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The offense will be looked at in part 2 of our annual Bills’ season review. This unit was the strength of the team in 2024 as they scored more points than any other club, ran the ball effectively and limited turnovers all year. Here’s a position-by-position look at the offense:

Quarterbacks

The Bills can now claim the NFL’s Most Valuable Player as their starting quarterback. Josh Allen is the cornerstone of the franchise and with him at the helm the Bills should be championship contenders every year. The backup signal callers were all clipboard carriers this season. Mitchell Trubisky served that role all season, with practice squad QB Mike White also getting a shot in the team’s final meaningless game at New England.

Running Backs

Buffalo boasted a pretty efficient stable of running backs in 2024, with all contributing in their own unique way. The top back is James Cook, who is an overlooked Pro Bowl caliber back. A 1,000 yard season and 20 touchdowns sealed his place as the team’s #1 runner. Veteran Ty Johnson made significant contributions spelling Cook all year, as did rookie Ray Davis, a hard running power back who is more of a north/south runner than Cook. Fullback Reggie Gilliam made his usual contributions as a blocker and special teamer.

Receivers

The receiving corps’ individual numbers reflected the team’s “everybody eats” mantra this season. There was no one individual who stood out above the others. The most effective was slot receiver Khalil Shakir, Allen’s most dependable weapon. Rookie Keon Coleman showed flashes, but he needs to step up his game, and production, in 2025. Injuries did slow his development. Curtis Samuel was maybe the top offseason free agent signing, but he contributed little to the offense until late in the season. Again, injuries helped lead to his inconsistency also. Trade deadline acquisition Amari Cooper made a few splash plays but mostly was invisible in the offense. He will be a free agent so his return in 2025 isn’t certain. Another free agent signee who will again be on the open market is Mack Hollins. The colorful veteran became a fan favorite, a favored locker room guy and a trusted target for Allen. Adding in his special teams contributions, Hollins should be priority to sign in free agency. One of OC Joe Brady’s offseason projects should be how to get the club’s talented tight ends more involved in the offense, especially Dalton Kincaid.  Dawson Knox is a reliable target also, while third tight end Quinton Morris gets little playing time but makes plays when he does.

Offensive Line

Coached by Aaron Kromer, the Bills’ O line is starting to be recognized around the league as one of the best. For the second straight season the unit stayed together and healthy. A couple of tweaks were made to the lineup as Connor McGovern moved from guard to center, with David Edwards moving into the lineup at McGovern’s old spot. O’Cyrus Torrence enjoyed another solid year at the other guard position, while the 2 tackles, Pro Bowler Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown, held down their positions. Josh Allen took the least amount of sacks in the league, and the rushing attack was among the NFL’s best. Among the backups are Alec Anderson, now the club’s designated sixth lineman on running plays, veteran Ryan Vandemark and rookie Tylan Grable, a player to keep an eye on in the future. Another rookie, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, can play both center and guard. The versatile Anderson can also play any position along the line, so the depth there is in a good place. Oft-injured Tommy Doyle is expected to retire, and another rookie, international prospect Travis Clayton, is a long shot to make it in the league.

The 2024 NFL season is now history, and it’s time for our annual review of the local franchise, the Buffalo Bills. This, part 1 of our 4 part series, deals with the ups and downs of the front office and coaching staff. To recap, Buffalo had an outstanding regular season, dominating the AFC East division and clinching a playoff spot early. The year included victories over the top seeds in both conferences, the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions, and a 5-1 record against division opponents, with the lone defeat coming in a meaningless week 17 contest against New England, played by backups. Unfortunately the season once again ended in massive disappointment, however, as the Bills were defeated by the Chiefs in the conference championship game. That is now 4 times that Kansas City has ended the Bills’ Super Bowl dream in the last 5 years. In looking at the team’s management, it may be time to begin questioning the effectiveness of GM Brandon Beane in building a team capable of getting over that K.C. hump. His swapping of draft picks that enabled the Chiefs to draft fleet wide receiver Xavier Worthy definitely hurt. Passing up Ladd McConkey in favor of Keon Coleman doesn’t look good at this point either. His 2023 draft class as a whole was similar. The players showed flashes at times of being decent additions to the squad, but other than maybe running back Ray Davis, none were consistent, either to being too inexperienced or having their development hampered by injuries.

As for coaching, the promotion of Joe Brady to full time offensive coordinator turned out great. Buffalo was among the lead leaders in points scored, least sacks taken and least interceptions thrown, while displaying a solid rushing attack. The offensive line, under the tutelage of Aaron Kromer, was one of the league’s best. Defense was another story. That side of the ball is supposed to be head coach Sean McDermott’s specialty, and that unit, under new DC Bobby Babich, underwhelmed. They were the main reason, once again, for the final playoff failure, allowing the Chiefs to score more points than they had all season in the title game. The pass rush didn’t really produce sacks all year. The one aspect the defense did well – causing turnovers – masked a lot of deficiencies. To begin this offseason, the team has made a few moves to help shore up those deficiencies, hiring veteran defensive backs coach Mike Pellegrino and former Jaguars’ DC Ryan Nielsen as a senior defensive assistant to help Babich. His specialty is scheming simulated pressures on passing downs. The special teams haven’t been very special for years now in Buffalo, and a move was made there as well. Matthew Smiley was fired as special teams coordinator after a couple of seasons’ worth of gaffes that cost the club games, replacing him with Chris Tabor, former Panthers’ special teams coordinator who was voted second best ST coach by the NFL Players’ Association in 2023. With lots of holes to fill, and 10 draft picks and a lot more salary cap space to work with in free agency, this is a vital offseason for Beane and his staff.