Buffalo Bills' Demise viewed as 'overblown storyline'

The Buffalo Bills have won 10+ games in each of the past five seasons, but will their fortunes change in 2024?

Ralph Ventre | Jun 25, 2024

Dec 10, 2023; Kansas City, MO; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) celebrates with teammates after a score against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. / Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

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At least someone is saying it.

Between the national talking heads and self-proclaimed experts, there are plenty of doubters publicly predicting the Buffalo Bills' demise.

From Fox Sports commentator Emmanuel Acho moronically proclaiming the Bills "Super Bowl window" is shut (who even knew such windows were a thing?) to Pro Football Focus analyst Trevor Sikkema projecting Buffalo to finish behind Miami and New York in the AFC East standings, the wild hot takes seem to know no bounds.

It all makes Eric Edholm's opinion even more refreshing. A rational take based upon facts and prior performance isn't too much to ask for, right? Fortunately, the NFL Media affiliated writer delivered.

Edholm included the "Bills' offseason unloading of vets" as one of five "overblown storylines." The Houston Texans' Super Bowl aspirations are also classified as overblown.

From Five NFL offseason storylines that are overblown:

"It's been easy to kick the Bills this offseason. They're down -- again -- after having to shed big swaths of salary that arguably worsened four positions. ... But for me, what makes this more of an overblown story than it should be is the presence of Allen. He's the obvious meal ticket, and it's possible that there's an addition-by-subtraction quotient at play here that's being forgotten. ... I'm lightly buying Bills stock on its way down. There might be some losses along the way, but I'm starting to think this team can get back on the mountain sooner than some might guess."

Despite losing multiple grizzled veterans, Buffalo returns eight starters on offense and eight more on defense with Allen as the centerpiece. If Allen remains healthy, the Bills have a Top 3 producer at the sport's most important position.

Although the team experienced significant turnover at safety, and secondary depth could become an issue, Buffalo returns all three starting cornerbacks — Christian Benford, Rasul Douglas and nickel Taron Johnson. Meanwhile, former first-round pick Kaiir Elam, who has been somewhat of a forgotten asset, boosted his stock during OTAs.

At the starters' level, the Bills' roster is as potent as any of the NFL's 31 other teams. There's a reason why they've won the AFC East each of the past four years and sports books have them tabbed as a slight favorite to make it five in a row. Predictions of their demise are severely premature.

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