How the Buffalo Bills became one of the best teams in the AFC
A few years ago, the Buffalo Bills were one of the punching bags of the NFL. Top teams would circle games with the Bills as automatic wins.
Try performing that exercise this year, and you'll probably have people asking if it's been a rough week. In recent years, the team has seen a complete renaissance. Today, the Bills are one of the premier teams in the NFL and a favorite to make a deep playoff run in 2021.
What changed? Here are three moves that led to the Buffalo Bills rising from the ashes of despair.
The rise of the Buffalo Bills
Sean McDermott
It all started with Sean McDermott. In 2017, the Buffalo Bills signed yet another head coach, a relatively unknown one shoe-horned in with all of the other failed coaches that came before him. However, in his rookie season as head coach, McDermott steadied the ship. The team fought their way to a 9-7 record, grabbing a Wild Card spot.
This was done with Tyrod Taylor at the helm and a 29th-ranked offense matched with a 26th-ranked offense. On paper, there is no way this team should have won more than five games. However, with McDermott, the Bills made it to the playoffs and had a competitive showing against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Josh Allen
The following season, despite their first playoff appearance since 1999, they blew it up.
The Bills picked a new quarterback in Josh Allen, whose first season ended up going sideways as he had a bonafide rookie year. He threw for ten touchdowns and 12 interceptions that season, and the Bills finished 6-10.
Allen improved in his second season, throwing for 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions, a marked improvement over Tyrod Taylor's playoff season in which he threw for 14 touchdowns and four interceptions. The Bills reached new heights with their new quarterback, going 10-6 but losing again in the Wild Card round.
Stefon Diggs
The Bills knew they had something great brewing but were still in need of something more. This was when they learned about Stefon Diggs' potential availability. In an effort to give Josh Allen all the help to put the Buffalo Bills on the map, they pulled the trigger and moved in on Diggs.
The star wide receiver was coming off back-to-back 1000-yard seasons and one of the greatest Hail Mary plays of all time in the playoffs. Some wondered whether he would work well in Buffalo in a new system as the clear-cut number one wide receiver. He ended up being even better.
He went on to have the best season of his career. In 2020, he had over 1,500 yards and eight touchdowns.
At the same time, Josh Allen was continuing to build on what he did in 2019. In 2020, Allen nearly doubled his touchdowns. He threw for more than 4,500 yards, 37 touchdowns and ten interceptions. The Bills went 13-3 and made it to the AFC Championship game.
At this point, the Bills have been in the playoffs in three of the last four seasons and are coming off their best season since "The Matrix" was in theaters. Going into 2021, there is little doubt that the Bills will be in the playoffs again as one of the best teams in the AFC.