The Bills are staring at a brutal quarterback gauntlet in 2026, and the schedule makes that clear in a hurry.
Buffalo is set to see seven projected top-10 quarterbacks over the course of the season, according to a ranking from Lou Scataglia of NFL Spin Zone that projects the league’s top passers after the 2026 regular season. Josh Allen comes in at No. 2 on that list, behind only Joe Burrow, but the real headache for the Bills is who lines up on the other side.
Here’s the group Buffalo is scheduled to face:
Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears (Week 15)
Drake Maye, New England Patriots (Weeks 4 & 13)
Bo Nix, Denver Broncos (Week 16)
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (Week 12)
Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (Week 2)
Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens (Week 8)
Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (Week 5)
That’s a nasty collection of arms, and each one brings a different kind of problem. Maye, Goff, Mahomes and Stafford have all reached a Super Bowl, with Mahomes and Stafford winning one.
Williams flashed plenty of promise last season. Nix helped get Denver to the conference championship last year, though he did not play in the divisional round against Buffalo because of an injury.
And Lamar Jackson remains the kind of quarterback who can tilt a game on his own.
The Bills are no strangers to being viewed as one of the league’s elite teams, but that hasn’t changed the reality of the job in front of them. They’ve been in that top-tier conversation since 2020, yet the two things still missing are the ones that matter most: making and winning the Super Bowl.
That’s part of why Sean McDermott is no longer in Buffalo, and Joe Brady is now taking over as head coach. Brady has worked with Allen since 2022, but this time the relationship shifts into a new role.
He inherits one of the game’s best quarterbacks, which gives him a major edge every week. But on the other sideline, Buffalo will be dealing with some of the best quarterbacks in football too.
Brady and defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard are going to have plenty on their plates. The Bills may not need to fear any one quarterback or any one opponent, but they’ll need to be ready for a season packed with top-end talent under center. And with a new era beginning in Buffalo, fans are going to be comparing this version of the team to the Sean McDermott years from the jump.
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For Acker, the path to the 53-man roster in 2026 looks tied to the unglamorous work that often decides these fringe battles. Ben VanSumeran gives Buffalo a veteran presence in the mix, so Acker will need to prove he can handle the dirty jobs well enough to stick, with special teams likely to be the area that tips the decision one way or the other. [Read more 🡒]