The season began with a rollicking, intoxicating, come-from-behind, night-for-the-ages win against the Ravens. Through six weeks, where are the Buffalo Bills?
They started 4-0. They were regarded as the odds-on favorite to win the Super Bowl. They’re STILL the +650 favorite to do what they’ve never done, with the Chiefs just behind them at 7-1.
Let’s take a look at what the Bills have actually done this year. Their win over the Ravens doesn’t look nearly as impressive as it did at the time, now that Baltimore is 1-5. And the Bills had to make a late defensive play to fend off the 1-5 Dolphins. Then, the 1-5 Saints had a chance to beat the Bills in Buffalo. The only convincing win came in Week 2 against the 0-6 Jets.
In all, the Bills’ four wins have come against teams with a combined record of 3-21.
Since then, Buffalo has lost a pair of prime-time games — against the Patriots in Week 5 and last night against the Falcons. Now, Buffalo has extra time to get ready for a visit to Carolina, where the Panthers have the pieces to do what the Falcons did to them.
As Devin McCourty said on Tuesday’s PFT Live, the Bills got bullied in Atlanta.
Throughout the game, quarterback Josh Allen looked bewildered. And the team collectively seemed to think he was one play away, at any given time, from turning the eventual loss into a win.
So, yes, the Bills need to do some soul searching. They need to get key players healthy. And they need to reverse the current trend, or they could exit the Week 9 game against the Chiefs at 4-4.
There’s a chance that, beyond Allen and running back James Cook, the Bills just aren’t good enough.
It’s good for the notion that anything can happen. It’s bad for a Bills fanbase that was eyeing February flight options and hotel accommodations in the Bay Area.
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