Buffalo Bills 2023-24 NFL Season Recap

Buffalo Bills NFL Season Recap

When the saying “wide right” is even whispered, the Bills Mafia collectively crawls into a fetal position and immediately starts crying out for mommy. Decades removed from missed field goals preventing the franchise from winning a Super Bowl, a shanked kick abruptly ended another NFL betting campaign in the division round when Tyler Bass’ 44-yard attempt to tie the game against the Kansas City Chiefs came nowhere close to hitting paydirt. The 27-24 loss and non-cover versus the closing NFL odds saw the Bills campaign end in the division round for the third straight season. In all, Buffalo’s season wraps with the team going 12-7 SU and 8-10-1 ATS with the over cashing in eight of 19 overall played games.

While the season resulted in a fourth straight AFC East title, it’s pretty safe to assume the franchise has reached the ceiling under the current coaching staff. Though he was bailed out by Mecole Hardman Jr.’s touchback fumble in the fourth quarter, I still can’t believe Sean McDermott green lighted that fake punt from his own 30 trailing 27-24 with nearly 13 minutes remaining in the game. He would’ve never been able to live that decision down had Mahomes and Co. punched it into the end zone. The call was one of many that left NFL bettors scratching their collective head over the course of the year. A stud like Josh Allen deserves much better than what the front office has ponied up for him throughout his six years running the offense’s show.

Speaking of No. 17, his outputs tailed off a bit this season. He saw his three-year stretch of throwing at least 30 touchdowns come to an end, and he backed that up by throwing a career-high 18 interceptions. His 92.2 QB rating matched a season-low from the last four years as well! The 253.3 passing yards per game was his lowest output since being voted into his first Pro Bowl back in 2020 regardless of his 66.5 completion percentage clocking in as the second-best of his career. Though he ran for the third fewest yards of his career, the 15 regular season rushing touchdowns were his most by a country mile. But does Buffalo seriously want to continue relying upon his legs to get the job done offensively? Talk about voluntarily shortening a career!

James Cook had himself one heck of a sophomore campaign in rushing for 1,122 yards while adding another 445 yards through the air. However, he only accounted for a grand total of six touchdowns with Allen – much like Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia – suppressing his touchdown tally at the goal line. Stefon Diggs churned out a sixth straight campaign of 1,000+ receiving yards, but the veteran pass catcher all but disappeared in the biggest of games all year long. He wrapped his 2023-24 campaign catching 3-of-8 targets for a measly 21 yards! Names to remember for player prop and fantasy managers moving forward are Dalton Kincaid and Khalil Shakir with the duo Allen’s most heavily targeted pass catchers in the second season.

All in all, the Bills offense proved to be another top-10 unit with it racking up nearly 375 yards a game (No. 4) that equated to an average of 26.5 points per game (No. 6). The end result was the league’s third ranked offensive DVOA. Even with the injury bug depleting the roster for what feels like the millionth straight year, Buffalo still went on to march another nasty unit onto the gridiron. Armed with the NFL’s sixth-best sack percentage and second-best takeaway unit, Buffalo ranked ninth overall in conceding just over 307 yards per game and allowed the fourth fewest amount of points in the game (18.3). However, its inability to defend the run (No. 15) earned it the league’s twelfth ranked defensive DVOA.

In winning that pivotal Week 18 clash on the road in Miami to lock down another division crown (+120), the Bills exceeded their 10.5-game win total to cash an over ticket for NFL futures bettors a sixth time in the last seven seasons. It also lived up to preseason expectations punching another playoff ticket as decided -250 chalk. Unfortunately, the team once again came up short of representing the AFC in the big game to have a shot at hoisting the Lombardi Trophy for the first time in franchise history.

Buffalo Bills 2024 Offseason

Already $43M over the salary cap, the Bills front office will have some hard decisions to make this offseason. Notable free agents include Gabriel Davis, A.J. Epenesa, and Micah Hyde. Armed with nine selections in the upcoming NFL Draft which includes the No. 28 pick in the first round, you have to imagine GM Brandon Beane will be looking to shore up the interior of his defense and add another excelled toy for Allen to play with moving forward with Davis likely not set to return and Diggs seemingly getting 100 years old in the matter of a year. Locking down a more dependable kicker is something upper management should consider as well with Tyler Bass’ stay in Orchard Park likely over. The interim tag should be removed from Joe Brady, and I would go as far as stating the front office should start envisioning what life without McDermott would look like. The franchise is clearly stuck in neutral under his watch!

Buffalo Bills Schedule & Results

The Buffalo Bills were founded in 1960 as American Football League charter members. Since that season, they have shared the same division with the New York Jets and New England Patriots. And the Miami Dolphins joined the division in 1966 as an expansion team.

Buffalo was an AFL powerhouse in the mid-1960s, winning the league title in 1964 and 1965. But the Bills wallowed in mediocrity for most of the next two decades. But with the arrival of quarterback Jim Kelly and head coach Marv Levy, Buffalo made four consecutive Super Bowls from 1990 through 1993. However, the Bills were unable to win that final game.

Buffalo missed the playoffs twice in the Bills' glory era from 1988 through 1999. Levy and Kelly headlined multiple Hall of Fame inductions for those teams.

Other famous past Bills include Jack Kemp, Elbert Dubenion, Mike Stratton, OJ Simpson, Joe Cribbs, Joe Ferguson, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, and Bruce Smith.

Buffalo has a new state-of-the-art stadium project approved. The new facility will ensure the Bills’ future in the Niagara Falls area.

Buffalo Bills Past Seasons (2000)

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