Throughout the Josh Allen era, the Buffalo Bills have had to overcome several obstacles. In the past, under former head coach Sean McDermott, the Bills overcame the challenge of dethroning the Patriots after their 20-year dynasty run, with six Super Bowl victories under Tom Brady, by winning 5 division titles in the last six seasons.
Last season, they had to overcome another challenge when the Patriots took the AFC East title and denied the Bills a sixth straight divisional championship by having to play on the road. A late interception by Cole Bishop and the Bills finally won a road playoff game for the first time since the 1992 AFC championship game.
But the team faced a difficult decision: whether to keep general manager Brandon Beane or McDermott. Because the GM usually wins that power struggle, Beane stayed, and McDermott was gone.
Even though things will be different, different has to mean change. While that's possible in Year 1, some things may take a little more time.
Here are the four biggest obstacles the Bills must look head on and overcome in the 2026 NFL season.
Four obstacles Bills need to face head on in 2026
1.) Houston Texans - Week 1
There really isn't a better, but frightening, game to start out the season with than the Houston Texans in the opening week. The Texans have been the victors over the Bills in the last two seasons, with the most recent 23-19 win on Thursday Night Football.
Even though the score was a four-point game, it wasn't really that close. The Texans' defense sacked Allen eight times, and if it weren't for a successful hook-and-ladder play on fourth down and long, the Bills would have lost a lot sooner.
Also, it didn't help when that game was played later in the season, and the Bills were pretty beaten up throughout the contest. This year, though, it's Week 1, and if the Bills pull off the win here, they can feel good about their chances, as they wouldn't have to play them again for the remainder of the 2026 regular season.
2.) Backend of schedule
After they play the Miami Dolphins at home in Week 11 the Bills begin a schedule in which they will play five games across five different time slots. It starts off a Thanksgiving game against the Kansas City Chiefs at the new Highmark Stadium.
Then the Bills will wrap up their season series in Foxborough the next week to take on Drake Maye and the New England Patriots. The Bills will next travel to Lambeau Field to face Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football, then return home to face Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears for a Saturday night December battle.
It will conclude with Brady and the Bills traveling to the high-altitude city of Denver, Colorado, to take on his former boss, Sean Payton, and the Denver Broncos. It will be a revenge game for Buffalo on Christmas Day.
If the Bills do well here, they will be a team going into the playoffs, ready to make a Super Bowl run more than any other of the 32 clubs in the NFL.
3.) New defensive coordinator - defensive changes
After nine seasons of running a 4-3 defense under McDermott that could never come up clutch in situational football during playoff games, the team will welcome a change this year with Jim Leonhard running a pressure-filled 3-4 defense.
This scheme will definitely be different, and is one that Leonhard believes suits certain players, such as Ed Oliver, who will have more freedom in this defense than in the past.
If it can lead to more sacks and improve the run defense, then hopefully more fans will understand and accept that Beane should keep drafting power rushers over speed rushers.
4.) New head coach
After the Bills replaced McDermott, Allen and Beane didn't have to look too far to see who his replacement would be. They decided to promote Joe Brady from offensive coordinator to head coach.
Brady's hard work and commitment earned him his opportunity to run the team. He came in from the Carolina Panthers to serve as the quarterbacks coach under former Bills offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey in 2022. Then, midway through the 2023 season, Dorsey was let go, and Brady was promoted to offensive coordinator, where he and Allen really hit it off.
In 2024, Brady earned the permanent offensive coordinator job and installed a ground-and-pound scheme with James Cook leading the way, while Allen still aired the ball out when needed. 2024 saw Allen win his first MVP under Brady, and more was to come the following year.
In 2025, Brady was responsible for Cook winning the rushing title, as he had 1,621 yards on the ground behind one of the league's best offensive lines.
While McDermott's defense was a liability, Brady wants a total 180: an aggressive, versatile defense, because he believes those are the hardest to go up against as an offensive coordinator, like he just was.
Only time will tell whether these changes were the right ones, but doing nothing is not the right move either.
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