The Good

For the most part, the Buffalo Bills roster heading into the 2023-2024 season looks the same. They did lose a key defensive piece in Tremaine Edmunds but were able to bring in Leonard Floyd in free agency. Floyd will help solidify the Bills defense as he finished the last three seasons with at least 9 sacks. Pairing him with the likes of Von Miller, Ed Oliver and Shaq Lawson will give the Bills an elite pass rush. The only real weakness as of now on this defense is at the middle linebacker spot where the Bills will rely on journeyman A.J. Klein.

On the offensive side of the ball, it’s all about Josh Allen. After a rough rookie campaign, Allen has shown he belongs in the elite tier of NFL quarterbacks. Allen has thrown for 4,000+ yards and 35+ touchdowns in the last three seasons and continues to impress with his arm. Allen finished first in total air yards last season with 2,837. The only real concern right now with Allen is the risk of injury. To combat that he has recently stated that he wants to become more of a pocket passer going forward. If the Bills want to win a Super Bowl they have to have Josh Allen healthy and he is starting to realize that.

The Bad

As I eluded to before there are off-the-field distractions that many haunt the Bills going forward. In the blowout loss against the Bengals Stefon Diggs was not happy and let his frustrations be known. This was not the first time Diggs was seen on the sidelines arguing with teammates and it’s something to watch closely. Diggs was also notably absent from the first day of OTA’s which head coach Sean McDermott admitted was concerning. There seems to be some tension behind the scenes between Diggs and the Bills. If they can’t figure out a resolution it could end up derailing their season.

The Prediction

Although the Buffalo Bills will still be in the hunt for the playoffs, I expect them to take a step back next season. The AFC East will be the best division in football and the Bills have the 4th toughest schedule in 2023. According to Vegas, the current projected win total for Buffalo is 10.5 and I think that is spot on. I have the Bills finishing slightly over that with 11 wins. They will once again be in the playoffs but can they finally make a run?

2023 Record: 11-6

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By: Jake Rajala

The Buffalo Bills have a Madden-like signal-caller in Josh Allen – who has thrown 73 passing touchdowns in the past two seasons combined. Well, the Bills GM Brandon Beane really sculpted the Bills pass rush to match the talent of the Bills passing attack this off-season. The Bills brought in the mythical Von Miller, also known as Cam Newton’s archnemesis, to be a wrecking ball in 2022. Per NFL Network, Miller stated, “I felt like I was the missing piece.” Miller is being taken care of by the Bills w/ his six-year deal worth $120 million, but he definitely feels like the Bills are a team that he can win a SB ring with for his second straight season.

Miller has also jelled in as a Buffalo Bill off the field (as shown below).

Miller will seek to hunt opposing signal-callers across from the second-year EDGE profile, Gregory Rousseau. Rousseau will not only feel delighted that Miller will hog the attention, but he should feel more confident in himself developing his pass-rushing kit this off-season. The 22-year-old DE shouldn’t panic that he only ousted four sacks in his rookie campaign. The 2016 DPOY winner, Khalil Mack, only mustered out a mere four sacks in his rookie season. I surely believe the more mature 2021 Bills first-round pick is the Bills x-factor in 2022.

The shaky Shaq Lawson needs to bounce back after getting back with his ex-team. Lawson only unveiled a mere one sack as a Jet in 2021. He signed a one-year prove-it deal with the Bills this off-season. I expect Lawson to have a ton of motivation and opportunities in the upcoming season. Lawson and Rousseau are pegged as the starting edge players, but they will also anticipate magic from DT Ed Oliver. The former 2019 Draft Pick has slightly disappointed (7 sacks in the past two seasons combined).

The Bills pass rush could significantly w/ Miller, progress from their 2021 first-round pick, and a jolt out of their 2019 first-round pick. I like the chances of Oliver having more success, but I believe Gregory is more likely to oust 10+ sacks in 2022. The Bills ranked 12th in sacks in 2021 and I undoubtedly foresee them ranking Top-5 in sacks next season. Furthermore, they should make life a lot more miserable for Patrick Mahomes in their upcoming match-up than their previous show-down. It will be hard to diagnose if the Bills are having more offensive fireworks or pass-rushing prowess in the remainder of the offseason.

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