SB Nation • 8 min read

Josh Allen, Bills have much to do in appeasing fans’ expectations

It was bound to happen, the Buffalo Bills losing a game. To lose now is better than late in the season, but dropping a game to a division rival is never the preferred move. The Bills are now 4-1 after

losing in the final minute of Week 5 against the New England Patriots.

Buffalo’s close loss resonates differently with people depending on how they see things. Sure, it’s encouraging that the defense wasn’t blown out, but the offense also couldn’t find a way to score more than 20 points against a 2-2 squad. Perhaps it’s a loss that serves as a catalyst to waking One Bills Drive up from the slumber that plagued them through much of the first month-plus of the season.

Still, losing to that team, in that way? The two players who they couldn’t let beat them, quarterback Drake Maye and wide receiver Stefon Diggs, did so repeatedly. Diggs was motivated in his first return to Highmark Stadium, but if their plan was to let him catch almost everything, they succeeded.

When the question about confidence was asked of Rumblers this week, I knew the figure was bound to tumble. Numbers in these polls don’t improve off a loss, especially when it’s a team’s first loss of the season. Plus, it’s not as if fans have given the team a ringing endorsement for the chances at greatness in the 2025 season. Maybe that’s a bit unfair to say of any team quarterbacked by Josh Allen, but there’s a lot of apprehension in Bills Country. And, yes, there are plenty of reasons for concern on both offense and defense. That’s without even getting into the injury situation.

It’s fair to say that the Bills have two elite players on offense in Allen and running back James Cook. Then there’s the offensive line, which may be underrated league-wide, but may also not be as dominant overall as was the case in 2024. Elsewhere, the conversation takes a turn, and finding those elite players is a bit like locating that guy wearing the red and white striped shirt in children’s books.

That’s not to say there aren’t a fair share of great players, namely Khalil Shakir, and defensively with Terrel Bernard, Ed Oliver, and Greg Rousseau… even Christian Benford, who’s having a down season. It’s that questions remain despite their contributions.

Right now, Buffalo needs better from its best players, more impact plays, and extra juice that rubs off on their teammates. Sustained success is often about momentum, and much of the Bills’ 4-1 start felt like a car forced to drive only in third gear. That’s not to say their season has been unimpressive thus far, nor that they won’t become a more dominant team in the coming weeks. The truth is that they have a lot of room to grow, to find capable of playing a full 60 minutes of football, and an ability to cut out the unnecessary penalties.

Until that all takes effect we’re bound to see a lot of apprehension from the fan base, whether or not Allen again asks for “faith” among Bills Mafia. This season is all about finally winning an AFC Championship Game with Allen and, in kind, reaching the Super Bowl for the first time in over three decades. There’s a lot of weight on fans’ shoulders, and they’re hoping the team realizes the magnitude of what at stake for them, too.

With that, our latest Reacts results aren’t encouraging if you’re employed by One Bills Drive. Just 17% of fans who voted in our poll this week are confident the team is headed in the right direction. It’s a fitting number in ways. Buffalo has a lot of work to do, to be clear. History has told us this regime is up for the task.

The Bills were featured in national polls, with their results below…

Buffalo’s Week 6 opponent, the Atlanta Falcons, enter Monday Night Football at 2-2, and with a fan base more confident than Bills Mafia, but still very much on the fence about their team’s prospects. The latest results from The Falcoholic (still a great name all these years later) see 57% of voters confident in Atlanta right now.