It’s almost time for the Buffalo Bills to make another run at a Super Bowl appearance. With Josh Allen leading the way and a cleared AFC field from past headaches, Bills fans are finding confidence in the possibility of this year’s Bills squad representing the AFC in Super Bowl LX.
Of course, with the field constructed as it is on the AFC, without the likes of elite quarterback talents like Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, and presumably Lamar Jackson, the reality of anything being possible for the AFC side of the postseason tournament is settling in just as nauseously for Bills fans. Sure, Bo Nix and Drake Maye are unproven in postseason play, but they’ve brought their teams this far while knocking down some elite teams along the way.
While reality waits for it all to unfold as it will, ESPN took the prediction route, using a simulation model to predict how the rest of the NFL season will unfold. At first, it seemed like Bills Mafia would love what the prediction model had to say, but it doesn’t end so promisingly.
ESPN’s simulation model turns a dream finish into a nightmare for Buffalo Bills fans
ESPN’s prediction simulator suggests that Buffalo can cake-walk the rest of their regular season schedule, beating the Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, and New York Jets by three scores each. Three blowout victories, including one over the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles, to close the regular season would have Bills fans more than excited about the possibilities the postseason could hold.
With the regular season simulation wrapped up, the Bills landed the 5-seed, meaning another trip to Pittsburgh and a date with the Steelers would be in order. Unfortunately, this is where the simulation model goes off the rails for Bills fans. Despite Buffalo rushing for an Acrisure Stadium opponent record 249 yards just a couple of weeks ago, the simulation predicted that Buffalo would be run out of the stadium in Pittsburgh, 30-13. The simulator indicated that this time around, it’d be the Bills who couldn’t stop the run.
From there, it only gets worse. Without Buffalo in the mix, the New England Patriots cruised all the way to the Super Bowl, where they met the Los Angeles Rams (again). The predictor gave the Lombardi Trophy to the Rams.
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That’s a chaotic reality that Bills fans certainly would not enjoy. After three straight weeks of needing heroic rallies to come back and win against three strong playoff-hopeful teams, crushing the remainder of the schedule would give the Bills and the fans plenty of confidence for the postseason journey ahead. But to turn around and get wholloped by Pittsburgh in a return game would be head-scratching, to say the least.
Despite the craziness of the scenario for Buffalo in the simulation, the reality is that Buffalo has the means to make a run at a Super Bowl appearance. Unfortunately, the weaknesses of the team have shone through this season, so an early exit, while massively disappointing, isn’t far from the scope of Buffalo’s possible endings this season either.