With organized team activities starting in the NFL, early predictions are a guarantee. It is no different here at E2G Sports! Welcome to a way-too-early season prediction for the upcoming season for the Buffalo Bills. Having been a producer at WGR550 for Howard Picks the Bills, it’s time to take a stab at it personally.
This will be updated after the preseason.
IT’S HERE. 📺: NFLN at 8pm pic.twitter.com/ZOktxxMErn — Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) May 12, 2021
These predictions are in the bubble of a perfect world. Injuries happen, new stars emerge, the weather sometimes stinks and COVID is still a thing. These predictions are not meant to be a cold take opportunity, but an early outlook on the year to come. That said, feel free to flash this around when it’s accurate or blame this piece if they fall short.
Week One: Home vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (W)
The Bills have won their past two against Pittsburgh, with one win in each location. The Steelers are a fading group, depicted by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Buffalo’s defense has shown to be capable of slowing the Steelers down. Pittsburgh’s defense is formidable, but Buffalo has the firepower to overcome that.
Fewest points allowed in #NFL — last 3 seasons 1. #Ravens — 872 (18.2 PPG) 2. #Patriots — 903 (18.8 PPG) 3. #Bears — 951 (19.8 PPG) 4. #Steelers — 975 (20.3 PPG) 5. #Bills — 1,008 (21.0 PPG) pic.twitter.com/1A0cjAUgrH — Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) May 21, 2021
The Bills should win here, even if the Steelers prove to be a challenge.
Week Two: Away at Miami Dolphins (W)
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa does not put a scare into Bills fans. While the 2020 version of this game was a back-and-forth spectacle, that was former Dolphin Ryan Fitzpatrick’s doing. Meanwhile, Buffalo’s Josh Allen has a scary-good reputation against the Dolphins.
The AFC East QBs: Buffalo – Josh Allen Miami – Tua Tagovailoa Patriots – Mac Jones Jets – Zach Wilson An infusion of young passers in the Division. — Joe Marino (@TheJoeMarino) April 30, 2021
Miami is stronger and put weapons around Tagovailoa, now can he trade touchdowns with Allen? Buffalo should come out on top but expect a potential split with Miami. Sweeping a division in two straight years is difficult and Miami is Buffalo’s only real threat in the AFC East.
Week Three: Home vs. Washington Football Team (W)
The Washington Football Team is a tough defensive group. They may be the most unpredictable of the NFC East’s teams because of one man: Ryan Fitzpatrick. From week to week, there is no player more inconsistent than Fitzmagic. Bills fans know him well, where he can kill your team or an opponent all day. If Fitzpatrick is on, Washington’s insane pass rush can help stem the tide of Allen and the offense. Buffalo is the better offense and overall team, this should be a Bills win.
Week Four: Home vs. Houston Texans (W)
Two years ago, Buffalo lost to Houston in the playoffs and the two teams have veered in different directions since. Buffalo is now among the NFL’s elite, while Houston has come crashing down. Not much is known about the case against Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson these days. While no one knows his status, Watson is still talented and Bill O’Brien is no longer the coach. That said, Houston is a mess of a team and has a lot of holes to fix. Two years ago, they stopped Allen. Now, they have no shot.
Week Five: Away at Kansas City Chiefs (L)
Last year, the Chiefs beat Buffalo twice and each win had a different style. In the regular season, Buffalo got gashed by Kansas City in the running game. In the AFC Championship, it was the aerial assault of Patrick Mahomes and company. The only common denominator was that Buffalo’s offense was stymied by the Chiefs for two of their worst performances of the year. Allen was undoubtedly at his worst against the Chiefs. He and the rest of the offense need to step up in order to have a chance. Sadly, the first “L” shows up here in the predictions.
Week Six: Away at Tennessee Titans (W)
The Titans are an odd team. In a passing league, they have an emphasis on power football, as if it was the 1980’s. And yet, it works. Titans running back Derrick Henry is the star in Tennessee, as teams have a hard time slowing him down.
Derrick Henry LIFTS MORE THAN YOU DO 🤯 @KingHenry_2 (via @SandersFit) pic.twitter.com/AZRy19kHtg — Overtime (@overtime) May 19, 2021
In last year’s match, a blowout for Tennessee, turnovers were Buffalo’s issue. The blueprint this time is easy, take care of the ball, and you won’t be trailing by 14 right away. Buffalo can beat Tennessee, expect them to here.
Week Seven: Bye Week
In the past, people could insert the “at least they won’t lose this week” joke. Now? Take the bye week to rest up, call your friends and family. Restock on tables to smash through and practice those wrestling moves you’ll use. Practice makes perfect, do your 1/11th, Bills Mafia.
Week Eight: Home vs. Miami Dolphins (L)
The Bills play Miami twice before even seeing the other two rivals. Buffalo likely splits with Miami in some way this season. Miami’s defense has to be able to slow down Allen somehow, right?
Week Nine: Away at Jacksonville Jaguars (W)
The Jaguars are still dreadful. One man cannot raise a one-win team to relevance that quickly. Rookie passer Trevor Lawrence will be a long-term problem, but Jacksonville completely dissected the defense that had them one quarter from a Super Bowl several years ago. Buffalo’s offense should roll here.
Week Ten: Away at New York Jets (W)
New York gave up on Sam Darnold, drafting rookie quarterback Zach Wilson second overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. Buffalo, meanwhile, still has Allen to terrorize the Jets.
While new head coach Robert Saleh is a defensive guru, the talent gap is still too wide. Buffalo should sweep New York once again this year.
Week Eleven: Home vs. Indianapolis Colts (L)
In the AFC Wild Card, Buffalo let their guard down and let the Colts back into a game they had in the bag. If newly acquired quarterback Carson Wentz returns to his 2017 form, the Colts become a Super Bowl contender. Buffalo has the roster to match Indianapolis, but good teams can be tough outs. If a loss could pop up, it might be here. Health will be the biggest factor at this point of the season. Indianapolis takes an upset over Buffalo.
Week Twelve: Away at New Orleans Saints (W)
Buffalo was such a delight to have on Thanksgiving in 2019, that the league decided a second helping was necessary. They travel to New Orleans on a short week, which could affect any team. The Saints will likely be rolling some odd combination of Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill at quarterback (because Sean Payton refuses to give up on that for some reason). Winston is boom-or-bust, he can light up a team or produce turnovers faster than a bakery. Buffalo has the defense to frustrate him, the Bills should close out Thanksgiving with a tasty W.
Week Thirteen: Home vs. New England Patriots (W)
In the past, having the Patriots twice late would mean kissing all division hopes goodbye for Buffalo. Now, it is Buffalo’s division and New England is hoping to slow them down. Buffalo needs to respect New England’s defense. Many of their starters sat out of 2020 and their return could make this tougher than last year.
Dont’a Hightower 2018-2019 🥇 63 Total Pressures The league’s top pass rushing LB is back for 2021 👀 pic.twitter.com/fxnqRK7MDb — PFF NE Patriots (@PFF_Patriots) May 28, 2021
Expect Buffalo to win, but New England could make it interesting.
Week Fourteen: Away at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (W)
The Super Bowl that could have been, if Buffalo could clear the Chiefs. The Buccaneers are one of the league’s best rosters, while Tom Brady is still able to get the job done well. This is one of just two times Buffalo is not favored to win.
Tom Brady chose violence today. pic.twitter.com/ieJk1yZvBw — Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) May 26, 2021
However, a late test from an NFC elite could be just the confidence boost Buffalo needs. Calling for the upset here, despite Buffalo’s putrid record against Brady.
Week Fifteen: Home vs. Carolina Panthers (W)
The Panthers will be an interesting group to watch as Sam Darnold comes over via trade to face his QB classmate in Allen. The Panthers are quietly building something promising under head coach Matt Rhule, but Carolina may still need another year to be a big-time threat. Buffalo should win here, as the season heads closer to its end.
Week Sixteen: Away at New England Patriots (W)
At this point, Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones is easily in the lineup, if not by the time these two teams have already played. New England still has a bit to do to reclaim the division, and it starts at QB. The Bills get a rare fourth win in a row over Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Week Seventeen: Home vs. Atlanta Falcons (W)
The Falcons are a team the has taken choking games to new levels. From 28-3 to three collapses last year with a 90-plus win percentage in the fourth quarter, Atlanta needs to start over. The Falcons are a bit of a mess defensively, which is a bad time against Buffalo.
If Julio Jones remains a Falcon, the weapons for quarterback Matt Ryan are still elite. Despite that, Buffalo would be fine since the defense has dealt with tough matchups there before.
.@danorlovsky7 believes that if the Patriots got Julio Jones, they would be a top-four team in the AFC along with the Chiefs, Bills and the Browns. pic.twitter.com/8DiQQcQguE — Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 24, 2021
Week Eighteen: Home vs. New York Jets (L)
Sadly, three losses are already too much for the Bills to catch the Chiefs in this scenario. A repeat from the past two seasons, Buffalo punts on the game against a rival to end the year. Unlike 2020, Buffalo probably loses but they lock in the second seed of the AFC once again.
Final Way-Too-Early Prediction: 13-4
Sadly, 13 or 14 wins probably does not get the Bills the top seed if they lose to Kansas City. For a long time, it was New England to get past. The Chiefs took that mantle and Buffalo will need to get past KC in order to have a chance at a Super Bowl. Yes, it’s still an adjustment to say those words with legitimacy. That said, Buffalo’s schedule is weak enough to put drama into the top seed race if things bounce their way.
Predicting AFC division winners 🥇 (1-10 on level of confidence in prediction) AFC East – Buffalo Bills (9.5) AFC West – Kansas City Chiefs (9.5) AFC North – Cleveland Browns (6.0) AFC South – Indianapolis Colts (7.0) (via @JasonLaCanfora) pic.twitter.com/FObS7pv6ba — CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) May 23, 2021
Not to be arrogant but this regular season will have emotions running relatively low. It will be all about how Buffalo’s postseason run concludes that will be the true test and gauge of the season.
We’ll do this again after the preseason and have more way-too-early predictions for other teams at E2G Sports as summer rolls along!
What do you think about the schedule and potential record, Bills fans? Is it too optimistic? Do you think they get more than 13 wins?
Leave a comment below or yell at me on Twitter @DerekKramer49