Photo: ESPN
BY: LANDON WASHBURN, STAFF WRITER
Every year, 32 teams compete in the National Football League (NFL) to hoist up the Vince Lombardi Trophy, the ultimate prize in American football, named after the legendary coach Vince Lombardi.
Despite the world’s expectations of a setback for the Buffalo Bills after a significant roster change, the team started the year 3-0, outscoring their opponents by 64. This resilience and early success had people believing that Buffalo was back and better than ever.
Buffalo fell to 3-2 after a close 23-20 loss to the Houston Texans this past week. The Bills could have been better positioned to win if a crucial coaching error wasn’t constructed. The decision to pass the ball three straight times in a tied game at your own 3-yard line with 32 seconds left while your opponent has all three timeouts is a highly risky and often unfavorable choice. This decision, which many fans and analysts have criticized, likely cost the Bills the game. This isn’t the first time and probably won’t be the last time fans have left a game without coaching in question.
Under the leadership of Sean McDermott, the Buffalo Bills have seen significant success since 2017. With six playoff appearances and four AFC East division titles, McDermott has truly transformed the culture in Western New York, a fact that every Bills fan can be proud of.
It will be a joke if McDermott can’t get the boys in Buffalo on the right track and win the AFC East this season. The Miami Dolphins are on their third-string quarterback. The New York Jets can’t seem to figure out how to run an offense even with one of the best quarterbacks of all time, and the New England Patriots are in a complete rebuild. If it hadn’t been for the absolute choke job of the Dolphins at the end of last season, they would have been division champs over Buffalo.
Not only is it questionable if they have the right guy leading the charge, but they don’t have enough talent to compete with good football teams. They have no difference-maker on offense. The debate for the best pass catcher that they have on the roster is between a second-year tight end, Dalton Kincaid, and Khalil Shakir, a guy who eclipsed 1,000 total career yards earlier this season.
For Buffalo fans, there is not just hope, but also a sense of optimism for the potential of the team.
The quarterback is usually one of the biggest factors for a team to win a Super Bowl. The Pro Bowl signal caller from the University of Wyoming is no different. Josh Allen is at the peak of his career at age 28. In his first six years with the organization, throughout the regular season, he played in 94 games, accounting for 26,326 total yards and 221 total touchdowns. His success doesn’t stop there, as in the 10 postseason competitions, he has accumulated 3,302 total yards and 27 total touchdowns. In recent years, he has been given the mark of being one of the best players in the game.
Along with Allen, General Manager Brandon Beane knows how to do his job – most of the time. He’s had some questionable moves throughout his career, but he has also gotten studs in Buffalo, such as Allen and Stefon Diggs.
Don’t get me wrong. McDermott is a great locker room guy who wins games, but will he ever accomplish the ultimate goal? It won’t get any easier as time passes. I personally think that they missed crucial opportunities in the past, and it’s only an uphill challenge from here.
washbuj22@bonaventure.edu
