Only the Kansas City Chiefs have a longer active playoff streak than Sean McDermott's Buffalo Bills. The current AFC East champions have reached the postseason six consecutive years opposed to Kansas City's 10 in a row. Since 2019, Buffalo owns a 7-6 postseason record and is still waiting to get back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1993.
Conversely, the Chiefs are getting ready to play in their fifth Super Bowl in six seasons dating back to ’19. In four of those seasons, they have sent McDermott’s team home. That includes this year’s 32-29 setback in the AFC title game.
Biggest Positive from 2024
Quarterback Josh Allen had a well-earned reputation for the spectacular, as well as the inexplicable on occasion. The talented signal-caller has had his issues with ball security. In each of his first six seasons, he had totaled at least 13 turnovers. Incredibly, Allen not only committed a career-low eight turnovers, they were the only miscues by the entire team in 2024.
That tied the NFL record for the fewest giveaways in a season by a team in NFL history, along with the 2019 New Orleans Saints. McDermott’s club did not give up the ball in the playoffs, meaning these Bills turned over the ball only eight times in 20 total contests.
Potential UFA that needs to be re-signed
During the season, general manager Brandon Beane acquired wide receiver Amari Cooper from the Browns. He did not put up awe-inspiring numbers, but the fact that the Bills were able to obtain a proven performer was a feather in Beane’s cap.
After joining the club, he totaled only 20 catches for 297 yards and a pair of scores in eight regular-season games. He added six receptions for 41 yards during Buffalo’s three-game playoff run. The five-time Pro Bowler will be entering his 11th NFL season, and may not command a huge salary. At the moment (via Spotrac), the Bills are about $10 million over the salary cap.
Needs Fixing
When will the Bills finally solve Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs come the postseason? Sean McDermott has now faced Kansas City a total of 10 times (including playoffs) since taking over in Buffalo in 2017. His team owns a 5-1 mark in the regular season, including four consecutive wins at Arrowhead Stadium.
However, the Bills are 0-4 in the playoffs, including a pair of AFC title game losses. The Chiefs have scored a combined 139 points in those wins, and the offense has averaged 430.0 yards per game. Worth noting that Buffalo’s three-point loss in this AFC Championship saw the Chiefs score a season-high 32 points.