The Comeback is previewing all 32 NFL teams from worst to first leading up to the start of the 2018 regular season on Sept. 6. Up next in our preseason rankings are the long-suffering Buffalo Bills.
2017 in a nutshell: They make the playoffs for the first time in 18 years, despite not being very good. Really, a team that surrendered 57 more points than it scored got lucky with a 9-7 record thanks to some tiebreakers.
What’s different: Quarterback Tyrod Taylor is gone, and now highly-touted rookie Josh Allen is being groomed as AJ McCarron and Nathan Peterman fight for the right to be the bridge starter under center.
Why they could be awesome: It’s certainly possible that one of those quarterbacks emerges immediately, while they have a lot of talent on the defensive side of the ball.
Why they could suck: Peterman and Allen will need time and McCarron is probably better-suited as a backup.
Major additions: New offensive coordinator Brian Daboll (after a year at Alabama), first-round picks Allen and Tremaine Edmunds (a strong defensive player of the year candidate), running back Chris Ivory, center Russell Bodine, defensive tackle Star Lotulelei.
Major losses: Taylor, Glenn, linebacker Preston Brown, cornerback E.J. Gaines, guard Richie Incognito, center Eric Wood, defensive end Trent Murphy.
Breakout watch: It might be now or never for 2016 first-round pick Shaq Lawson, who registered just six sacks and 46 tackles in 21 of a possible 32 games during his first two seasons in the league. He’s had a good offseason but will have to fight with Murphy and solid veteran Jerry Hughes.
Position to watch: Quarterback, of course. Allen has all the measurables you want in a potential franchise quarterback but is very raw, McCarron is finally getting a shot outside of Andy Dalton’s shadow, and Peterman is trying to redeem himself after crapping the bed as a rookie in 2017.
Prediction: They’re the second-best team in an awful division, but the chasm between them and the New England Patriots is Grand Canyon-sized. This team is worse now than it was a year ago, and they haven’t done enough to support their questionable quarterbacks. They’ll fall back to earth.
6-10, 2nd place in the AFC East
