Josh Allen’s Super Bowl hopes took a major hit before the season even started

Buffalo Bills fans have been longing for a Super Bowl championship since 1959. Heck, they'll even take an appearance in the big game for the first time since four consecutive from 1990-93.

Quarterback Josh Allen looks to be their best hope since Jim Kelly during that AFC dynasty but in seven seasons he still has yet to earn a conference crown. One off-field decision by the league may have doomed him and Bills Mafia for yet another year before the season even starts.

On Wednesday, the NFL announced Buffalo would be the subject of the newest edition of HBO's Hard Knocks. Film crews will follow the Bills around during training camp as they prepare for the 2025-26 season.

Josh Allen will have to overcome the Hard Knocks curse to win first Super Bowl

Since the show's premiere in 2001, no team that has been featured has ever gone on to appear in the Super Bowl. In fact, half of the 20 teams that took part had a winning record that year, with all but two making the playoffs.

Of those that had a winning record the year prior to appearing on the show, two wound up with losing marks that following season. So, while it's unlikely, there's still a non-zero chance Buffalo could be the next victim of the Hard Knocks curse.

It's anybody's guess if that's because the attention and scrutiny is a distraction to the players and coaches or simply because it displeases the football gods/ But Allen and the Bills will have a lot of work to do if they want to overcome the Kansas City Chiefs, who seem to be on a collision course with Buffalo every year in the playoffs. Four of the last five seasons has featured a postseason game between the two teams in which the Chiefs are undefeated.

Allen also signed a lucrative six-year, $330 million contract extension with Buffalo in March. Players that secure the bag tend to have sub-par seasons the very next year so that could be a double detriment to the Bills' chances at a championship in 2025-26.