NEW YORK (AP) — Josh Allen refuses to live in anything but the present.
The fact the Buffalo Bills have won the AFC East the past two years is nice, and so is having made the playoffs three straight seasons while building a bright future.
It’s all about this season, though — a year that could be pretty special in Buffalo. And the Bills have that in perspective.
“Nothing that we did last year is going to carry over to this year,” Allen insisted. “Nothing that we’re going to do next year is going to affect us this year. It’s a brand-new season. Everybody’s starting 0-0.
“We’re a new team. We’re a different team, we know that, we understand that. We’ve got new pieces. We’ve got a new offensive coordinator. We’ve got a new mindset.”
Same goal, though.
The Bills were a wild, wacky overtime loss to Kansas City from getting to the AFC championship for the second year in a row. And just getting there again this season won’t be good enough.
“We know what we want to accomplish and it’s no secret,” Allen said. “I think there’s 31 other teams that say they want to win the Super Bowl. And if they don’t say it, they’re lying. That’s our goal. Everything that we do is toward that goal.”
And many believe they’ll have a great chance at that, with the Bills listed by FanDuel as the Super Bowl favorite.
With the depth Buffalo has all over its roster, it’s hard to argue.
That’s bad news for the rest of the AFC East, which has improved but has quarterback questions in the division’s other three cities.
Tua Tagovailoa still must prove himself in Miami. Same for Zach Wilson in New York. Mac Jones is coming off a solid rookie season in New England, but can he and the Patriots repeat that success?
It all leads to what should be an easy path to a third straight division crown for the Bills.
“Yeah, I think there’s naturally going to be a target on our backs,” Buffalo tight end Dawson Knox said. “But we didn’t even make the AFC championship last year. So I think we’ve still got tons to prove.”
STEPPING IN
If there’s one question mark on offense in Buffalo, it’s how Ken Dorsey transitions to being a first-time offensive coordinator.
Dorsey, a former NFL QB, has Allen’s backing after serving as the Bills’ quarterbacks coach the past three seasons.
“He’s doing a really good job,” Allen said. “His call sheet, how he’s talking to us before games and in preparation for games, making sure that the call sheet that he has for whatever quarterback is out there is the plays that we are comfortable with. And I really appreciate how he’s doing that.”
TUA’S TEAM
Tagovailoa is being given another — perhaps, last? — chance to prove he’s Miami’s quarterback of the future.
And the Dolphins and new coach Mike McDaniel made some upgrades to try to boost the NFL’s 22nd scoring offense.
Tyreek Hill, a three-time All-Pro and one of the league’s most dynamic players in Kansas City, was acquired in a trade. He and Jaylen Waddle form one of the league’s most potent duo of receivers — and two premier playmaking threats.
So Tagovailoa won’t be lacking game-changers around him.
“I say this every time this question is asked, and I’ve been kind of saying it over the last two years, because he keeps growing on a pretty linear path,” tight end Durham Smythe said. “It’s just his grasp of the offense, his grasp of professional football in general. … I think, really, the sky is the limit.”
