Analyzing Biggest Threats in the AFC: Buffalo Bills

The Bills were presumably one coin toss away from being in the AFC championship game, but ultimately fell in overtime against the Kansas City Chiefs in what was a game for the ages. Clearly hurting from such a close loss, the Bills went guns blazing in the offseason and made some aggressive moves, including signing edge rusher Von Miller to a massive $120 million contract.

Strengths

Like the other top dogs in the AFC, the Bills have an elite quarterback. Josh Allen is not only a threat with his cannon arm but can also kill you with his legs. Even though he had a terrible game against the Colts in the heavy rain, this is a guy that can win you games on his own, and the improvements he has made to his game since his rookie season are astonishing. The Bills also have an imposing stable of weapons led by All-Pro caliber receiver Stefon Diggs, who plays alongside Gabriel Davis and tight end Dawson Knox. Losing Cole Beasley and Emmanuel Sanders will certainly hurt, but I am confident they will be just fine without them. To improve their lackluster running game, the Bills drafted arguably the most talented running back in this draft in James Cook, Dalvin Cook’s brother, who will most likely be the feature back of the offense.

The Bills also have a bunch of playmakers both at linebacker and in the secondary. Matt Milano and Tremaine Edmunds form a terrifying linebacker duo. Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer also compose one of the best safety duos in the entire NFL. The addition of Von Miller helps what was a lackluster pass rush unit last season, and the Bills are also counting on the development of young edge defender Greg Rousseau to complement the former Broncos’ and Rams’ player.

Weaknesses

Buffalo has a solid all-around roster, and like the Bengals, they don’t have an evident flaw that could prove to be their downfall. Their defense is clearly not up to par with the offense, and they allowed some big games last season to elite players like Jonathan Taylor and Patrick Mahomes, but that is to be expected when you are facing players that are the best at what they do. Their worst aspect last season was their anemic pass rush, led by Mario Addison who had just 7 sacks, and overall they struggled to generate consistent pressure, but as mentioned above, they went ahead and added a generational talent in Von Miller. Sure, Miller is certainly past his prime at 33 years old, but he can still provide some quality play at defensive end.

How they matchup with the Colts

Let’s not kid ourselves here because of the beatdown the Colts gave Buffalo last season. Basically everything that could go wrong went awful for the Bills that game, and Taylo had a game for the ages. In reality, this is perhaps the most complicated matchup for the Colts. The Bills have one of the best passing offenses in the NFL, and Josh Allen could challenge for the top QB spot this year, I believe James Cook could do some great things for their offense, and the Von Miller addition turns their biggest weakness into an area of strength. The Bills are my pick to take the AFC this season after an offseason like they had, and a possible matchup with them come January will certainly not be as one sided as last season’s game.

This hypothetical matchup will put the Bills’ strength against the Colts’ weakness and the Colts’ strength against the Bills’ weakness, assuming the script for the season goes as expected, then the most likely matchup between the teams is in Buffalo’s hard winter, which favours the Colts’ style more than the Bills, as passing the ball in the snow/rain is much harder. The fan in me says the Colts win a potential matchup, but thinking logically the Bills just have more talent at the most important positions in today’s NFL.