Bills Year In Review

Buffalo Bills (11-6), Playoffs (1-1)

I know I wasn’t able to write over the last few weeks. I was under the weather, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t watch the finale against the Dolphins, and the Wild-Card victory against the Steelers – I did. The outcomes were at minimum predictable. As was the loss, unfortunately, to the Chiefs. With the benefit of having been able to digest not only the Divisional Game, but the season as a whole, I offer my retrospective account on the Bills in 2023.

To sum it up in a word it was Underwhelming. I know that seems a little out of place because there was lots of excitement, and Bills’ Mafia always pours their heart and soul into every game, but as a Bears’ fan I don’t consider myself part of the BM, but as the local team I find them easy to cheer for. Friends and family know my less than enthusiastic view of the Bills. There was something about them in the early 90s I was not a fan of, and combined with my loyalty to the Monsters Of The Midway I like to think because of this lukewarm feeling the four Super Bowl losses were at their core, typical Buffalo. A city that cannot get out of its own way with bridge building and infrastructure, and the team reflected that. Then came the 17 year playoff drought which only compounded that sentiment. However, I did turn a page when McDermott and Beane came on the scene – two individuals for the first time in years that seemed to have a handle on things and know what they’re doing. Josh Allen is an example of that joint venture. Allen made the team exciting to watch, and it even thawed my close to forty-year icy relationship with the team. Allen is, by my estimation, the league’s most valuable player. Hands down. The Bills do not perform at the level they do without him – no matter how many interceptions he throws. I’ve seen Lamar. I’ve seen Jalen. I’ve seen Brock and Tua. They are phenomenal players, but no one, no one, means more to his team then Allen. That point is irrefutable. Come at me.

I said 2023 for the Bills was underwhelming, and I mean it, and when it comes time for those off-season meetings there are both players, coaches, and front office personnel that are going to have to have a reckoning. There were a lot of high expectations for the Bills in 2023, and I don’t think you can say they were out of place. There was Allen. There was Diggs. There was Kincaid and Knox. Defensively you had the head coach taking the reigns on the side of the ball that is his specialty. Sure there is going to be injuries. Von Miller was still not available at season’s start, but that cliche goes for all teams. The Bills were as set as they ever were going to be to make a run at a first Super Bowl victory. High expectations were not out of place – they were to be expected. So what went wrong?

Almost out of the gate the Bills’ offense was underwhelming. Opening night at the Jets there was a lot of emotion including Rodgers running onto the field with the American Flag signaling his new team. Great photo opportunity, but it should have had no bearing if the Bills were at the level we thought. We know Rodgers got knocked out, for the season, on the first series, but even if he hadn’t his status had nothing to do with the Bills’ offensive struggles. Yes, I know the Jets have a formidable defense, but quite frankly that shouldn’t have mattered either if the Bills, offensively, were the team we thought they were. They were not. That opening night loss to the Jets served as a giant red flag. The offense was not sharp, and Allen felt the need to play super hero and fit some balls into coverage that were ill-advised. Winning covers up a lot of growing problems, however, and with wins against the Raiders and the Commanders, and an absolute pummeling of the Dolphins, covered up a lot of cracks. Even against the Commanders there were issues in that game’s first half. Eventually the dam broke, and masked that 37-3 score.

Then came the London trip to play a Jaguars’ team that had already been adjusted to the jet lag by playing a week prior across the Atlantic. I don’t have a lot of respect for the Jaguars, and their end of season collapse was of no surprise to me, but the excuse machine was working smoothly in October. The Bills 25-20 loss to Jacksonville was cited as a quirk in the NFL scheduling of having the Jaguars waiting for Buffalo. The officiating was less than credible as well which only compounded the issue. For the most part I thought the defense played as well as it could have – with jet lag to boot, but they could not stay on the field for that long, and the Bills offense be on the field for that little. Things didn’t improve the following week back stateside against the Giants – one of the league’s most inferior teams who would eventually finish with an opposite record of the Bills at 6-11. If ever Buffalo had a cookie week following a trip overseas and back it was against the Giants, and they barely got by. No way that should have been a 14-9 game – I don’t care of Buffalo had come in from Australia the week before. These were the beginnings of Ken Dorsey tenure with the team being called into question. His seat got hotter after losses to the corroded Patriots, a Bengals team that had lost their magic, and Broncos that were in disarray. Or perhaps it was the Bills that were even more a shambles with twelve men on the field providing Denver with the second chance in the game? This is the game that Ken Dorsey fell on the sword, and enter Joe Brady. There is a real case that this should have been made prior to the Denver game, but this is the way the cards fell.

The Brady era had early good returns. A 32-6 thumping of the Jets, and then the loss to the Eagles which was not a reflection on the new offense. In fact I cite that 37-34 OT loss to Philadelphia as the tipping point that Allen should be considered league MVP. Yes – in a loss – MVP. The BIlls are not in that game without him. It was a stellar performance, but like so many crucial and painful losses Allen is rarely on the field when the disasters happen. Thirteen Seconds. Twelve Men On Defense. Hail Murray. Josh Allen left the field with a lead – it is the defense that has collapsed late. For all of the prognostication of the Bills having one of the top defenses in the league, and McDermott being comfortable on that side of the operation, they struggle to consistently close. Both in 2023 and years prior. Allen has deserved a better fate, but such is Buffalo Sports. In fact, the Bills might not even be a playoff team with Allen – it would be a return to the Seventeen Years of pockets of good players, but no formula for consistent wins. Without Allen they don’t win their remaining games to not only make the playoffs, but steal the division title out from under Miami.

Which brings me, finally, the last night’s game against the Chiefs. Allen’s numbers may not have been what they had been against the Eagles or other weeks, but neither was Mahomes, and again Allen was not on the field for the latest chapter of Wide Right. The difference was, is, Kansas City being able to close, and as the front office on One Bills Drive now moves into season review mode, that is the biggest question that needs to be asked. I realize McDermott is not going anywhere, but his chair has to be a little warmer than what it once was. Does he have a Marty Schottenheimer, a Buck Showalter tag on him? Able to build and execute, but not close? I’m just going to throw this out there – Bill Belichick is floating in the wind. Everyone has a price, and as the Bills rearrange the landscape for a new stadium a Belichick championship would be quite a coup to have prior to the grand opening.

Make no mistake, however, the 2023 Bills’ campaign was underwhelming. It was fraught with offensive failures, defensive miscues, and poor coaching on every level. It was how they got to 6-6. It is how they almost missed the playoffs, and probably would have if it not were for Allen. My league MVP. No player means more to his team than he does. That is the true definition of a most valuable player.

So what of 2024? Too much time between then and now, but I do think that given the salary cap situation, and just the overall design of the roster, there is going to be significant overturn of names that we haven’t seen in several years. That includes the coaching staff. I expect McDermott to return of course (again it would be a coup if he didn’t!), but I would be surprised if he’s calling the defenses again in 2024. That will be the responsibility of the next bonafide defensive coordinator. The Bills are due for a significant overhaul after three straight playoff divisional round losses.