In some ways, the Buffalo Bills are supposed to have their easiest path to the Super Bowl in years. After all, those same three quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, and Lamar Jackson, aren’t in the playoff field.
But of course, that's not necessarily what Bills fans were most concerned about anyway. Sean McDermott’s pass defense was far from perfect in 2025, but it ranked tops in the league in yards allowed. While all three of those quarterbacks are threats to run, as are most of the quarterbacks in the AFC field this postseason, it’s the run defense that has Bills fans concerned about their Super Bowl aspirations.
Buffalo’s front seven on defense absorbed quite a bit of attrition due to injuries throughout the season, but a 28th-place finish in rush yards allowed heading into the NFL Playoffs is a bad omen to carry. Surprisingly, though, ESPN NFL Insider Dan Graziano thinks the concern surrounding one of the biggest weaknesses on the Bills’ roster is a bit overblown.
Why ESPN's Graziano believes Buffalo Bills can still contend despite their issues stopping the run
Graziano played Myth Buster with all 14 playoff teams, extinguishing the doubts each team is carrying into the post season. For the Bills, he suggested that the Bills’ inconsistent run defense shouldn’t be what keeps the franchise from representing the AFC in Super Bowl LX.
“Buffalo wouldn't be the worst run defense ever to reach the Super Bowl. (The 2006 Colts allowed 173 rushing yards per game in the regular season and were worse across the board in just about every metric.) But it would be one of the worst,” Graziano wrote. “The good news is, there isn't a team in the AFC that's nearly as good at running the ball as the Bills are.”
Everyone with a pulse in the NFL knows the importance of running the ball and stopping the run in January, and to Graziano’s point, the Bills are the best team in the league heading into the postseason at running the ball. James Cook led the league in rushing, as did the entire Bills offense at team scale.
Graziano isn’t wrong about Buffalo’s defensive issues being a bit overblown. After all, the Bills’ defense held the Philadelphia Eagles, who have more talent than their 18th-ranked run game would suggest, to just 82 yards in their final test of the regular season. Still, the inconsistencies ring true. The Bills allowed 246 yards on the ground just two weeks prior to the Patriots, albeit in a win.
READ MORE: ESPN analyst just voiced the Sean McDermott concern Bills fans already have
Sure, the Bills might not have to play an elite rushing team on the AFC side of the bracket, but defensive inconsistencies can throttle a team’s postseason aspirations as violently as any shortcoming. And it’s not as though Buffalo is built to contend in shootouts either, at least not with the void of production at wide receiver.
Regardless, if the Bills do reach Super Bowl LX, then an NFC team that can reliably run the ball- the Seahawks, Rams, 49ers, and Bears - could be waiting for them in Santa Clara, California. Unless Buffalo flips a 180 on their run defense in January, the issue at hand still exists for the biggest game of the year.
Even still, the Bills’ first postseason test shouldn’t be overlooked on the ground anyway. While Trevor Lawrence and the passing game in Duval are the lifeblood of their impressive run to close the regular season, the Jaguars topped 80 rushing yards in every game following their BYE week, save for their two games against Tennessee in blowout victories, going over 100 yards in six of those games.