5 NFL teams under .500 that are better than their record
By John Buhler
5. Buffalo Bills (7-8)
The Buffalo Bills are clearly the third best team in the AFC East behind the reigning Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots and the AFC Wild Card contending New York Jets. Buffalo has more going for it than the can’t-win-at-home, directionless 5-10 Miami Dolphins. It the Bills can play with more discipline and focus, they have enough talent already on their roster to end their league-worst 16-year postseason drought in 2016.
Owner Terry Pegula will retain head coach Rex Ryan next season, although he may be the reason for the Bills not making the playoffs this year. Ryan is a players’ coach, but often spends too much time pandering to the media than focusing on winning football games.
The Bills have studs on defense in Mario Williams, Marcell Dareus, and Ronald Darby. Buffalo has arguably its best solution at quarterback since the end of the Jim Kelly era in first-year starter Tyrod Taylor. When healthy, running backs LeSean McCoy and Karlos Williams are nightmares to stop on the ground. The Bills have great receivers in Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods. On paper, this team should have done a better job contending in the AFC for a playoff spot.
However games aren’t won on paper and Ryan may want to put together a defense better suited for his blitz-heavy scheme. Even with New England still being an elite team in the NFL and the Jets on the rise, Buffalo seems like it should finish in the top half of the AFC next year, possibly ending their league-worst playoff drought.
The Bills have the players on both sides of the ball. While the offense largely exceeded expectations in 2015, their defense and coaching strategies gave this team a few more losses than it needed. Buffalo seems around two wins better than what their record indicates. This 9-7 team under performed to either a 7-9 or 6-10 2015 record.
Next: 4. Detroit Lions