Since the dawn of sports, every die-hard fan has asked themselves “Is this the year?” while hoping that their team will go all the way and take home the big championship win. Fans from every sport ask this question, but the fans of one sport are especially susceptible to it. American football, the biggest sport in the country, has fans questioning every week whether or not their team will go “all the way” to the Super Bowl and take home the prestigious Lombardi Trophy.
But we are here to talk about one specific team. A team that, multiple times, was expected to win the Super Bowl.
A team that, every single time, choked that win away.
The Buffalo Bills are the only team to go to the Super Bowl four times in a row . . . which means that they are also the only team to lose four Super Bowls in a row, as they wilted under the pressure every time. In 1990, the Bills assembled a great 13-3 record and advanced to the Super Bowl against the New York Giants. The score was 20-19 for the Giants when Scott Norwood infamously lined up for a 47-yard field goal, which would have given Buffalo their first Super Bowl win. You know what happened: he kicked the ball wide right, which lost them the game. A year later, with another 13-3 record, they lost 37-24 to the Washington Football Team, who inflicted four sacks and four interceptions on quarterback Jim Kelly. In 1992, the Dallas Cowboys rinsed the Bills to the tune of 52-17, including nine turnovers . . . and twelve months later, the Bills lost to the Cowboys again, 30-13.
Since those days, Buffalonian fans are still awaiting for a Super Bowl title. On April 26, 2018, the Bills front office gave those fans a huge shot in the arm, by making one of the greatest decisions the team has ever seen.
With the 7th overall pick in the 2018 draft, the Buffalo Bills selected Joshua Patrick “Superman” Allen, who has been an eclectic [Ed. Note—No, we did not mean “electric.” Some of us remember 2018-19 Josh Allen.] quarterback since day one. Coming in at 6”5’ and 237 pounds, Allen uses his combination of size, speed, and strength to his advantage as a dual-threat quarterback. After the 2024 season, the ÑFL finally recognized the leadership and value Allen brings to his team by choosing him as the league’s Most Valuable Player.
So why have Josh Allen and the Bills not gone to the Super Bowl in the past 4 years? Well, the Kansas City Chiefs, led by noted Whataburger owner Patrick Mahomes, have just barely knocked out the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs in the past four consecutive seasons. From then on, the Chiefs have won the Lombardi Trophy twice in the last 4 seasons, a trophy Buffalo could have lifted if they had won just one more game. Every Chiefs/Bills game was a nail-biter for both teams. Most infamously, in the 2021 divisional playoff round, there were a total of four lead changes and 25 points scored in the final two minutes of the game. Buffalo had the lead with only 13 seconds left on the clock—but had to hand the ball to Mahomes and the Kansas City offense. That was all the Chiefs needed to march down the field, sending the game into overtime, where Kansas City won the coin toss and won the game without the Bills offense touching the ball. This would later spark a new overtime rule in the ÑFL that allowed both teams a chance to score.
The question that runs through Bills fans’ heads, then, is: is the 25-26 season The Year? Season after season, the Bills start off the season in absolutely electric mode, making fans believe with their whole heart that it will be their Bills taking home the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season. This hope shortly vanishes from a healthy dose of reality: even when the Bills look unstoppable, their season could still go wide right.
The Buffalo Bills started the 25-26 season 4-0, and looked like a possible undefeated team going into Week 5, which should have been an easy matchup against the 2-2 New England Patriots. Unfortunately, something Bills fans know all too well is that there is no such thing as an easy win. Buffalo played the worst they have in a long time, committing 8 penalties in the first half alone, the second-most under Sean McDermott’s leadership. Star players such as James Cook, who usually averages 123 yards and at least 1 touchdown per game, managed only 49 yards and. It is safe to say that Buffalo did not play their hardest or maximize their potential as a team.
There is no debate whether or not the Bills can or cannot do it. They have the ability and potential. But will they?
Will Buffalo, finally, after losing time and time again, take home the title as Super Bowl LX champions, or will they fumble under the pressure again.
I ask again: Is this the year?