The Two-Minute Drill: The Bills tricked me – again
By Brendan Nordstrom
Another year has gone by, and I’m back in the same place – a feeling of dejection as the Buffalo Bills walk off the field in the Divisional Round, spelling the disappointing end to another season.
No, I’m not a Bills fan by any means, but like a charismatic cult leader, the Bills made me buy all the way in on a future that’s nothing more than vacant promises and a decaying dream. For the third year in a row, I’ve believed in the Bills, swearing it’s finally their year week-in and week-out in the WTBU podcast booth. Just look back at my previous columns. I couldn’t even say “Buffalo Bills” without putting “odd-on favorites,” “Super Bowl favorites,” or any other moniker alluding to their near-unstoppable dominance.
Who could blame me? I was lucky enough to see two Bills games this season, and the team truly draws you in. The fans are incredibly friendly and walk the tight line of passion without being obnoxious. The offense commandeered by Josh Allen is like a choreographed MoMA art exhibit executed to perfection. The defense is relentless, making you work for every miserable inch of the gridiron. Their widely televised games are a spectacle of flurrying snow and subzero temperatures so poetically beautiful, Walt Whitman would scoff. Even their social media manager’s absurdist, avant-garde humor will draw a reaction.
The problem: it’s all a facade.
I’m not going to retroactively pretend I knew the Bills were going to fall short again. I’m not trying to convince you that the Bills are by any means a bad team. I am here to discern where the holes that many – including myself – overlooked and why it should have been more apparent this team wasn’t the team to finally bring a ring home to Orchard Park.
Stefon Diggs climbing the ladder over three defensive backs for a 50-yard haul or Allen channeling his inner Superman as he attempts a picturesque hurdle over a defender smokescreens Allen’s 13 fumbles and 14 interceptions, both of which rank in the top three in the league. I’m not here to scrutinize Allen, though. He’s undoubtedly a Top 3 signal caller in this league, and these miscues are because the weight of the offense is almost entirely on his shoulders. The Bills O-line is in the lower echelon of the league, often sending Allen into a chaotic fight-or-flight reaction that can lead to near-impossible, must-see TV, but more likely it leads to bad mistakes. What makes Allen great is his skillset to often neutralize the pressure, but he’s far from perfect.
Other than Allen and Diggs, the Bills offense doesn’t have many elite pieces on offense. They don’t have the arsenal of weapons the 49ers have; they don’t have a Nick Chubb-Kareem Hunt 1-2 punch in the backfield; and their receiving core is pale in comparison to teams such as their division-rival Miami Dolphins. Devin Singletary and James Cook are quality backs but don’t provide the dominant ground game true Super Bowl contenders need. Gabriel Davis and Dawson Knox are also reliable, but their play is elevated due to Allen as well.
The Bills’ defense showed noticeable weak points against the Bengals. The D-line acquired Von Miller in the offseason, creating a formidable front, but after hitting the Injured Reserve following their Thanksgiving clash against the Detroit Lions, the defense suffered. Miller led the Bills in sacks (8.0) and pressures (27). This weakness was especially exposed last week against the Bengals.
An already weak Cincinnati O-line was tattered further with three starters out injured. Where one would expect the Bills to record at least four or five sacks and force at least one errant throw, Joe Burrow only ate turf once for a two-yard drop and held a goose egg in the INT column. In fairness, Burrow is a seasoned vet when it comes to pressure, but one sack is embarrassing for what’s supposedly one of the league’s top defenses.
The defense was noticeably unprepared tracking back to the regular season finale against the New England Patriots. Mac Jones threw for a season-high three touchdowns, and the Patriots hit triple-digits on the ground. Dolphins’ rookie seventh-round quarterback Skylar Thompson led the offense to 24 points as the Bills almost went home a week earlier. Finally, when faced with a truly elite offense, the Bills were turned into a colander by Burrow and the Bengals, picking apart the defense en route to a decisive 27-10 victory.
The Bills are a good – no – a great team. There’s no denying it despite putting a microscope on every minute facet of their game. Over half the league would give anything to be a consistent presence in Divisional weekend. The problem is expectations. Over the past three years, the Bills haven’t been projected as Divisional Round losers, rather they’ve been synonymous with the word “Super Bowl” despite their inability to reach it. This team, its fans and the NFL world at large cannot be satisfied with these consistent shortcomings. Luckily, their Super Bowl window will be open as long as Allen stays sharp, but time ticks on, and frustration begins to brew when the results don’t show. Stefon Diggs was noticeably upset following the Bengals’ loss in what could be indicative of that larger problem taking root.
When July and August roll around again, the Bills will still generate excitement, Super Bowl picks and futures bets. I won’t blame people. Hell, I’ll probably waltz right into the same WTBU podcasting booth and declare the Bills Super Bowl champions once again, forever ensnarled by fleeting hope. Only time will tell if my prediction will finally pan out, or if another wave of dejection is around the corner.