Through the first several weeks of the season, the Buffalo Bills appeared to be well on their way to emerging as a contender in the AFC.
The Bills started 5-1 and capitalized on early stumbles by New England and the New York Jets to get an early cushion in the AFC East. After an impressive home win against San Diego in Week 7, the Bills were in position to fully seize control of the AFC East, with all three of their division foes ahead.
However, in the last four games, everything that went right for the Bills in their 5-1 start has gone wrong, and with the Jets on a roll, Miami proving that they’re not your average rebuilding team, and the Patriots still staying above water, the Bills are now at the bottom of the AFC East at 5-5 after their 29-27 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Monday night.
The Bills could have easily won in three of those four games, but could have and did are two different things. In Week 8, they couldn’t hold a 16-7 third-quarter lead in a 25-16 loss at Miami. The next week, they tripped themselves up in a 26-17 loss to the Jets. And in Monday night’s loss to the Browns, they couldn’t stop Cleveland when they needed to, and after putting themselves in position for a win, couldn’t get a little Fisk-like luck on Rian Lindell’s field goal in the final minute.
The Bills have a great mix of young talent on both sides of the ball, and they should soon be a regular challenger for the postseason.
But if they want to rescue this season’s postseason hopes before they go down the drain, the offense needs to really bust out of its shell and make full use of its talent. It’s tough to pin your hopes on an offense centered around two second-year players in Trent Edwards and Marshawn Lynch, but it’s safe to say we haven’t seen the best of the Bills’ offense yet, by any means. Just as much, the defense needs to be able to do enough to keep leads.
This team has a ton of potential, and it’s not too late to right the ship and make a run at the AFC East title or a wild-card berth. But, they can ill-afford to be their own worst enemy from here on out, starting on Sunday on the road against a pesky Kansas City team.
