Bills Enter 2026 With No More Excuses Around Josh Allen

Can Josh Allen and a revamped Buffalo Bills squad finally overcome their playoff hurdles and prove their mettle as one of the NFL's elite in 2026?

The Buffalo Bills are entering the 2026 season with a fresh label attached to them: top-five team in the NFL. Bleacher Report has them in that tier, and it’s easy to see why. With Josh Allen still steering the ship, Buffalo remains right in the thick of the AFC conversation.

Allen’s numbers from last season tell the story of a quarterback still operating at a high level. The 2024 MVP threw for 3,668 yards and 25 touchdowns while adding 579 rushing yards and 14 rushing scores. Over the course of his career, he now sits at 30,102 passing yards, 220 passing touchdowns, 4,721 rushing yards and 79 rushing touchdowns.

Buffalo finished 12-5 last season before falling to the Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round of the 2026 playoffs. That loss came in a year of major change for the franchise, as Sean McDermott was fired and Joe Brady was promoted to head coach.

Allen sounded encouraged by the move after Brady took over. "Still respecting the past and what's been here the last 10 years and not shying away from that, but also having his own twist on it," Allen said after Brady was named HC.

"It's been really good to see him embrace the role and step into it. The way that he talks to the guys, you can tell he's very well respected with everybody in that locker room, and it's only going to continue to grow in my opinion."

The Bills also made real noise this offseason. They landed D.J.

Moore in a trade with the Chicago Bears and added Bradley Chubb and C.J. Gardner-Johnson in free agency.

The big question hanging over Buffalo is the same one that has followed this group through the Allen era: can they finally get to the Super Bowl? They still haven’t done it, and the pressure only grows from here. Allen’s window to add a championship is not getting any wider.

That challenge starts with a loaded Year 1 schedule under Brady. The Bills will face the Houston Texans, Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Chargers, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Rams, Las Vegas Raiders, Baltimore Ravens, Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers, Bears and Broncos.

In Other News...

Bills Quiet Hire Could Shape Josh Allen's Season More Than Fans Realize

Joe Bradys first offseason in charge brought the usual top-line changes, with Pete Carmichael Jr. taking over as offensive coordinator, Jim Leonhard handling the defense and Jeff Rodgers running special teams. But one of the quieter moves may end up mattering just as much for Buffalos offense: the hire of an offensive line coach to replace Aaron Kromer after his retirement, a job that carries real weight for a veteran group built around keeping Josh Allen upright.

The choice made sense on multiple levels. The new line coach had already spent time with the Bills, and he also crossed paths with Brady in Carolina, which helped make him a familiar fit in a staff that was being rebuilt fast. For a unit that has long been one of Buffalos stabilizing forces, the hope is that the transition stays seamless and the protection remains at the level the Bills need if Allen is going to have another big season. [Read more 🡒]

Bills Fans Need To Know What T.J. Parker Really Brings

The Bills used their second-round pick on T.J. Parker, an outside linebacker from Clemson whose arrival adds another young pass rusher to a group that already has established names in front of him. Buffalo is not asking Parker to carry the load right away, but it is clearly betting on his ability to grow into a useful piece of the rotation after a college career that flashed real disruption off the edge.

Parkers path in 2026 looks more like a measured climb than an instant takeover, with the Bills expected to ease him in alongside Bradley Chubb and Greg Rousseau. His rookie deal is fully guaranteed, which only raises the interest around how quickly he can translate his traits into production, especially after a college profile that included a huge 2024 before a quieter 2025 and a testing workout that left scouts with a pretty good idea of his athletic ceiling. [Read more 🡒]

Bills Fans Just Got A Possible Break In Week 6

Maxx Crosby is still with the Raiders for now, but his name keeps surfacing in trade chatter after a previously reported move to the Ravens fell apart. For Buffalo, that matters because Crosby is the kind of edge presence that can change the feel of a game, and he is one of the biggest defensive concerns on the Raiders roster heading into the season.

The Bills are set to see Las Vegas in Week 6, and any change to Crosbys status would ripple into that matchup. There is already speculation that the Raiders could revisit his future during training camp, which leaves Buffalo fans watching a situation that could quietly shape one of the more interesting games on the schedule. [Read more 🡒]