Adam Schefter posed a question on Tuesday that might sting a little if you’re a Bills fan. He wondered whether the Buffalo Bills could pull off a Knicks-style breakthrough this season. And no, he wasn’t talking about ticket prices or Madison Square Garden vibes.
The Knicks just won their first NBA title since 1973, ending a drought that had fans convinced they’d never see it happen. Schefter’s comparison basically asks: could Buffalo be that team? The one that finally gets over the hump after decades of heartbreak?
“I see that question as: is this Josh Allen’s best chance at a Super Bowl?” Schefter said on Get Up. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I do remember that he was 13 seconds from being to the Super Bowl. That’s about as close as he’s been to the Super Bowl. And maybe this team will get there. It is talented enough to do it, they made changes, they have a new stadium, they have a new coaching staff. There’s a lot of new in Buffalo. And new would be going back to the Super Bowl, which they haven’t done in an awful long time.”
Thirteen seconds. That’s the scar that won’t fully heal for Bills fans. One missed field goal in overtime against the Chiefs in the 2021 divisional round, and suddenly a franchise that went to four straight Super Bowls in the early ’90s is still chasing its first Lombardi Trophy. It’s been 30 years since Buffalo last played for it all.
Allen turned 30 this offseason. Quarterbacks can play well into their late 30s these days — Tom Brady made a whole second career out of that — but the window for a specific roster construction is tighter. The Bills have already reshuffled the coaching staff and are playing in a new stadium. There’s urgency baked into this season whether anyone wants to admit it.
Schefter did offer a reality check. He said it’s way too early to call this Allen’s best chance. Training camp hasn’t even started yet. But the comparison to the Knicks is interesting because of what it implies. The Knicks weren’t supposed to win last summer. They weren’t the favorites, didn’t have the flashiest roster on paper, but they found a way to make it work in the playoffs. The Bills have the talent. They have the quarterback. They just need the breaks to go their way for once.
Buffalo fans should keep an eye on the early days of training camp. The first practices won’t tell you everything, but they’ll show you how locked in this team is. Whether they’re chasing history or just another season of almost.
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