Home games: NY Jets, LA Rams, Kansas City, New England, Seattle, LA Chargers, Pittsburgh, Miami.
Road games: Miami, Las Vegas, Tennessee, NY Jets, Arizona, San Francisco, Denver, New England.
Projected record: 10-6
The Bills time is now.
For two decades, Tom Brady has stood between them and countless divisional titles but the great one has departed the AFC East for sunny Tampa and Buffalo must pounce.
Last season the Bills went 10-6 and were a brilliant 6-2 on the road. But, you guessed it, two of their six losses were to Brady and the Patriots. Hence why now is their time to jump on the throat of their AFC East rivals as the dominant team of the division. Sam Darnold and the Jets are still developing whilst Miami will be eager to see what Tua Tagovailoa can produce as a rookie. New England still has Bill Belichick but beyond that the roster is riddled with holes and stopgaps.
In true western New York style, Josh Allen is far from the gun-slinging superstar quarterback some teams yearn for but under coach Sean McDermott, he fills the QB position nicely – maybe perfectly. Allen possesses great toughness and is athletic enough to extend plays as well as become a genuine rushing TD threat down in the red zone.
Aerially, Allen needs to continue to develop and bringing in Stefon Diggs from Minnesota will give him that standout target on the outside. Diggs is the only significant name on the offensive side of the ball but Buffalo earned its wins last season through grittiness and playing off of their defence.
Seven times the Bills D prevented the opposition from rushing for 100 yards and caused 23 takeaways in their regular season matches.
The secondary is led by young CB Tre’Davious White who has quickly developed into one of the premier corners in the game. Outspoken and often outstanding CB Josh Norman arrives in Buffalo with a point to prove. Washington released Norman due to declining play and a large contract but alongside White, he could get the opportunity to excel opposed to the No. 2 WR.
The Bills are strong up front with Shaq Lawson patrolling the D-line and Jordan Poyer a force at safety.
As is the case with the modern day NFL, the Bills will be solid without challenging unless they get more from Allen and with Diggs in town, that’s entirely possible.
Winning the AFC East is a minimum standard for this squad.
Josh Jenkins Sports 