Bills Central

NFL analyst says Bills are the best team in the NFL, with a caveat

Colin Cowherd believes that the Buffalo Bills are the best team in the NFL when playing at full strength.

Kyle Silagyi

Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
In this story:

Somebody forgot to tell members of the Buffalo Bills’ locker room that 2024 was supposed to be a rebuilding year.

National doomsayers forecasted the downfall of the recently competitive Bills throughout the entire 2024 offseason, citing the departure of several on-and-off field leaders as the primary reason for the team’s projected decline. Fast forward to Week 13 of the 2024 campaign, and Buffalo is sitting at 9-2, its best start to a season in over 30 years. The offense ranks within the top three in the NFL in average points per game (29.1) while the defense has looked generally stout, the team’s complementary nature allowing it to be within one game of the No. 1 seed in the AFC entering the final six contests of the year.

Related: Where does Bills QB Josh Allen rank among NFL MVP contenders entering Week 13?

What makes the team’s hot start to the 2024 campaign (aside from the offseason turnover) all the more impressive is that it’s rarely, if ever, been at full health. Former All-Pro linebacker Matt Milano has been sidelined throughout the entirety of the year with a bicep tear while middle linebacker Terrel Bernard, nickel cornerback Taron Johnson, and wide receiver Keon Coleman have all missed several games with injuries of their own. Buffalo has looked like one of the best teams in the NFL through the first 12 weeks of the season, and one could realistically argue that we haven’t yet seen them at full strength.

Josh Alle
Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Long-time NFL pundit Colin Cowherd is among this camp, as he recently ranked the Bills as the league’s second-best team entering Week 13, behind only the 10-1 Detroit Lions. The Fox Sports personality, however, believes that Buffalo is a better team than Detroit, and its inconsistent health is the only thing preventing it from claiming the top spot in his hierarchy.

“I think it’s the best Buffalo we’ve seen,” Cowherd said during a recent episode of The Herd. “Six-game winning streak, they lead the NFL with eight games of 30-plus points. I think their offense, when healthy, is just a handful. Go ask Kansas City. Also, nobody is getting to Josh Allen. Fewest sacks allowed in the NFL, less than one a game. They also have a real running back and two real tight ends. I think, when healthy, this is the best team in the NFL, and I would take them, I think, against Detroit.”

Coming off its Week 12 bye, Buffalo looks to be slowly trending toward full health. The team opened Milano’s 21-day practice window ahead of its Week 11 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs and has until December 4 to activate him to the 53-man roster; players who have missed recent games (namely Keon Coleman and Dalton Kincaid) should also be in line to return shortly, if not immediately, after the bye. 

Amid a six-game winning streak, one could argue that the Bills have already hit their stride, but they have the opportunity to stack additional wins as they gear up for the 2024 postseason. Cowherd stated that he would take the Bills in a matchup against the Lions, and he’ll have the opportunity to watch these two clubs face off when Detroit hosts Buffalo in Week 15.

— Enjoy free coverage of the Bills from Buffalo Bills on SI —

More Buffalo Bills News:

Published
Kyle Silagyi
KYLE SILAGYI

Home/News