This year was supposed to be different. The Buffalo Bills, armed with a rising MVP candidate quarterback and the league’s top defense, were ready to make the leap.
The season began with a 31-10 rout over the defending champion Los Angeles Rams. By Week 8, the Bills were 6-1 and stood alone atop the AFC. Josh Allen was averaging more than 350 total yards per game and arguably the league’s most impactful quarterback. 33-year-old Von Miller, $120 million contract in tow, had six sacks and eight tackles for loss to provide the perfect complement to a potent defense. All was well in western New York.
Then came the cracks. Turnovers abounded. A dynamic offense fell prone to bouts of depression. Miller got hurt and Tre’Davious White’s return to the lineup failed to provide the boost Buffalo hoped. Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field and made a miraculous recovery, inspiring his teammates while also placing more weight on an already emotionally heavy season.
It fell to pieces in the Divisional Round. The Cincinnati Bengals took an early lead, then bullied the Bills on both sides of the trenches for a too-easy 27-10 win. Buffalo doesn’t have the salary cap space to add an impact veteran like Miller this offseason — in fact, it will have to make some cuts and restructure some contracts to get under the expected $225 million cap this spring. General manager Brandon Beane will once again have a late pick in the draft, a position from which he’s been able to pull starters but not stars over the last five years.
It’s fair to ask: how do the Bills get better from here?