NFL Notebook: 2025 Buffalo Bills Preview

The Buffalo Bills keep pounding on the door. They’ve won five straight AFC East titles and reached a pair of AFC Championship Games, but the Super Bowl has been elusive. Is this the year they kick the door in? Or is more disappointment ahead?

ALLEN’S BRILLIANCE CARRIES A FLAWED OFFENSE

Josh Allen won a deserved MVP award, taking a flawed offense, putting it on his own back and leading them to the second-most points of any team in the NFL. Allen continued to make big plays with both his arm and his feet, and he cleaned up some of the mistakes that had plagued him in previous years, lowering his interception rate to just 1.2%.

Moreover, Allen does this without much help from his receivers. His top targets in 2024 were a slot receiver (Khaili Shakir), a tight end (Dalton Kincaid), and a running back (James Cook). Nothing against any of them—they do their jobs—but to win a championship in Patrick Mahomes’ conference, Buffalo eventually needs to attack with more traditional down-the-field receiving threats.

To that end, the front office went out and signed Joshua Palmer away from the Chargers. Palmer averaged a healthy 15.0 yards-per-catch last year. Buffalo also gave Allen another option in the slot, adding Elijah Moore, who caught 61 balls in Cleveland.

Cook is a tough runner, who went for over 1,000 yards and nearly five a pop, and he does it behind an offensive line that raises question marks. Buffalo is in good shape at center with Connor McGovern and right tackle with Spencer Brown, but there are serious flaws elsewhere, particularly right guard. If Allen is going to make big throws down the field, he’s going to need time to do it. Whether he gets that time is one of the big questions surrounding this offense.

MCDERMOTT KEEPS THE DEFENSE AFLOAT

Defense is head coach Sean McDermott’s specialty and that was never more apparent than last season. The Bills ranked 11th in the league in points allowed. It’s not like that’s a spectacular rating, but when you look at the personnel problems on this side of the ball, it’s an amazing coaching performance.

Buffalo has huge flaws at linebackers and throughout most of the secondary. On paper, the back seven is a complete sieve. The only building block is corner Christian Benford, one of the better cover corners in the league. The Bills also have a good defensive line, led by Ed Oliver on the interior and Greg Rosseau on the edge. But to put together a viable defense solely on a decent pass rush and one good corner is an exceptional coaching display by McDermott.

It’s no surprise, therefore, that Buffalo used its four draft picks on defense. That starts with Maxwell Hairston at corner, their first-round selection. Hairston suffered a knee injury in training camp, but it’s not a long-term situation. How fast he gets up to speed and develops will be something to watch with this Bills’ defense.

OUTLOOK

Betting markets continue to be bullish on Buffalo, giving them a healthy 12.5 Over/Under win prop and continuing to position them as one of the favorites in the AFC. That’s respect that has been earned. I’m not sure what to think. We’ve covered the flaws in this team, and by all accounts, they should be headed for a decline. But I thought that last year, and the McDermott/Allen duo proved me wrong. Was that a one-off deal thanks to Allen’s MVP year, or is Buffalo going to keep rolling along? I’ll make my final decision in our last post before the start of the season when we tie everything together.

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