The Buffalo Bills are the most fascinating story of the NFL offseason. Ever since Josh Allen ascended to the tier level of NFL quarterbacks in 2020, the team has headed into the season with Super Bowl expectations … and then fallen bitterly short.
Windows in the NFL are never as long as teams hope. Injuries mount up. The cap bites. A botched free agent signing or a coaching snafu can be the difference between winning it all and exiting the playoffs early. Since 2021, the Bills have experienced it all, from the painful to the bizarre:
Manning with the Colts is the best-case scenario for this Bills team. But you don’t need to squint hard to look at Allen with the Bills and see Cam Newton with the Panthers. McDermott lived through the Newton era in Carolina when he was the team’s defensive coordinator. He knows what it looks like when an overwhelming quarterback starts to break down and is asked to rely on a part of their game that has not been fully developed. Carolina reached one Super Bowl with Newton when the roster around him was good enough. Once his athleticism started to wane, and the injuries started to take their toll, the rest of the squad was no longer talented enough to compete.
The Bills are operating this offseason as if their window to win championships is open for as long as Allen is their quarterback. But, based on all evidence, Allen is closer to Newton on the quarterback continuum than Manning or Joe Burrow. Unless you have Mahomes or Tom Brady, opportunities to win Super Bowls are fleeting. Drew Brees won Super Bowl and Dan Marino, Phillip Rivers and Jim Kelly did not win any, despite contending for large chunks of their careers.
Leave a Reply