By Alex Alex Al-Kazzaz
Another season full of potential has gone to waste for the Buffalo Bills. Once again, the team's journey to its first Super Bowl triumph remains to be seen, and last weekend, Buffalo's season ended with a heart-breaking 27-24 loss at home to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bills have hit the end of the road for the third straight year in the divisional round. Even worse, it's the third time in four years that their season has ended at the hands of the Chiefs.
In 2020, the Bills won the AFC East for the first time since 1995 and reached the AFC Championship for the first time since 1993. Since 2020, the Bills have retained their division title but cannot live to their potential. It seems that the team's history is marred by bad luck. The team went on a playoff drought lasting 18 years (2000-2017), over 25 years without winning their division, and four straight Super Bowl losses. In the team's first year in the NFL (1970) through 1987, the team saw very little to no success. Therefore, it seems that the superstitious Buffalo jinx is a real thing.
For the organization and fan base, reaching the Super Bowl four consecutive years and losing each time is a painful wound that still hasn't and cannot heal until the Lombardi Trophy finds itself in the city of Buffalo. Aside from the Super Bowl blues, the 13-second heartbreak in Kansas City in the divisional playoffs three years ago is another wound that can't be easily mended.
For four years now, Buffalo's current star quarterback, Josh Allen, has had respectable runs only to come up short each time. Allen has had his fair share of mistakes; perhaps his most significant issue is consistency. Consistency may be the team's biggest problem. Many are already beginning to wonder and worry if Allen and Buffalo's Super Bowl window is beginning to close or if it's close to being closed.
Allen's failure to lead the Bills to a Super Bowl may depict him as a modern Jim Kelly. Some may already be convinced that he is. But could it be that, like Kelly, Allen is a victim of the Buffalo jinx, or maybe Allen is too unlucky like Kelly was? Allen will be 28 by the time the 2024 season will begin. That means he still has plenty left in the tank, but the question is if the Bills can stay in the Super Bowl contenders picture. Allen has done his best for the organization but cannot lead the Bills to the Super Bowl by himself. Honestly, he shouldn't be in that position.
As far as Allen being a modern-day Kelly, it's too early to be sure. For one thing, Kelly has reached the Super Bowl and is an NFL Hall of Famer. It depends on how Allen's career plays out from this point on; however, even if Allen were not to reach the Super Bowl, he could still end up as a Hall of Famer who couldn't win the big one but under slightly different circumstances. That remains to be seen.
(Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)