Are Bills 'Headed in Wrong Direction' After Offseason Exodus?
The Buffalo Bills' offseason has been one of change, as several key players, most notably Stefon Diggs, have moved on.
With so much change on both sides of the ball, some question how far Josh Allen can take this team, which, on paper at least, seems significantly weaker than the one that lost to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round of the playoffs last year.
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For The Athletic's Mike Jones, the Bills are trending in the wrong direction after the offseason exodus.
Could the Bills’ Super Bowl window be closing? It’s possible as this team tries to retool on the fly,” Jones writes. “The trade of Stefon Diggs and free agency departure of Gabe Davis leaves quarterback Josh Allen without his top two wide receivers. Meanwhile, the Bills also lost impact players Tre’Davious White, Mitch Morse and Jordan Poyer. They did draft big-target wide receiver Keon Coleman, but for a team that is trying to fend off the Dolphins in the AFC East and catch up to the Chiefs and Bengals in the conference, the Bills appear headed in the wrong direction."
Given the state of the AFC East, with the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins both thought to be in Super Bowl contention, Buffalo has a tough task in making it out of the division.
While Sean McDermott will have the defense playing to a high level, it is offensively where the most question marks are.
Can Allen lift a receiver-by-committee group that doesn't have a bonafide No. 1 receiver and is headlined by a rookie? Offensive coordinator Joe Brady used the run game far more than his predecessor Ken Dorsey did, and the Bills looked like a better team as a result. Perhaps that is the way forward in 2024.
The Bills still have the nucleus of a good team, and with No. 17, they will always be a tough outfit to go past. But is Buffalo seeing its Super Bowl arrow trend in the wrong direction?
We'll let the cake bake on that.