2016 Record (7-1, 3-1 AFC East)
REVIEW
After consecutive victories over AFC East rivals Miami and New England, the 7-1 Bills are now firmly entrenched as Super Bowl favorites as the calendar turns to November. Now, a lot can happen in an NFL season, but a Rex Ryan-led team will always play smothering defense - couple that with Aaron Rodgers & Todd Gurley leading the offense and the 2016 Buffalo Bills are here to stay.
The team struggled in their first two games with less-than-convincing wins over the Ravens and Jets before experiencing a shocking loss to the Tom Brady-less Patriots.
That loss seemed to light a fire under the team as they then destroyed the LA Rams, shut out the San Francisco 49ers, and demolished the previously undefeated Dolphins.
BEST ACQUISITION
There are a few to choose from here, but a salary-dump-driven trade for Jelani Jenkins with the Seattle Seahawks for overpaid Mark Barron has yielded amazing dividends. Playing alongside Luke Kuechly and Clay Matthews will cause any player to be overlooked, but the play of Jenkins' has been awe-inspiring to say the least.
In coverage and against the run, Jenkins' lunch-pail mentality has rubbed off on his teammates and helped propel the league's #1 defense towards elite status.
BIGGEST BUST
It's hard to find fault with a team playing so well, but we will look at James White and Reggie Bush here. If Todd Gurley is to survive a 16-game season and a deep playoff run, the team needs to find a 10-12 touch player to spell Gurley as we head to the winter months. Gurley is set to have more touches in his first two years than Barry Sanders may have had over the entirety of his.
MID-SEASON OFFENSIVE & DEFENSIVE MVPS
Offensive MVP: HB Todd Gurley
There is nothing Gurley cannot do. His pace has him on track to lock up the NFL MVP trophy by Christmas. The scary thing about Gurley: He seems to be getting stronger despite the beatings he takes week in and week out. His 77-yard 2nd half TD run to bury the Patriots last week was like Nolan Ryan hitting 105 in the 9th inning - just warming up.
Defensive MVP: DT Geno Atkins
Atkins literally eats players during games. Well not literally, but it feels like it. The tackle has been so disruptive to start the season that teams have begun to not only double-team Atkins, but some triple-teams have started to be game-planned in an effort to drum up some sort of offense against the Bills. Try to not watch an Atkins highlight film without your mouth dropping to the floor.
SECOND HALF SCHEDULE ANALYSIS AND PREDICTIONS
@ Seattle W
@ Cincinnati W
vs Jacksonville W
@ Oakland W
vs Pittsburgh L
vs Cleveland W
vs Miami W
@ New York Jets L
A 13-3 regular season earns the Bills the AFC's #1 seed and a date with the #6 New York Jets in the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
The road to the Super Bowl goes through Buffalo - can the Bills finish what the 0-4 1990's Bills couldn't?
