Buffalo Bills face elite defensive competition in 2024

We continue our look at what’s in store for the Buffalo Bills heading into the 2024 campaign. So far, we’ve covered the talented quarterbacks the team will face as well as the receivers and running backs. We’ve even looked at how quarterback Josh Allen has performed over the course of his career against the teams he’s set to face this season. This time, let’s take a look at the types of defenses the Bills will face.

Six: The number of defenses Buffalo will face that rank in the top 10 in yards allowed per game. Of that group, two teams were in the top three last season. The Kansas City Chiefs’ defense ranked second in the league while the New York Jets’ defense ranked third among teams, allowing just 292 yards per game. While rosters change from season to season, also keep in mind that the Bills had a talented defense in 2023, finishing ninth in the NFL in yards allowed per game.

Three: Yards allowed is one thing, but ultimately it all comes down to how many points a team gives up on defense. Bad news for the Bills Mafia: Buffalo will be facing the top three units in points allowed per game last season. The Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers each averaged less than 18 points allowed per game. The silver lining is that the last time Josh Allen faced each of these teams in the regular season, he came away with a win. Additionally, Buffalo’s defense was right behind those units, finishing fourth and giving up 18.3 points per game.

Seven: That’s how many AP First Team All-Pros the Bills will have to face on defense this year. The best of the best players will challenge Buffalo’s offense to put points on the board. As for the Bills’ interior linemen, there’s defensive tackle Chris Jones who now stands alone in a category of his own. Buffalo will also have to face every linebacker on the roster, namely Fred Warner, Roquan Smith and Quincy Williams. It gets even tougher in the secondary, as the receivers will have Sauce Gardner and Trent McDuffie lining up against them. Safety Kyle Hamilton will also have to worry about.

As noted above, team strengths can change from season to season and rankings often look different in the current reality of each season. However, most of the players and teams mentioned here consistently take the court as top-tier talent, regardless of the season. The Buffalo Bills offense will have its work cut out for it in 2024.