Written by: Matthew Conciatori
Edited by: Slavko Glumicic
The Bills have had a blazing hot start to the unordinary 2020 NFL season, leaving their die-hard group of fans, “the Bills Mafia” ecstatic. Coming off a massive 44-34 win against MVP frontrunner, Russell Wilson and his Seattle Seahawks, the Bills are 7-2 through nine weeks of entertaining and nail-biting football. With seven games remaining in their schedule, they are currently ranked first in the AFC East and own the third-best record in the entire NFL. Is this the season the Bills finally break the drought and become champions of their division?
The Buffalo Bills last won the division in the 1995 season with iconic NFL legends like Jim Kelly, Bruce Smith, and Thurman Thomas. Unfortunately, they were never able to win it all, even after making four consecutive Super Bowl appearances, and there has been a gloomy tone in Buffalo ever since.
Even being part of the Bills Mafia myself, it is always a tough topic to discuss with others and always will be. Although today, Bills fans should be proud, as the Bills look to be in prime position to pull off the immaculate and win the division for the first time in 25 years.
Buffalo entered the season with the fifth hardest schedule based on strength of opponents according to CBS NFL. The blue and red have exceeded expectations and proved doubters wrong this season.
MVP candidate Josh Allen, third year Quarterback for the Bills, continues to show his remarkable progression as he is currently having a career-best season. Starting all nine games for the Bills this season, Allen has thrown for over 2500 yards, with two games of 400-plus! He already has 19 touchdowns, while his season-best previously was 20. Combine these numbers with his career-high 79.3 quarterback rating (sixth among quarterbacks this season), and you can see that he is playing like the real deal.
Today, the Bills Mafia is proud to say that they will support Josh Allen as their franchise Quarterback for the rest of his career. After the Bills-Seahawks game, head coach Sean McDermott revealed to the media that Allen’s grandmother passed away with only him and Allen’s family knowing prior to the game. The Bills Mafia honoured Josh Allen’s grandmother by donating money to Oishei Children’s Hospital with the majority being in increments of $17, representing Allen’s jersey number. As of November 12th, the total is over $380,000. Josh Allen gave his own remarks on the situation stating, “My family is forever engraved here, myself included. I don’t ever want to leave. I want to play for as long as I can and give back to this community and Bills Mafia.”
Going into week ten, the Buffalo Bills face off with the 5-3 Arizona Cardinals. Key players to look out for are dual-threat QB, Kyler Murray, and arguably the best wide-out in the NFL, DeAndre Hopkins. As the opening spread for the game shows a -1.5 for the Cardinals, this game could honestly go either way. These big games are what can turn a player like Josh Allen into an MVP favourite. If the Bills win, it pushes them closer to becoming champions of the AFC East and having home-field advantage for the first wild-card game.
After such a heavy week of emotions for the Bills Mafia, what is next for them? Expectantly, the Bills continue to perform at their highest, but the sky's the limit. There’s a bright future in this roster with players like Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, and Tre’Davious White most likely being cornerstones of the Bills organization long-term. This could possibly be the start of a new dynasty in the AFC East. Buffalo will continue to have its doubters, but as long as the Mafia stands beside the organization, overcoming the odds, winning games, breaking tables and celebrating in the cold will all become norms of NFL Sundays.
Matthew Conciatori
2nd Year Honours Political Science Student
References
Louis-Jacques, M. (2020, November 11). Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen never wants to leave after fans honor late grandmother. Retrieved November 14, 2020, from https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/30298150/buffalo-bills-josh-allen-never-wants-leave-fans-honor-late-grandmother
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