The Buffalo Bills are entering the 2026 NFL regular season as Super Bowl contenders, led by superstar quarterback Josh Allen. In today's NFL, with a tough schedule like the one the Bills were given, this season's outcome can be the difference between winning the Super Bowl and missing the playoffs entirely.
With a challenging middle-of-the-season stretch ahead of them, if the team doesn't come out of it on the winning side, it could be a huge letdown for the team and especially for Bills Mafia. Let's take a look at some of the Bills' biggest obstacles of the 2026 season that will challenge them.
2 challenges Bills must overcome in 2026 season
1. Management added needed players for depth and competition
With an experienced roster of players returning for 2026, the Bills also added new players who could help them survive deep into the regular season and advance further in the postseason. With the addition of free agent EDGE Rusher Bradley Chubb, and rookies T.J. Parker, and Davison Igbinosun, they are three players who will continue to add power and depth to their pass rush and man coverage in their secondary.
Rookie linebacker Kaleb Elams-Orr also adds depth to the linebacker position, but he brings a different type of linebacker than the Bills have drafted in the past. The Bills used to draft smaller, quicker linebackers who would help their powerful EDGE rushers make sacks, but would struggle to stop bigger ball carriers in the second level.
Elams-Orr is more of a prototypical NFL linebacker in terms of size and run-stopping ability, with a great deal of hit power that reminds me of former Bills linebacker Takeo Spikes.
The Bills may regret not adding another young run-stuffing nose tackle to spell Deone Walker for their new 3-4 base defense, but they feel confident that Zion Logue will take a step forward since bulking up from 6-foot-6, 314 pounds last year to 6-foot-6, 325 pounds this year.
2. Middle of the season 3-game struggle
Chiefs vs. Bills (Week 12)
Here is where the Bills will have to show what they are made of. For the first time in franchise history, the NFL will bring the Bills to Orchard Park, New York, on Thanksgiving in Week 12 vs. the Kansas City Chiefs at 8:20 pm. The Chiefs are coming off a tough 2025 down year, which the Bills could have this year if they're not careful. By then, Mahomes should be healthy and ready to go, but the Chiefs may finally have a run game in new free agent acquisition Kenneth Walker III from the Seattle Seahawks.
What is also different about this year's matchup is that Mahomes will see a change in the Bills' defensive scheme: they will blitz him more rather than rush with four players and drop back into coverage.
Bills vs. Patriots (Week 13)
Next, they face the New England Patriots in Foxborough in Week 13 at 4:25 pm. This match-up could be a key moment for the division race. While New England beat Buffalo last year for the AFC East Title, they still need to be tough in this AFC Divisional matchup.
They also benefit from the fact that the Patriots, at this point in the season, are also struggling to adjust to that brutal first-place schedule they got from winning the AFC East last season. Still, the Bills can't let their guard down as this might be the game that determines if the Bills retake the division title or the Pats repeat.
Bills vs. Packers (Week 14)
In Week 14, the Bills will face the Green Bay Packers in an inter-conference game on Sunday Night Football at 8:20 pm. This key match-up is a time for fans to look for a battle of two Super Bowl contenders, as quarterback Jordan Love still leads the Packers. Both fanbases will be rocking at historic Lambeau Field, and the Bills may have to play mistake-free football to win this high-flying, potential offensive shootout game.
If the Bills can survive the latter half of their schedule with the added players that management brought in, healthy and still ready to go, the team may still have a good chance to advance to the playoffs.
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