Bills Still A Step Behind AFC’s Best

Last year, the Bills’ biggest knock against their 10 win season and playoff berth was the quality of the opponents they had beaten. Sure, it is good to win the games that you are expected to win, but there is also a time when you want to see your team beat the top tier NFL teams and not just beat up on the bottom feeders of the league.

You could tell the Bills were close last year, they lost to the Ravens at home by a touchdown (with a chance to tie at the end of the game), they lost to the Patriots twice (both games with a chance to tie/win at the end of the game). After the offseason improvements on the offensive side of the ball, the Bills looked primed and ready to compete with the NFL’s best.

Two losses in the past six days to the Titans and the Chiefs has reaffirmed yet again that the Bills are still not capable of beating the NFL’s top tier teams. This comes as a massive disappointment, as everyone in the organization felt that the offseason additions put them over the top. Especially considering the way that they lost, complete domination on both sides of the ball, the disappointment in a stadium was palpable, even without fans present. I still consider the Bills a good football team. They will still most likely win the AFC East for the first time in 25 years and host a home playoff game in Buffalo. A few weeks ago I said that the Bills were Super Bowl caliber. Unfortunately, they have shown me otherwise with these last two performances.

There will be no shortage of opportunities for the Bills to show that they can compete with, and beat, the NFL’s best as there are still games against Seattle, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco left on their schedule. But as of now, the Bills collectively as a team should not be considered a top-tier team. The offense showed some promise in Weeks 1-4 but have fallen back to earth, and hard. The defense isn’t even playoff caliber at this point. The Chiefs don’t have a very good defense either but tonight they showed us what champions do best, and that is rise to the occasion when they need to. The Bills have been unable to do that for two years and until they do it is tough to take them seriously as anything more than a team looking at another playoff exit in the Wild Card round.