Offseason Chronicles: Is the Buffalo Bills' Championship Window Closed?

 

Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills walks off the field following a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC divisional round, Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024, at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, NY. (Timothy T. Ludwig/Getty Images)

As he slouches down in his postgame interview chair, wearing a Buffalo Bills-themed New Era cap, Bills quarterback Josh Allen finds himself in a very familiar setup; a habitual situation that the All-Pro signal caller just can't seem to escape from seemingly every January. After pausing to take a deep breath, a reporter asks Allen what must've been a back-breaking question.

"Can you put into words the frustration of not getting past that team again in the postseason?"

Allen grabs hold of his jersey collar before answering that tough question in a sorrowful tone.

"It sucks. Losing sucks. Losing to them, losing to anybody at home sucks".

For the second consecutive year, Allen's Bills suffered a bitter home loss in the divisional round of the playoffs. And for the third time in four years, their season came to an end at the hands of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Ever since the head coach-general manager duo of Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane arrived at One Bills Drive in 2017, the Bills have become one of the NFL's marquee franchises with six playoff appearances, four AFC East division titles, and an AFC Championship Game appearance in 2020. However, Buffalo has not been able to capture football's grandest prize during that span: the Lombardi Trophy. And with Allen's cap hit ballooning to over $43 million in 2025, the Bills have been forced to move on from several veteran players, including former All-Pro cornerback Tre'Davious White and former All-Pro safety Jordan Poyer.

On top of all of that, just two weeks ago, the Bills traded away All-Pro wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans in exchange for a 2nd-round pick in next year's draft. While it's true that Diggs and the team have had their fair share of drama and it's clear that Buffalo is making a concentrated effort to build a younger team around Allen, there's no doubt that losing him makes the Bills worse off in 2024. In a tough AFC East that features the explosive Miami Dolphins and a New York Jets team that seems primed to rebound with a healthy Aaron Rodgers, it certainly won't be easy for Allen and Co. to win their fifth consecutive division title.

With all of this being considered, it's a fair question to ask: has the Buffalo Bills' championship window slammed shut? I would say by no means, for one main reason that can be summed up in two words:

 Josh Allen.

Yes, Allen can be the ultimate enigma, at times looking like the best quarterback in the league, and other times, he'll leave you loudly exlclaiming "What were you thinking"? But there's no denying his otherworldly talent. It will definitely be interesting to see how he performs without Diggs this season. Still, Allen seems like one of those quarterbacks who can overcome a lack of supreme talent at the wide receiver position. In a league where it's much easier to find a quarterback you can win with rather than win because of, it's safe to say that the Bills will always be in Super Bowl contention as long as #17 is their franchise QB.

Additionally, the Bills currently possess the 28th pick in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft. This is a draft class that is absolutely loaded with talent at the wide receiver position, so it wouldn't be surprising to see Buffalo emerge from the draft with a couple of wide-outs. Texas's Xavier Worthy, in particular, could be a great fit catching passes from Allen with his game-breaking speed. Moreover, running back James Cook (1,567 scrimmage yards in 2023) and tight end Dalton Kincaid (673 receiving yards as a rookie last season) are two young, talented weapons that will help aid Buffalo's offence (fourth in total offence in 2023) in their transition from the post-Diggs era.

Furthermore, while the Bills have yet to experience a breakthrough in the playoffs, there is precedent for teams across numerous sports leagues that struggled in the postseason for years before finally kicking down the door toward a championship (e.g. 2011 Dallas Mavericks, 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers). If the Bills can continue to hang around over the next couple of years, eventually, it could be their  year to win a Super Bowl.

So yes, while the Diggs trade (and the other offseason cuts) will negatively impact the Bills in 2024, it also gives them a better chance of finishing the job in 2025 and 2026. Beane is one of the best general managers in the league, McDermott is a top-10 coach, and Allen is arguably the best quarterback in the NFL not named Patrick Mahomes. A retool was inevitable but with those three guys leading the way, the Lombardi Trophy could be making its way to Orchard Park for the first time... eventually.