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Buffalo Bills 2025 NFL Season Preview

[Editor's note: This article is from Athlon Sports' 2025 NFL Preview Magazine. Order your copy today online or pick one up at retail racks and newsstands nationwide.]

Since the start of the 2020 season — otherwise known in Buffalo as the demarcation line when Josh Allen went from being an inconsistent wild-child quarterback to a superstar league MVP — only one team has won more regular-season NFL games than the Bills.

Unfortunately for Allen, head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane, that team happens to be the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bills have won 61 games in that span — five fewer than the Chiefs and seven more than the third-place Green Bay Packers — and four of those victories came against the Chiefs. But that success has been overshadowed by the fact that in the playoffs, Kansas City has ended Buffalo’s season four times, twice in the AFC Championship Game.

“You never want to build your team to beat one team because you never really know it’s going to be them every year,” McDermott said a few days after Buffalo’s heartbreaking 32-29 loss in the AFC title game in January.

More NFL team previews

AFC East: Bills | Dolphins | Jets | Patriots

AFC North:Bengals | Browns | Ravens | Steelers

AFC South:Colts | Jaguars | Texans | Titans

AFC West: Broncos | Chargers | Chiefs | Raiders

NFC East:Commanders | Cowboys | Eagles | Giants

NFC North: Bears | Lions | Packers | Vikings

NFC South: Buccaneers | Falcons | Panthers | Saints

NFC West: 49ers | Cardinals | Rams | Seahawks

That may be true, but the reality is, the Chiefs have been the team the Bills have needed to beat, and they have not been able to do it when it has mattered the most. Allen has been a superhero in the playoff losses, but Buffalo’s defense has perpetually performed poorly in the elimination games.

The Bills have won five straight AFC East crowns, and their average margin has been 3.5 games. Last season, they were five games better than the runner-up Miami Dolphins, and based on the state of the division, a sixth straight division title is likely in 2025. However, it won’t matter if the Bills can’t get past the Chiefs, or whichever team is in their way come January in the pursuit of an elusive Super Bowl appearance — something the Bills have not achieved since the 1993 season.

“Until you do it, you’re always going to get questioned, right?” Beane says. “We know that, we’re aware of that. I don’t think it takes away from the success, though.”

Offense

The Bills are coming off a 2024 season in which they set a franchise record with 525 points, and they didn’t even need the extra 17th game to break the old standard set by the 2020 team.

Even with a less-than-inspiring wide receiver corps, and a diminished performance from banged-up second-year tight end Dalton Kincaid, the Bills scored at least 27 points in 15 games (counting the postseason). They scored 30 or more 13 times and 40 or more four times. It was an offense that surrendered a league-low 14 quarterback sacks and turned the ball over an NFL-low eight times, much of that due to Allen’s brilliance.

James Cook Bills

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook

It’s easy to see similar production happening again in 2025. The offensive line — one of the best in the NFL — is unchanged; James Cook leads a diversified three-man running back attack; and wide receiver Joshua Palmer was signed in free agency to join forces with No. 1 target Khalil Shakir.

What’s scary is that the Bills could be even more formidable if three things happen in the passing game: Wide receiver Keon Coleman, the 2024 second-round pick, emerges as a legitimate weapon after a sluggish, injury-slowed rookie season; Curtis Samuel finds his niche in the offense, something he was unable to do after signing as a free agent in 2024; and Kincaid takes a step forward and becomes the downfield threat the Bills thought they were getting when they picked him 25th overall in 2023.

Then there’s Cook, who tied for the league lead with 16 rushing touchdowns. He’s heading into the final year of his rookie contract, and he has made it clear he wants to get paid, be it by Buffalo or another team in 2026 free agency. He should be motivated to put up another big season, on the heels of back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing performances.

Defense

The Bills did not require a complete overhaul of their defense. After all, the unit produced 32 takeaways, the second-highest total in the league. But overall, this was the least efficient defense the Bills have fielded since 2020, finishing tied for 11th in points allowed per game, 17th in total defense, tied for 18th in yards per rushing attempt and sacks and a woeful 29th in third-down conversion percentage.

And the problems culminated in the loss to Kansas City, when the Chiefs scored a season-best 32 points and tied their season-high with 28 first downs. This, of course, has been a nagging trend; it has been the defense that is largely at fault for all five of the Bills’ playoff losses since 2020. Beane knows this, and he attacked free agency and the draft with the mindset of altering that narrative.

Beane signed edge rushers Joey Bosa and Michael Hoecht, tackle Larry Ogunjobi and defensive backs Tre’Davious White, Dane Jackson and Darrick Forrest in free agency and took cornerback Maxwell Hairston, tackle T.J. Sanders, edge rusher Landon Jackson, tackle Deone Walker and defensive back Jordan Hancock in the first five rounds of the draft.

The Denver Broncos' Bo Nix attempts to evade Greg Rousseau.

Bills edge rusher Greg Rousseau

With those reinforcements in place, it’s going to be a fascinating training camp as they battle with holdovers such as edge rushers Greg Rousseau, A.J. Epenesa and Javon Solomon, tackles Ed Oliver, DaQuan Jones and DeWayne Carter and defensive backs Christian Benford, Taylor Rapp, Cole Bishop, Damar Hamlin and Taron Johnson.

The hope is that the Bills become a more dangerous team in the pass rush and hold up better at the point of attack against the run. Turnovers are great, but there’s a randomness to them. The Bills have to be more efficient at getting off the field and getting the ball back for their explosive offense.

Specialists

The Bills released punter Sam Martin, so they will conduct a competition featuring NFL retreads Jake Camarda and Brad Robbins. It will likely be a fluid situation right up until the season begins.

Tyler Bass, who has suffered a few tough moments the last couple years, rebounded well in 2024 and scored 131 points, though he did miss a career-high five PATs.

The return game needs attention. Brandon Codrington fared well as a rookie, but he offers very little as a backup cornerback, and with all the competition added there, he may not make the team. The Bills will be cycling through several players in camp.

Final Analysis

The Bills remain the class of the AFC East, and they are without question a Super Bowl contender and will be as long as Allen is playing at the top of his game. Right now, there’s no end in sight for that.

The key in 2025 will be the defense. With all the assets Beane has acquired, that unit simply has to be better. Buffalo is going to score points in bunches because the offense is a well-oiled machine, so the defense doesn’t need to be otherworldly, at least not until the postseason. In the 12 postseason games since 2020, the defense has allowed an average of 24.2 points per game, and in the five losses, that number skies to 33.2. That must improve.