Bills Central

HOF WR Andre Reed breaks down what makes this Bills team different from years past

Hall of Fame wide receiver Andre Reed spoke about what makes this year's Buffalo Bills team different from other recent iterations.

Kyle Silagyi

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The Buffalo Bills have been one of the NFL’s most consistently stout teams through the first 11 weeks of the 2024 season, currently sitting as the No. 2 seed in the AFC with a 9-2 record; they also have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs after their Week 11 triumph over the previously undefeated conference opponent, making a first-round postseason bye and guaranteed home-field advantage throughout the playoffs realistic possibilities.

Buffalo’s hot start is not only impressive when compared to the rest of the NFL—it’s one of the best starts in franchise history. The team’s 9-2 record is its best through 11 weeks since the 1992 season, a campaign that culminated in the Bills’ third-consecutive Super Bowl appearance (they lost to the Dallas Cowboys). Buffalo deployed several eventual Hall of Famers on both sides of the ball that season, among them wide receiver Andre Reed, who has remained active in his Bills support since retiring in the early 21st century.

Related: WATCH: Bills and Chiefs rookie WRs, linked by draft day trade, meet after Week 11

Still very in tune with modern iterations of the team, Reed often makes his thoughts about the Bills known via both traditional and social media, again sharing his thoughts during a Monday appearance on Up and Adams with Kay Adams. The host asked Reed what makes this year’s Buffalo team different than those that have been competitive, but unable to get over the hump in years past, with the legendary wideout bringing up the lack of championship expectations and the presence of quarterback Josh Allen as the primary reasons why the team has remained competitive. 

“I just think that they’ve given [Allen] the reins to drive this bus since he came to the Bills in 2018,” Reed said. “Again, a great quarterback has to have the components around him for things to work, and they’ve been wanting Josh to do everything. He’s got to do everything, he’s got to do this, he’s got to do that. I think the supporting cast they have, to me, this year, because nobody picked them. They’re not supposed to be winning the division, they’re not supposed to be 9-2. They had the Jets and they had the Dolphins fighting for the division. Where are the Jets and the Dolphins at right now? So nobody thought the Bills would even be in this, they had them last, actually, to a certain point. Some of the writers and people had them last. 

“I think that was a victory for them, to a certain point, but again, it’s these guys that are playing out of their minds right now and believing in what’s happening on the field, believing in what the coaches are implementing every single week, and then letting Josh be Josh, because again, when I saw that play, I was like, ‘He’s not passing this ball, he’s going to run this.’ And that’s what he did, and then he ran over guys. That’s really what the essence of this football team is about; it starts with No. 17, and everybody else is in the boat with him. Everybody’s got their ores and they’re just rowing.”

Both points raised by Reed are valid, as after a tumultuous offseason that saw the departures of several stalwarts across the roster, many pundits had written Buffalo off entering the 2024 campaign. Gone were the likes of Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis, Micah Hyde, Tre’Davious White, and Jordan Poyer, with their departures coinciding with the ascension of both the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins to spell theoretical disaster for the Bills. The media not placing significant expectations on Buffalo’s shoulders and replacing it with a chip has been beneficial through 11 games; the 9-2 Bills currently boast a five-game lead in the AFC East, with the 4-6 Dolphins being the next closest team in the standings.

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Reed also mentions Allen’s supporting cast, a Frankeinstein’s monster-like group of players that entered the 2024 season with little professional production under their belts. Allen has elevated them as he’s constructed an MVP-caliber resume, with him and his teammates consistently playing fast, physical, and free.

Buffalo has been one of the league’s most consistently competitive teams over the past several years, winning four straight division titles as they’ve appeared in the postseason in five consecutive campaigns. The Bills, however, have not yet appeared in—let alone won—a Super Bowl with this core. The team has long been talented enough to do so, and given their current mindset, it looks as though this Buffalo team could be positioned to be the one to finally get over the hump.

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Kyle Silagyi
KYLE SILAGYI

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