A Golden Opportunity Awaits the Super Bowl-Starved Buffalo Bills

The team from Orchard Park, New York, has been putting an end to a lot of droughts in 2020. Are the Buffalo Bills destined for Super Bowl LV?

This season has been a memorable one for an organization that first took the field in 1960 in the American Football League. The Buffalo Bills have yet to capture an NFL title but did come away with back-to-back AFL championships in 1964 and ’65. Of course, the team was a force in the late 1980s and throughout the ‘90s, most of that with a Hall of Fame core consisting of quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas, wide receiver Andre Reed, defensive end Bruce Smith and head coach Marv Levy.

The Bills remain the only NFL franchise to reach four consecutive Super Bowls. Unfortunately, they came up short each time and haven’t even been back to the AFC title game since 1993. That changes on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium when Sean McDermott’s club – winners of eight games, including playoff victories over the Colts and Ravens – take on the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

It’s the second time this year the clubs will meet. A rescheduled Thursday night clash turned Monday evening tilt saw Andy Reid’s team run for 245 yards in a comfortable 26-17 win at Buffalo in Week 6. Rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire ran for 161 yards on 26 carries in the nine-point victory. Meanwhile, the Bills were limited to season lows in offensive plays (50) and total yards (206) and owned the football for just 22:15 in the prime time setback.
Since then, McDermott’s club owns an 11-1 record – including 4-1 on the road. Meanwhile, quarterback Josh Allen is in the midst of an MVP-like season and wide receiver Stefon Diggs not only led the NFL in catches (127) and receiving yards (1,535) but has a pair of 100-yard receiving games in the playoffs.

For what it’s worth, that aforementioned last appearance in the AFC title game for the Bills was a home win over the Chiefs. That season, Reid was still an assistant with the Green Bay Packers and neither Allen nor Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes were born yet. Again, that was a long time ago. And winning at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday certainly won’t be easy. But this has been a different kind of NFL season and already a promising one for a team that may be just scratching the surface in terms of its potential.