It’s already an exciting week for the Buffalo Bills as they prepare for their AFC championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday. The Bills have had a tough journey this season considering all the doubters that were chirping that they wouldn’t even be the best team in the AFC East. They proved them wrong big time by clinching the AFC East in Week 13.
The Bills finished the regular season at 13-4, going undefeated at home and have had to face two of the toughest opponents in the playoffs; Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens. Buffalo handled Denver with ease, winning 31-7. Then the Bills showed up against the Ravens and stood their ground in the second half to win 27-25. Now they have the opportunity to finally get over the hump against the Chiefs and punch their ticket to the Super Bowl.
There are many reasons as to why the Bills are in the position that they are in. Whether you want to say its the resiliency of this team, the culture that was built, or even Josh Allen playing like the MVP of the league, the Bills are exceeding expectations that analysts had of them. However, Buffalo has three members of the organization that has stood out the most for the team this season.
Josh Allen, Joe Brady, and Damar Hamlin all named AP finalists from 2024 season
Bills finalists for Associated Press awards from the 2024 season ⬇️
— Buffalo Bills PR (@BuffaloBillsPR) January 23, 2025
AP Most Valuable Player: Josh Allen
AP Assistant Coach of the Year: Joe Brady
AP Comeback Player of the Year: Damar Hamlin
Starting with the obvious choice for an award finalist is Josh Allen. He was named as an AP MVP finalist along with Lamar Jackson, Saquon Barkley, Joe Burrow and Jared Goff. Each of these players has a valid case to be considered as the MVP of the league. At the same time, they also are on more loaded rosters with more talent. Coming into this season, no one knew who Allen was going to connect with. Instead, he connected with all of his weapons and help spread the ball around.
He finished the regular season with 4,269 total scrimmage yards, 41 total touchdowns and just six interceptions. Allen is the first player in NFL history to have 40+ total touchdowns in five consecutive seasons. He has done so much more, but the fact that he literally created this kind of history should put him ahead of the rest of the candidates.
Offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who is in the head coaching cycle, has been fantastic for the Bills ever since he took over the play calling duties in the middle of the 2023 season. He has helped this offense, who lost players like Gabe Davis and Stefon Diggs, average over 30 points per game and has installed an “everybody eats” mentality that has helped the Bills get all of their weapons involved no matter what.
Buffalos rushing attack with James Cook has come alive the last two seasons and this offense is not Josh Allen-dependent as much. It’s no surprise to see him being named as a finalist for the AP Assistant Coach of the Year award. The other coaches that were named finalists were Vic Fangio of the Eagles, Brian FLores of the Vikings, Aaron Glenn (now part of the Jets, but was with the Lions), and Ben Johnson (now with the Bears, but was with the Lions).
Bills’ safety Damar Hamlin, who was projected to not even be a starter coming into this season, took advantage of the injuries that the Bills had in training camp and kept his starting job throughout the season. First off, he managed to get his first two career interceptions this season and has led the Bills in tackles in many games this season.
After what happened in Janaury, 2023 when he went into cardiac arrest, Hamlin has become an inspiration to the league and an impactful player for the Bills. He has been named as an AP finalist for Comeback Player of the Year. Along with Hamlin, the other finalists for this award are Joe Burrow, Sam Darnold, J.K. Dobbins, and Christian Gonzalez.