1. Excitement level is on the rise in the Bills locker room
It has been more than nine months since the Bills played a football game, and the team is beyond ready to play. The team still has a bad taste of the playoff loss in their mouths from last season and with what the whole world has gone through this year, wide receiver Cole Beasley said it's good to get back to normalcy and back with the guys in the locker room.
"It's good to get some normalcy back" Beasley explained. "Getting back to what we know how to do and getting to do it every day. I think we realized how important those things are, we took it for granted a little bit, and then we got taken away from us. In the offseason, we had a long break, but I think it made guys realize how much they really need football. I love football so it's good to get back at it and be back in the locker room with all the guys that we have."
Scroll through to see the best photos from Buffalo's practice as they prepare for Week 1 against the New York Jets.
Taron Johnson (24). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Dean Marlowe (31). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Matt Barkley (5). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Tyler Bass (2). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Isaiah McKenzie (19). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Leslie Frazier. Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Tyler Matakevich (44), Siran Neal (33). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Siran Neal (33). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Josh Allen (17) and Dion Dawkins (73). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Cole Beasley (11), Josh Allen (17), John Brown (15). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Stefon Diggs (14), Josh Allen (17). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Stefon Diggs (14). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Cole Beasley (11). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Jake Kumerow (87). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
John Brown (15). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Josh Allen (17). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Stefon Diggs (14), Tre'Davious White (27). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Isaiah McKenzie (19), Cam Lewis (47). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Josh Allen (17). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Matt Barkley (5). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Zack Moss (20). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Stefon Diggs (14), Josh Thomas (36). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Gabriel Davis (13), Dane Jackson (30). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Ed Oliver (91). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Isaiah McKenzie (19) and Micah Hyde (23). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Dawson Knox (88). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Dawson Knox (88). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
John Brown (15). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Josh Allen (17). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Tremaine Edmunds (49). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
John Brown (15). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Cole Beasley (11), Andre Smith (59) Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Tyler Kroft (81). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Darryl Johnson (92). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Stefon Diggs (14). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Quinton Jefferson (90), Ed Oliver (91). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Josh Allen (17), Dane Jackson (30). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Harrison Phillips (99). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Tyler Bass (2). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Tyler Bass (2). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Jordan Devey (68). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Andre Roberts (18), Josh Allen (17), Jake Kumerow (87). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Tyler Kroft (81). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Josh Allen (17). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Mario Addison (97). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Trent Murphy (93). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Bryan Cox Jr (51). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Brian Winters (66). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Tyrel Dodson (53), Tremaine Edmunds (49). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Tyrel Dodson (53), Matt Milano (58). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Isaiah McKenzie (19). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Ty Nsekhe (77). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Brian Winters (66). Buffalo Bills Week 1 practice, September 9, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
2. Focusing on the task at hand
The Bills made it official last month by saying that there were going to be no fans in the stadium for at least the first two home games of the season. Most if not all of these players have probably never played a real game in front of little to no fans, and it might take some getting used to. Poyer explained how he and his teammates are preparing to play on Sunday in a mostly empty stadium.
"I think as players we still have to play," Poyer said. "We know the circumstances of there being no fans, so we have to continue to prepare to play. The fan side of the game will take care of itself down the road but right now we understand the situation coming into week one. With no fans at the stadium, it can't take away from our preparation throughout the week and continuing to get ready to play a game."
Poyer was asked if things on Sunday might be similar to anything he's seen with no there being no fans at NBA or MLB games.
"It might be similar, it might be different in the sense that, the NBA is in a bubble and everything's close and you can kind of say the same about the MLB. But we're going to be out there with 22 guys on the football field. Our sideline is going to be huge when we feel the change in momentum and being able to use that. Obviously, we won't be having fans, so we have to find ways to come out there and focus and understand that our guys on the sideline are going to be as much of a part of the game as the guys on the field."
3. Super Bowl bound?
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell made a case for every team to win Super Bowl LV. For the Bills to win the Super Bowl he said that Allen will have to step up this year, and the defense would have to play at the highest level they have throughout the entire postseason.
8. Buffalo Bills
Chance to win Super Bowl LV: 3.0%
Chance to make the playoffs: 61.1%
As we get closer to the top of the list, imagining a Super Bowl scenario for these teams becomes easier and easier. For the Bills, it's simple. Can Josh Allen become a league-average passer? Allen adds value as a runner, and we've seen teams make it to the Super Bowl with less-effective quarterbacks before but having to rely on a quarterback with below-average passing numbers reduces your margin for error. Buffalo ranked seventh in defensive DVOA a year ago, and while that was enough to make it back into the postseason for the second time in three years, Allen wasn't able to do enough to help push them past the Texans in the wild-card round.
For the Bills to win a Super Bowl with this version of Allen, they would need to play like one of the three best defenses in football throughout the postseason. They certainly have the talent to do that, but even the best defenses in the league struggle to be that good year after year. If Allen improves and becomes an average passer, their margin for error on defense increases. And if Allen takes a bigger step forward with wide receiver Stefon Diggs and becomes an above-average quarterback, well, the Bills could be the best team in football.
