Bills Central

Bills' Super Bowl Run Hinges on Von Miller Health

Von Miller tore his ACL in November, ending his first season with the Buffalo Bills. Now, he is recovering to try and return to the team as soon as possible this year.

Jeremy Brener

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The Buffalo Bills are entering another season in the midst of their Super Bowl window. While the team has reached the AFC Championship just once in the Josh Allen era, there's reason to believe Buffalo can not only return to that stage in the playoffs but surpass it and get to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.

In order for the Bills to get to Vegas and hoist the Lombardi Trophy for the first time in franchise history, they will have to unseat the Kansas City Chiefs, the reigning Super Bowl champions.

The Bills also have to get past the Cincinnati Bengals, who eliminated them in the Divisional Round last season. A big reason that led to Buffalo's loss in that game was the absence of Von Miller, the Bills' big free agent acquisition from the offseason.

Miller, 34, tore his ACL on Thanksgiving Day and was lost for the rest of the season. His return this year will be key to the Bills' success or failure.

"The health and availability of Von Miller is also a factor in the Bills' ability to get over the postseason hump and win the AFC, if not the Super Bowl," ESPN's Alaina Getzenberg writes.

Miller remains on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) List, and will likely miss the start of the season. If he stays there for the start of the campaign, he will miss the first six games. However, it will give him ample time to recover from his injury and opportunity to return for the stretch run ... where the Bills sorely needed him last year.

If Miller can come back to form and contribute in a big way for the Bills down the line, he could be the difference in Buffalo's trajectory this postseason.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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