Since the 2020 season, the Buffalo Bills have been known for their powerhouse for a variety of reasons. However, the main factor that plays the biggest role into how the Bills’ offense operates is quarterback Josh Allen. He is the one that implements fears into defenses because of the way he carries himself as a player.
Even with lack of true help on the outside the last two years, Allen has still managed to play as one of, if not the best player in the entire NFL. With that being said, he can’t do it all every time and that is where the Bills face a lot of fault. There are people who have been saying that general manager Brandon Beane hasn’t done the best to surround Allen.
The wide receiver position has been the biggest weakness on the offense, but other than that, Beane has actually done a solid job at building around Allen in other ways which includes solidifying the offensive line.
However, even though Allen is one of the greats in the league and an improvement in help, the Bills are still in for a rough 2026 schedule not just simply because of the teams that they will be facing, but because of the defensive talent that they will be going up against.
Bills set to face top DPOY candidates in 2026 (and fans should be nervous)
Sayre Bedinger from NFL Spin Zone put together a list of the Top 10 Defensive Player of the Year candidates and 7 of them will be playing against the Bills this season. Below are the players that Bedinger listed:
EDGE Maxx Crosby - Las Vegas Raiders (Week 6)
CB Derek Stingley - Houston Texans (Week 1)
CB Pat Surtain II - Denver Broncos (Week 16 - Christmas Day)
EDGE Nik Bonitto - Denver Broncos (Week 16 - Christmas Day)
EDGE Will Anderson Jr. - Houston Texans (Week 1)
EDGE Aidan Hutchinson - Detroit Lions (Week 2)
EDGE Myles Garrett - Los Angeles Rams (Week 5)
Derek Stingley and Pat Surtain II are the two top corners in the game and there is a sizable gap after them. It’s extremely rare to see a wide receiver be highly productive against them. They are true lockdown corners and even though the Bills have a quality CB1 in Christian Benford, he unfortunately isn’t on their level.
The rest of the list features some of the best edge rushers that the duo of Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown will have to deal with.
Buffalo wasn’t originally going to be seeing Myles Garrett this season, but now that the Rams acquired him via trade with the Cleveland Browns, the Bills have the unfortunate pleasure of dealing with him on primetime in Week 5. Garrett is finally in a situation where he doesn't need to be the only star and he will be adding more value to an already stacked Rams squad.
Maxx Crosby is one of the two shining stars that the Raiders have, and with everything he went through this offseason with the failed trade to the Baltimore Ravens, he should be looking to prove to everyone that Baltimore made the wrong choice to back out of the trade.
Nik Bonitto is one of those edge rushers that has vastly shown up as one of the better edge rushers, and the Bills will have to figure out how to prevent him from being a game wrecker on Christmas Day.
Will Anderson Jr. was Buffalo’s biggest nightmare last season when he was constantly chasing Josh Allen around. Now, the Bills will come out of the gate and face him in Week 1 down in Houston.
In Week 2, the Bills will debut their new Highmark Stadium on Thursday Night Football and host the Detroit Lions. Aidan Hutchinson is entering his prime and he will be looking to embarrass the Bills in their first ever regular season game in their new stadium.
For as great as Buffalo’s offense has been in various aspects, they will have a great amount of challenges against some of the best defenders in the league. If the Bills allow these players to be impactful right from the start, the Bills could be in for some long games this season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google