphins being ahead for most of the season. At one point, the Dolphins were three games ahead.

But in this comeback, the Bills have sent a statement to the whole NFL: They’re still here, and they’ll be here for a while, too.

The Buffalo Bills, to put it plainly, lost the offseason. Despite being Super Bowl favorites for the 2022-23 season, their season ended with a whimper as they had nothing for the Cincinnati Bengals in a 27-10 defeat – at home. The offseason was plagued by numerous things.

Firstly, that loss established Cincinnati as the clear number two to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC, something many had felt the Bills had been for three seasons straight. Any doubt that it was Joe Burrow and the Bengals was erased in that divisional. It was strengthened by the fact that the Bengals had already beaten the Chiefs in an AFC Championship game and lost a nail biter in the next one.

But that wasn’t where it ended, because the Bills were not even a solid pick for number three in the AFC.

Other AFC teams appeared to be getting better as well. The Jacksonville Jaguars and the Los Angeles Chargers were up-and-coming teams, with high marks given to Trevor Lawrence and Justin Herbert in the offseason, and many had them eventually overtaking the Bills this season.

But that wasn’t where it ended either, because the Bills were not even a solid pick for number one in the AFC East.

The Bills split games with both the Dolphins and the Jets in the 2022 season. Both series of games were close, but with the Jets adding Aaron Rodgers to their roster in addition to their elite defense as well as the prospect of Tua Tagovailoa staying healthy for a full season with his elite receiving corps, many had either the Jets or the Dolphins overtaking the Bills this season.

The Bills did have a couple of offseason additions that turned out to be fruitful, such as tight end Dalton Kincaid and linebacker Leonard Floyd.

But nobody was clamoring about the Bills in the 2023 offseason like they were in 2021 and 2022, and heading into this season, it wasn’t unreasonable to say that the Bills had a Super Bowl window, and it closed.

For much of this season, that appeared to be true as well. In Week 1, despite knocking off Aaron Rodgers, the Bills once again lost to the Zach Wilson-led Jets. After rebound games against the Washington Commanders and Las Vegas Raiders, they once again showed hope in a 48-20 blowout win at home against the red hot Miami Dolphins.

But then they floundered.

They lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars, lending credence to the idea that other AFC teams were overtaking them. In this loss, they lost linebacker Matt Milano, who you may as well call the quarterback of the Bills’ defense.

They then escaped with a win over the New York Giants, with a no-call on what probably should have been defensive pass interference at the very end.

They then lost to the Mac Jones-led New England Patriots.

They escaped with a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, getting lucky that Baker Mayfield didn’t make his final Hail Mary.

They lost to the Cincinnati Bengals – certainly an acceptable loss – but then they lost to the Denver Broncos.

Von Miller became a ghost upon his much-anticipated return, recording no sacks this season. The Josh Allen-Stefon Diggs connection faded after the Week 4 game against Miami. Even multiple AFC Special Teams Player of the Month kicker Tyler Bass was missing field goals.

But when they fired Dorsey, something changed. They demolished the Jets in the Buffalo rematch, and made the Jets’ superb defense look amateur. They lost by 3 points in OT to the Philadelphia Eagles, and maybe would have won if a horse collar penalty had been called on an Eagles defender, as opposed to the intentional grounding that likely took a Buffalo touchdown off the board. They beat the Chiefs, they destroyed the Cowboys, they handled business against the Chargers and in a rematch against the Patriots and they went to Miami and took the division from them.

4 straight years of AFC East Championships.

What caused this comeback? It remains to be seen. Maybe Joe Brady is the offensive coordinator the team needed. Maybe losing to the Broncos and sitting at 5-5 lit a fire that the team desperately needed – it’s not unprecedented, as the team saw itself at a disappointing 7-6 at one point during the 2021 season. That was the year many thought the Bills could have won it all if the defense kept the Chiefs out of field goal range for 13 seconds.

Anything can happen in the playoffs. Maybe Josh Allen and Co. will rise to the occasion and get the Bills their first Super Bowl win. Maybe they’ll choke against the Steelers this weekend. Nothing is a given in the NFL.

This also isn’t to say that, however this season ends, the Bills should be a lock for the AFC East for years to come, either. The Dolphins are still very good if not great, and a returning Aaron Rodgers will make the Jets many people’s pick for the division once more. The aforementioned up-and-comers – Jaguars and Chargers – were both bitten by the injury bugs this year and should get back on track in 2024 as well.

But in coming back from a near dead season to secure the 2 seed for the second straight year and the division title for the fourth straight year, the Bills have plainly stated their window isn’t closed, and they’re still a top team in the AFC.

Joe Burrow told the media last year not to worry about the Bengals missing any Super Bowl windows, because “the window is my career.”

While this season was a wash for the Bengals due to Burrow’s injuries, I have to agree – I’m confident that the Bengals will see more championship appearances during Burrow’s tenure. But now I think the same can be said for the Bills and Josh Allen.

Josh Allen leads the league in interceptions, yes. He also leads the league in touchdowns. He made mistakes in Week 18 that had the Dolphins nearly running away with the division, but after Deonte Harty’s heroic punt return for a touchdown, solid quarterback play had the Bills coasting to a comeback win.

It was almost a microcosm of Allen’s entire season – he started the game throwing picks, and he ended it kneeling out for the division title.

Buffalo has sent the message that their window is Allen’s career.