As long as Josh Allen is under center for the Buffalo Bills, the minimum expectation for the team is that they will always be in the playoffs. Buffalo has been in the postseason every year since 2019 and part of their run was winning the AFC East for five consecutive seasons from 2020-2024.
Going into this season, it’s a new era but the expectations won’t change with Joe Brady as the new head coach. Buffalo brought in new pieces, but also kept a good amount of continuity in different areas. Even though their schedule is not easy whatsoever, the Bills are still expected to be among the best.
Some of the teams that they will face in 2026 are borderline playoff teams, or are not expected to be close to getting a playoff spot. Alex Kay from Bleacher Report listed five teams who could be surprise playoff contenders in 2026 and two of those teams are on the Bills’ schedule.
Bills could be taking on 2 surprising playoff teams that no one expects
Those two teams are the Las Vegas Raiders and Minnesota Vikings. When it comes to the Raiders, that would be a huge surprise considering that they have a new rookie head coach in Klint Kubiak, and they just had the No. 1 overall pick. As for the Vikings, there wouldn’t be a ton of shock especially since they seemed to have upgraded their quarterback room with Kyler Murray.
Alex Kay about the Raiders:
"If the offense outperforms expectations and the defense—which added a number of proven veterans off the open market—can hold up, the Raiders will become one of this season's true surprise playoff teams." said Kay.
Alex Kay about the Vikings:
"The Vikings already ranked No. 7 in scoring and No. 3 in total defense last year and should only improve with five prospects selected across the first five rounds of the 2026 draft—headlined by first-round edge rusher Caleb Banks—joining the fray." said Kay.
"While the 2026 Vikings will still sink or swim based on the performance of the quarterback position, the rest of the pieces are in firmly place for the team to secure a third playoff berth in six seasons under O'Connell." Kay added.
With the Raiders, it’s tough to imagine that they will be in the postseason not just because of the mini-rebuild that they are in, but because the AFC West is just simply tough to win in. Buffalo will play the Raiders in Las Vegas in Week 6 and the expectation is that the Bills should take care of business with little to no issue.
For the Vikings, they will be a tougher opponent for the Bills. While their quarterback situation isn’t exactly the best, Murray should be an upgrade over J.J. McCarthy. Outside of that, the Vikings do indeed have a solid roster. This could be one of those games that comes down to the wire and whoever blinks first could lose.
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