We are thankful to have these players in Buffalo!
Bills fans have so much to be thankful for when it comes how the Buffalo Bills currently are. The vibes are at an all-time high due to the fact that the Bills are currently 9-2, on top of the AFC East and they have proved all doubters wrong about the team they would be coming off this past offseason.
For a long time at one point, the Bills were a joke. They could never get anything to click perfectly and it cost them a playoff appearance for 17 years. With what the team is today, we can be thankful for Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott. Sure, they have their moments where fans get frustrated with them but without them, the Bills wouldn’t be the powerhouse that they are today.
The regime is all about development and continuity and they have done a solid job putting together a competent roster who can compete for a championship. Now all they need to do is execute their gameplan perfectly to get over the playoff hump. The 2024 Bills might be the team that can do it and it comes from Josh Allen and four different Bills players who have been impactful this year.
QB Josh Allen
The franchise guy. The best quarterback since Jim Kelly. Josh Allen represents what Buffalo Bills fans are; being hard-workers. Since being drafted in 2018, Allen has helped the Bills reach the playoffs five times and is on his way to helping Buffalo secure their fifth consecutive AFC East title.
Just in 2024 alone, Allen has become a different type of player where he isn’t turning the ball over. He’s only thrown five interceptions and he is the sole reason why the Bills ended the Kansas City Chiefs’ undefeated streak in Week 11. He has a lot more ups than downs and as long as he continues to play at this level, Bills fans can be thankful for him even beyond the Thanksgiving holiday.
LB Terrel Bernard
Remember when the Bills lost Tremaine Edmunds in free agency last year and it left a big hole at linebacker? Well, Terrel Bernard clearly doesn’t because he has shown to be very valuable for this Buffalo defense. Infact, Bernard is more of an impactful player than Edmunds was while he was with the Bills. Going back to last year, Bernard was a tackling machine with 143 total tackles and 6.5 sacks. His production last year was better than Matt Milano’s All-Pro season in 2022.
Bernard has had some injuries this year but when he has played, this defense is better by a mile. In Buffalo’s last game against the Chiefs, Bernard recorded 8 tackles, one sacks and had the game-sealing interception that put the final nail on the coffin for the Chiefs. His performance earned him the Week 11 AFC Defensive Player of the Week. Bernard has been special since being named a starter last season and hopefully he can stay healthy down this stretch.
RB James Cook
For the longest time, the Bills could not get a consistent run game for their offense. When they released LeSean McCoy in 2019, it would take them until the 2023 season to identify a solid running back and that player is James Cook. Last year, Cook became the first Bills running back to rush for over 1,000 yards since McCoy in 2016. This year, his on-field presence is the same but he is running with more physicality than ever and his performance in Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins with three total touchdowns is what sparked the Bills offense early on in the season.
The good news for Bills fans is that Cook still has one more year left on his rookie contract so they should be thankful to seeing Cook’s production before he gets paid some big bucks (as he deserves).
CB Taron Johnson
Fans outside of Buffalo may not have known the presence that Taron Johnson brought to the Bills defense, but Bills Mafia sure did. It took Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde leaving the Bills for Johnson to shine as a star in the secondary. Johnson is a fantastic nickel corner who always find the right time to be near the ball.
There’s a reason why Brandon Beane signed Johnson to a three-year extension worth $30 million this past offseason. His leadership and familiarity in this defensive scheme makes his more valuable than we think.
RT Spencer Brown
Say what you want about Spencer Brown, he is usually the first player to defend his teammates on the field. Yes, we know his penalties have been an issue but no one can say that Brown isn’t a true team player. Whenever tension hits the field between the Bills and their opponent, Brown is always in the middle defending his guys.
The right tackle has vastly improved his game over the last year and Beane decided to pay him for it this past offseason to keep the protection for Allen. He may not be an All-Star type of player but his value to the Bills is worth a lot.