Buffalo Bills looking like true contenders in AFC

The Buffalo Bills aren’t going to be mistaken for a modern NFL team anytime soon but they shouldn’t be confused with a team that can’t contend in the AFC.

For the most part, the modern contenders in the NFL are predicated on their offensive prowess. The Buffalo Bills decidedly are not. In their Week 5 win over the Tennessee Titans, Buffalo managed a quite pedestrian 313 yards of total offense and put up only 14 points. And yet, they moved to 4-1 on the 2019 season.

The Bills, as simply as it can be said, are far from a modern NFL contender in the stereotype of what they look like. Second-year quarterback Josh Allen is not a perfect thrower, tends to make mistakes and, in many ways, puts himself in harm’s way far too often. They also have a largely mediocre group of running backs and wide receivers, even if many can flash.

Where Buffalo is truly elite by design is on defense. The addition of Ed Oliver with the No. 9 overall pick in this year’s draft was a luxury for this defense. There are young stars in guys like cornerback Tre’Davious White and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. More than anything, however, this is a group of hard-nosed veterans that play well together and feed off one another.

That was on display in the win over the Titans as they held Tennessee to seven points. Sure, they benefitted from four missed field goals off the foot of Cairo Santos, but even then, Buffalo was stout whenever they didn’t have the ball.

There’s truly a beauty in the old-school approach that head coach Sean McDermott is employing with the Bills in 2019, a beauty in making things ugly. If this team tried to get into a Chiefs-like style of play, they would lose by two touchdowns in every game. Instead, they want to make opposing offenses grind out every yard and wear down defenses for 60 minutes of play.

After the first three weeks of the season, Buffalo was 3-0 and had people chirping. Then came a test against the Patriots and, though they lost to their AFC East rivals, you would almost say they still passed as they Tom Brady to just 16 points and suffered only a six-point defeat.

If you need to know anything about the Bills’ identity, the win in Nashville on Sunday was their third road victory already this season. It was also their fourth game decided by double-digits. You can say the Titans self-destructed and they didn’t help their cause but you can just as easily say that’s the position the Bills put opponents in.

To not take Buffalo serious as a threat and contender in the AFC would be an error. McDermott’s team may not have the eye-candy that other top-tier teams in the NFL can offer but they have the success. At the end of the day, the number of highlights going viral on Twitter doesn’t get you closer to the Lombardi Trophy — winning does.

And the Bills are winning, doing it their way and apologizing to no one for it.