Defense does not win championships in today’s NFL
The NFL is not a defense-first league and shows no signs of trending in that direction at any time during the Bills’ current window for competing. Explosive offenses with top-tier quarterbacks are what the NFL wants. Nearly every significant rule change in recent years has been geared toward increasing offense and excitement, protecting the quarterback, and making things simultaneously easier for wide receivers and more difficult for defensive coverage.
As a result the league has made it significantly harder for defense-first teams to win. For teams that are in a “Super Bowl window” such as the Bills, it makes sense to pursue the avenues to winning that are currently working in the NFL.
Just take 2022 as an example. The Eagles were an elite defense in the NFL in 2022 that peaked at the right time during their run to the Super Bowl. Yet they were gashed for 38 points in the Super Bowl by an offensive attack led by NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes. Fans can clamor all they want about bad calls and weak pass interference that helped the Chiefs come back, but that only adds to the point that the NFL rules inherently increase offense in this era.
One could also look at the Buffalo Bills themselves in recent years. They have had a top-five defense in the NFL for three years in a row, yet have been eliminated each year in heart-breaking, high-scoring games in the playoffs.
They do not need to add expensive personnel to their defense. They need to add explosive offensive weapons to be able to keep up in these types of games, and be able to gash good defenses in the playoffs. Their money could be better spent elsewhere to improve their odds of making and winning a Super Bowl, which brings us to the next reason not to re-sign Jordan Poyer: