The Buffalo Bills are in a Super Bowl window.
Yeah, that’s right, I said it. Super Bowl window, folks.
For the first time in my adult life, uttering those words aren’t for the retweets or for the sake of scorching hot takes. Which means we’re going to have a serious conversation about the Bills entering the 2020 season with similar or better Super Bowls odds than the Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks and Philadelphia Eagles.
I hope you enjoyed reading that last sentence as much as I enjoyed writing it.
The fact of the matter is the Bills were fighting for a bye week heading into Week 15 last season. Uh huh, meaningful December football for the first time in two decades. Wins in their final two games against the New England Patriots and New York Jets might have put the Bills in the driver seat to host a playoff game. Just remember all this context as we dive into their 2020 outlook.
We also can’t ignore that the moves made by other elite AFC teams either, so before we get into the Bills, let’s first take a look at the offseason that a few key AFC teams have had thus far that may have something to say about the Bills becoming legitimate AFC contenders:
That playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans likely revealed some flaws in Greg Roman's offense once they were forced to play from behind. The problem is the Ravens were so efficient offensively that it was extremely difficult to get ahead and put them in an uncomfortable position. The Ravens have yet to add significant pieces on offense outside of tight end Mark Andrews, and will need to find a legit No. 1 wide receiver to compliment Marquise "Hollywood" Brown, who enters his second season following a solid rookie campaign.
They’ll have a deep draft of wide receivers to look to, but the Ravens decided to invest heavily into their defensive line. However, they saw the signing of Michael Brockers fall through as he returns to the Los Angeles Rams.
It will be interesting to see how NFL defenses will adjust to the league's best rushing attack in 2020. They’ll need to layer in a more dynamic passing offense (yes, I know it was really good last year) if they want to take a step past the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020.
They took major strides defensively last season, which was ultimately the reason they were able to get over the hump. Bringing back Chris Jones was a major move to keep that defense intact for 2020 and I expect them to challenge for another Super Bowl in 2020.
Coaching is key here, and head coach Frank Reich is one of the best offensive minds in football who will now have a quarterback capable of running his offense effectively.
We’ll see if the DeForest Buckner trade and Xavier Rhodes signing help this defense back to their 2018 form and take a step in the AFC this upcoming season. I know I like their chances.