It was a bittersweet season for the Buffalo Bills. They surprised many people and went well beyond what most people expected of them. And yet, it ultimately ended in another heartbreaking loss for the fans, who have come to be known as "Bills Mafia."
One thing that might possibly make them feel a bit better is that quarterback Josh Allen was just voted the NFL MVP for this past season. And while there is always controversy seemingly every year for those honors, and arguments that someone (or sometimes, maybe more than one player) ended up being slighted. Certainly, Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson and Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley might be justified in feeling a bit slighted or overlooked after the year that each of them had.
As it turned out, it was one of the most hotly contested MVP races. Allen received four more votes than the runner-up, Lamar Jackson. It was kind of a strange situation, actually. Here's a snippet from an ESPN article by Jamison Hensley (see link below) which explains the frankly bizarre situation (I would not exactly say clarifies he situation) a bit:
How did it happen? Jackson had 30 of the 50 first-team All-Pro votes, while Allen got 18. Allen then won the first-place votes for MVP 27-23. But nine voters picked Jackson first for Offensive Player of the Year and Allen first for MVP, leading to the flip.
Later in the article, Hensley pointed out:
The four-vote difference in terms of first-place votes is the smallest since 2003, when Manning and McNair were selected co-MVPs with 16 each.
However, despite the controversy, Allen feels like the right choice. Again, the Bills as a team exceeded expectations, and this was largely off the strength of what Allen managed to do. He became the first player in league history to throw at least 25 touchdown passes (he actually threw 28 TD's on the year) while running for at least 10 touchdowns (he actually nabbed 12 rushing TD's) and throwing fewer than 10 INT's (he threw only six INT's during the regular season). His level of play was exceptional and, again, it lifted the entire team well beyond what most people expected from them. So I think that this distinction was indeed well-earned.
Still, Allen was typically humble after receiving the award. He reminded everyone that football is a team game, and that he could not have achieved this without them. He also gave credit to the other players who competed for this distinction:
"I know this is an individual award and it says Most Valuable Player on it," Allen said while holding the trophy, "but I think it's derived from team success, and I love my team."
Allen thanked the other finalists, including Jackson, adding: "They all had great seasons and all could be standing here today and you guys would be deserving of it. You guys are true stewards of the game. I look up to you guys. I admire you guys."
With Allen winning the NFL MVP Award, he became only the third player in franchise history to receive this distinction. The other two were both running backs: O.J. Simpson in 1973, Thurman Thomas in 1991. The four-vote difference in terms of first-place votes is the smallest since 2003, when Manning and McNair were selected co-MVPs with 16 each.
So that's something for Bills fans to be happy about, despite the bitter loss the franchise suffered a little less than two weeks ago as I write this.
Personally, I was hoping that the Bills would go beyond even the exceeded expectations that they enjoyed this season, and make it to the Super Bowl. Hopefully even win it, this time around.
That, at least, was what I was hoping for. Maybe it was a little much to. But then again, this was a successful season for the Bills by almost any measure.
Think about it: the Bills had lost what was arguably their most heartbreaking single loss in January, with "Wide Right 2." Then they had lost some big name talent during the offseason. It seemed like the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets, specifically, had improved enough to offer serious threats to Buffalo's chances to win another division title, or possibly even to qualify for the postseason.
And then, the Bills started off amazingly well. The season began by the Bills getting off to an impressive 3-0 start, which included a very impressive, dominant win at Miami. They then lost two straight games to Baltimore and Houston, and again, people seemed to dismiss them. But Buffalo then went on a tear, winning seven straight, including a big win at the Jets, and another win against the Fins to complete the season sweep. They also beat the Chiefs at Arrowhead, and beat the 49ers, which meant that they had wins against both of last year's Super Bowl participants. By this point, they had clinched the AFC East division title.
Ultimately, the Bills were 13-3 before resting their starters for what proved to be a meaningless (to them) regular season finale. Once the playoffs started, they blew out the Broncos, and then outlasted a very tough Baltimore Ravens team in the divisional round, reaching the AFC Championship Game for the second time in five seasons. Overall, they managed to finish this season (including two postseason games) with a 10-0 home record, a distinction which only one other team, the Kansas City Chiefs, also managed to achieve this team.
Unfortunately, playing the Chiefs in the postseason still proved to be a bit too much of an obstacle. It's strange, because of all the teams in the league, it's the Buffalo Bills who have handed the Chiefs the most losses in the past four or five seasons. And yet, they are 0-4 in postseason meetings between the two teams. Not sure why it worked out like that. But I guess you have to give the Chiefs a lot of credit, since they have managed to win consistently when it matters the most in recent seasons. That's how they keep getting back to the Super Bowl.
However, it is difficult not to be reminded, at least a little bit, of the Buffalo Bills and their Super Bowl futility of the 1990's. Most NFL fans will remember - especially if they were around back then - that the Bills made it to four straight Super Bowls, only to lose each one. It is even strange when you consider that while that happened right smack in the middle of the era of NFC dominance in the Super Bowl, the Bills were actually 14-2 against NFC teams in that stretch of four straight seasons, when they won the AFC title each year. Those included some very impressive wins, including beating the Giants at the Meadowlands in Giants Stadium just six or seven weeks before the two teams would meet in the Super Bowl, beating the Philadelphia Eagles (who were also very tough that same season in 1990, then beating the Chicago Bears, who still ranked among the relative elites in the NFC in 1991, then beating both the San Francisco 49ers and the New Orleans Saints on the road in 1992, and finally beating the Cowboys in Dallas, as well as beating the previously unbeaten Giants in early October of the 1993 season.
So they had some real success against the NFC teams during that era, much like these Bills have enjoyed some real success in this era. These Bills have won five straight AFC East division titles. They are not only the only team other than Kansas City to have reached the playoffs during that stretch (this was actually the sixth straight season in which they qualified for postseason play), but they have won at least once postseason game in each of those seasons. In fact, they have won seven playoff games during the past five years, eliminating the Colts, Ravens (twice), Patriots, Dolphins, Steelers, and Broncos during that stretch. They also lost once to the Bengals. But the one glaring stat is that 0-4 record against the Kansas City Chiefs, specifically. That is what they are likely to be best remembered for, unfortunately.
Yet, they won each of the regular season meetings between the two teams in the past four seasons. Obviously, they have gotten some other big wins during that stretch. But the fact that they are the only team in the league to have beaten Kansas City as often as they have during the past five seasons should really stand out and mean something. Unfortunately, though, that 0-4 record during the playoffs is inescapable.
Nevertheless, I am personally glad that Josh Allen won the MVP honors this season. And maybe this makes me a glutton for punishment, but I am still rooting for him, and this Buffalo Bills team, to exceed expectations once again, and finally bring a Super Bowl trophy home to the fans in Buffalo in the near future.
Below is the link to the article which I used in writing this particular blog entry, and from which I obtained much of the information, and all of the specific quotes, which were used here:
Bills' Allen wins MVP as league's best awarded at NFL Honors by Jamison Hensley, Feb 6, 2025:
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/43726453/commanders-daniels-named-top-offensive-rookie-nfl-honors
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