The ascent of the Buffalo Bills to legit Super Bowl-contender status during this decade has been mostly framed through a feel-good lens. After the snakebitten franchise, famous for losing four straight Super Bowls in the 1990s, finally snapped a miserable 17-season playoff drought in 2017, then drafted franchise cornerstone quarterback Josh Allen, the Bills have been back, baby. And they’ve served as worthy AFC foil to the Kansas City Chiefs during their dynastic 2020s run, coming oh-so close, on several occasions, to spoiling the Mahomes-Kelce-and-Co. fairy tale.
But enough with the vibes at this point.
Because the Bills are on pace to frustrate their fans like no franchise has ever done before. In the Super Bowl era, 15 teams across the decades have won five or more consecutive division titles. Among them are the likes of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the ‘70s (six straight AFC Central crowns, four Super Bowls wins), the Dallas Cowboys of the ‘90s (five straight NFC titles, three Super Bowls wins), and the Belichick-Brady New England Patriots (five straight divisions wins, two Super Bowl victories, one Super Bowl loss, from 2003 to 2007; 11 consecutive AFC East crowns, three Super Bowl wins, two Super Bowl losses, from 2009 to 2019). Of these 15 historically excellent squads, a mere two of them failed to reach a single Super Bowl by year five of their division-winning runs: the Los Angeles Rams of the ‘70s, who eventually made a Super Bowl following the 1979 season, the seventh year of their streak, and these modern-day Buffalo Bills, AFC East champs from 2020 to 2024.
And those Rams had the likes of James “Shack” Harris, Pat Haden, and Vince Ferragamo under center. Not Allen, the reigning NFL MVP who has more touchdowns to his name through his first seven seasons than any other NFL quarterback in history. “How can you not do it?” says Buffalo native Sal Capaccio, Bills reporter for WGR, a Buffalo sports-radio station, echoing the angst of the…
