Bills fans wasted no time showing where they stand after Week 1. In a poll asking whether confidence in the Buffalo Bills’ direction had changed following the opening win, 89% of Rumblings voters said they’re still behind the team.
That kind of number fits the mood around Buffalo right now. Sean McDermott is out after nearly a decade, offensive coordinator Joe Brady is now the head coach, and co-owner Terry Pegula has also elevated Brandon Beane by adding president of football operations to his title. The expectation hasn’t changed, either: it’s still Super Bowl or bust.
Week 1 at least gave supporters something to hold onto on offense. The bigger adjustment figure to be on the other side of the ball, where new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard is working McDermott’s starters into new spots in a 3-4 base system. That setup could bring some growing pains as the season moves along.
The confidence check doesn’t stop there, either. The Bills face the Detroit Lions tonight, and a 2-0 start would likely push the optimism even higher. For now, though, 89% is the number that says plenty.
Around the league, fans were also asked which team will have the best offense in the 2026 NFL season. The Chicago Bears led that poll with 42% of the vote, while the Bills came in second at 28%. The San Francisco 49ers were the only other team to make a real dent, finishing at 15%, and the Los Angeles Rams did not appear in the results.
A second national poll asked fans about the league’s worst quarterback situation, and two AFC East teams landed on the list: the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots. The Patriots showing up drew attention, especially with Drake Maye’s run at the NFL MVP last season, but the early results may simply reflect Week 1 reactions. Time will tell.
In Other News...
Deone Walkers Rise Is Creating A Big Bills Decision
Deone Walker has gone from intriguing young piece to a player the Bills have to keep thinking about every week. The second-year defensive tackle has turned heads since the start of the 2025 season with disruptive play, and his work carried into the playoffs and the early part of 2026, where he kept showing the kind of pass-rushing ability that changes the feel of a defensive front.
For Buffalo, the question is no longer whether Walker belongs in the conversation. It is how long the Bills can wait before they start planning beyond his current deal, which runs through 2028. When other NFL players and scouts are taking notice this early, the front office has a decision to make about whether to simply enjoy the rise or move to lock it in sooner. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Win Got Overshadowed By A Pregame Criticism Fans Will Debate
The Bills 41-31 win over the Lions at Highmark Stadium should have been the main takeaway from a busy Week 2 Sunday, but Breiden Fehoko managed to inject a different kind of conversation before kickoff. The defensive tackle went to Twitter to voice frustration over the Canadian national anthem being played before the game, turning a pregame ceremony into an unexpected point of debate for fans already focused on Buffalos first home stretch of the season.
The football still delivered plenty for the home crowd to talk about, with Buffalo handling Detroit in a game that fit the early-season tone of a team trying to establish itself before the schedule stiffens. But the anthem complaint lingers as one of those side stories that can follow a team for a while, especially when the win itself comes with enough momentum to keep attention on the Bills and an AFC picture that also includes Joe Burrows Bengals looming on the horizon. [Read more 🡒]
Bills 2-0 Start Is Hiding A Defensive Issue Jim Leonhard Sees
The Bills 2-0 start has mostly been a showcase for Josh Allen and an offense that has carried the early conversation, but the first two weeks have also left enough behind the scenes for the defense to keep checking itself. Under new defensive playcaller Jim Leonhard, Buffalo has shown flashes of sharp execution mixed with stretches where the unit has given up too much yardage and too many points, the kind of unevenness that can get buried when the record is perfect.
Leonhard has already put a label on the problem, calling the defense boom or bust, and the challenge now is turning that into something steadier before the season gets deeper. The Bills know the margin for error shrinks quickly, and Leonhards push has centered on emotional stability and cleaning up penalties, two areas that can decide whether this defense settles in or keeps living on the edge. [Read more 🡒]