Teams fail to get back to the playoffs all the time in the NFL. Should the Buffalo Bills be worried about missing the playoffs in 2020 after making them?
The Buffalo Bills had a great season in 2019. For the second time in three years, the Bills punched their ticket into the AFC playoffs. While they came up short in the AFC Wild Card round vs. the Houston Texans, we have to like what we’ve seen out of Sean McDermott’s teams since he took over in 2017. But what are the chances Buffalo doesn’t get back to the AFC playoffs?
On this week’s episode of Stacking the Box, FanSided‘s Matt Verderame and Mark Carman, along with former NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz, recognize that not all 12 teams who made the playoffs in 2019 will return in 2020. They look at teams like the Bills and decide if they will make it back next year (28:16).
“I’ll be brief with this, but I think the Bills are the biggest regression candidate going,” said Verderame. “I love their defense, I don’t love Josh Allen. I think he got better. If he gets better again, then maybe he’ll prove me wrong, but they had a ridiculously easy schedule. They’ll have a very, very hard schedule next year, so I’ll take Buffalo…”
“1,000 percent Buffalo, they’re not making the playoffs,” said Schwartz. “They’re the Jaguars, the Bears, same thing. Defense, terrible quarterback. They’re not making the playoffs.” Outside of Buffalo, Verderame and Schwartz look at AFC South teams who could be in trouble. Verderame has his doubts about the Houston Texans. Schwartz feels similarly about the Tennessee Titans.
Saying the Titans will regress makes some sense since they’re not going on a run to the AFC Championship like they did this past year. So it could be them. As for Houston, this is the clearest regression candidate of the 12 playoff teams from last year, not Buffalo. The Bills are well-coached under McDermott and the Texans continue to be a clown show under Bill O’Brien’s watch.
The other factor here that is being missed is who is leapfrogging the Bills in the AFC East? Do we really trust the New York Jets or the Miami Dolphins to do that? We’re more likely to see either the Indianapolis Colts or the Jacksonville Jaguars win the AFC South than to see Buffalo lose any ground in the AFC East. It won’t be easy, but the Bills culture is too strong to count out already.
Here are a few other topics discussed on this week’s episode of Stacking the Box:
- Chiefs win or Niners lose? (19:49)
- Schwartz breaks down 3rd and 15 (23:29)
- Which teams make the playoffs that missed in 2019? (29:52)
All this and more!
Subscribe to Stacking The Box and follow Geoff Schwartz, Matt Verderame and Mark Carman on Twitter.