Are the Bills Super Bowl contenders?

Should the Buffalo Bills get to 10 wins on the year on Sunday, we have to start looking at them as a serious Super Bowl contender out of the AFC, right?

At 9-3 through their first 12 games of the season, it’s safe to say that barring a historic collapse in the final quarter of the season, the Buffalo Bills will be making the AFC playoffs for the second time in three years. While it will probably be as a Wild Card team with the New England Patriots still in the AFC East, what are the chances Buffalo is actually a Super Bowl contender now?

On this week’s episode of Stacking the Box, FanSided‘s Matt Verderame and Mark Carman, along with former NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz, attempt to make sense of the murky AFC playoff picture. Should the Bills pull off the home upset vs. the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday afternoon, we just might to look at Buffalo as a serious threat to get to Super Bowl LIV (9:30).

Both Schwartz and Verderame like the Bills to cover the near-touchdown spread they’ll be getting at home against Lamar Jackson’s Ravens. With this game being in early December in Orchard Park and in the early afternoon window, this might favor Buffalo to pull off the not-so-shocking upset to get to a very impressive 10-3 on the season.

In truth, the Bills haven’t beaten a ton of good teams this year. Sure, knocking off the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Thanksgiving was solid, but most of the Bills’ wins have come against teams that will likely be picking in the top 10 of the 2020 NFL Draft. That being said, having an extra few days to get ready for the Ravens’ attack could be key in the Bills’ upset bid.

Baltimore’s plus-one offense is very hard to gameplan for. The San Francisco 49ers did their best to keep the Ravens in check last week but lost by a field goal last week in the Charm City. Buffalo is too a run-first offense and a team that plays great defense. The Bills have the roster and the mental makeup certainly capable of besting Baltimore to get to 10-3.

As for if the Bills are a serious Super Bowl contender, right now, that’s a tad out of reach. However, Buffalo will likely be the one Wild Card team in the AFC no division winner will want to face. Winning four playoff games in a row is so difficult. Yes, on paper, Buffalo is still technically a Super Bowl contender, but let’s win a playoff game first before we go all-in on that line of thinking.

Here are a few other topics discussed on this week’s episode of Stacking the Box:

• Russell Wilson is the difference-maker – 4:45
• NFL won’t clear Antonio Brown because he’ll sign with the Patriots – 16:11
• Josh Allen proved he’s not a bust – 36:35
• No one will want the Cleveland Browns job – 43:24

All this and more!

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