Christmas Wish List: Buffalo Bills Edition

The Buffalo Bills are in firm control of the AFC East. There’s an off chance either the Dolphins or Pats could catch up with them by the season’s end, but it’s unlikely. Even if they fell off and lost a couple of their remaining scheduled games, they’ve got a pretty decent shot at the playoffs. Yet the Bills might not be ready for the powerhouse that is the rest of the AFC. So for Christmas this year, the Bills are asking Santa for some big gifts.

A Playoff Win

Believe it or not, it’s been 25 years since the last Buffalo Bills playoff win. Yes, their playoff drought is older than Google itself. Granted, they had an almost 18 year stretch without a playoff appearance, but 7 years before that was the last time they won, in a wildcard match against their division rival Miami Dolphins. Buffalo has the talent in place to be contenders this year, but their close games and mistakes have cost them in winnable games.

A More Balanced Offense

The Bills are outperforming last year when they made the playoffs but lost in the wildcard round to the Houston Texans. With Stefon Diggs making a big impact, and Cole Beasley turning into a more well-rounded playmaker for Buffalo their offense has made huge strides. Unfortunately, it’s one-sided. Their passing game is near the top of the league, yet the run game is in the bottom third.

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If the Bills want to make a deep run, then carrying the football needs to challenge opposing defenses. If teams tighten up and make Josh Allen force bad plays, the run game has to be able to still move the chains. Putting defenses on their heels is fine, but teams with stout DBs will challenge Allen in the playoffs. The Bills don’t need to rush for 150-200 yards, but they need their RBs to be able to consistently get 3.5 ypc.

A Super Bowl Win

If a playoff win is getting a new tv for Christmas then a Super Bowl win would be getting a new car. Bills fans don’t need to be reminded of the four consecutive years they made the Super Bowl, only to lose in the end. It was a shame every year to see Jim Kelly make it past another future Hall of Famer Dan Marino every year, only to lose in the big dance to the likes of Troy Aikman and Phil Simms. No disrespect to either of those two quarterbacks, but statistically neither was close to Marino.

With that being said, it just goes to show just how much the Bills need that balanced offense to kick in late in their season. You can get teams that can throw the ball up and down the field, but without the balance of the run game the Giants and Cowboys had in the 1990s to pair with a tough defense, you’re not going to win the big game.

The Buffalo Bills might not want a lot for Christmas this year, but their list is the “one big gift” your mom swore you wouldn’t get because she didn’t have the money. Is this their year to make it come true?