During their end of season awards show (article), The Athletic gave the Buffalo Bills a big shoutout.
The Bills were tabbed the NFL’s most surprising team by the outlet. Their midseason pick for the award was the 49ers with the preseason pick the Panthers. Buffalo now claimed that title.
Here’s why the Bills were picked:
Considering the Bills entered the season with an over/under of 7.5 wins in Vegas, the fact that they finished with 10 wins for the first time since 1999 qualifies them as the league’s most surprising team. Brandon Beane injected the offense with talent mostly by way of free agency. A revamped offensive line and the additions of John Brown and Cole Beasley helped Josh Allen take a noticeable step forward in his second season. The progress on offense along with the continued elite play on defense elevated this team to the postseason. While the Jets generated all of the offseason hype, the Bills quietly built a winning roster.
Dating back to the preseason, most did not expect a second playoff berth in three seasons under Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott to occur. But the Bills took advantage of one of the NFL’s easiest schedules to do just that, and they were only overtime away from winning a playoff game against the Texans, too.
But like the Super Bowl winner, the “surprising teams” from year-to-year now have a target on their back. The Bills are now a known commodity and will be up against it next season with plenty to still prove. That and their schedule changes to one of the league’s hardest.
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