The 2019 Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Punching Above Its Belt 

Analytics wizards and mainstream media outlets share a common distaste. 

The 2019 Buffalo Bills seem unpleasant to many critics. Pro Football Outsiders’ DVOA metric suggests they’re in the bottom third of the league in terms of overall performance. Their victories have been unspectacular – their largest margin of victory was 28-14 against the Giants and Eli Manning’s corpse.

Many statistics suggest the Bills aren’t actually a good football team. As a Bills fan, I’m not crazy enough to think of this team as a legitimate Super Bowl contender. 

Regardless, if and when the Buffalo Bills win again this week against the Redskins, they’ll be 6-2 at the halfway point, and they’ll be comfortably in the driver’s seat for the 5th seed in the AFC. 

Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane have forged true competitors from the ashes of perennial losers, and that’s what I’m excited about – the future. 

I’ve witnessed a team take on the personality of it’s hard-nosed coach. With a stingy defense and an opportunistic offense, they stay in every game. McDermott, a defensive coordinator on Carolina’s 2015 Super Bowl team, has implemented a zone 

I’ve witnessed a front office turn a talent-poor roster into a collection of underrated veterans (Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, Lorenzo Alexander) and young budding stars  (Tre’davious White, Matt Milano, Tremaine Edmunds, Ed Oliver). 

The offense, however, isn’t anything to write home about. Second year quarterback Josh Allen has considerably more help, which isn’t exactly saying much. His offensive line is at least somewhat function this year, and his receiving corps aren’t the worst in the league anymore. 

But there’s no one on the offense that really scares defenses, a big contributor to the Bills’ point differential of +12 on the season. 

Still, Allen has proven time and again that he’s capable of “figuring it out”. His passer rating in the fourth quarter surprising is league-leading, and his mobility and escapability have helped tremendously. 

If Mcdermott and Beane can figure out how to bolster this offense over the coming seasons, this team will be one of the forces in the AFC for years to come. For now, the lovely people of Western New York have something to cheer about. 

Hope.