Buffalo Bills

After the Los Angeles Rams' victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI on Sunday, there are already eyes looking ahead to next year's title game.

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills are the early favorites to be hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in 2023. Both teams opened at +750 (bet $100 to win $750).

The reigning-champion Rams opened up behind the Bills and Chiefs at +1000. The Bengals are pegged right after them at +1400, which ties with the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers.

It's not a surprise that the Chiefs and Bills are at the top of the list, especially considering they are two of the most stable franchises in the league. Both teams will return their core players led by star quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, respectively.

The most notable changes for Kansas City and Buffalo this offseason are likely to come on both of their coaching staffs. Buffalo lost longtime offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who accepted a head coaching position with the New York Giants.

On Sunday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy's future with the team is "uncertain" because his one-year contract is set to expire. Schefter noted that Bieniemy is expected to meet with Kansas City head coach Andy Reid sometime in the near future. The Chiefs already lost quarterbacks coach Mike Kafka, who is joining Daboll's staff as Giants offensive coordinator.

The teams with the longest odds of winning next year's Super Bowl are the Houston Texans, Detroit Lions and New York Jets, who all opened at +15000.

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The New York Giants have hired Buffalo Bills player services coordinator Laura Young to be their director of coaching operations, per Jordan Raanan and Field Yates of ESPN.

Per Raanan, Young is believed to be the first woman hired by the New York Giants organization for its coaching staff.

Young worked for the Baltimore Ravens as an executive assistant from 2004 to 2009 before moving to the New York Jets (2009-2015). She was the assistant to the head coach from 2009 to 2014 before working as the manager of football administrative services for one year.

She then moved over to the Bills, serving as the manager of football administration services/assistant to the head coach from 2015 to 2017 before heading over to the player services coordinator role.

Per Raanan, Young was also one of the Bills' COVID-19 protocol coordinators over the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Bills team reporter Maddy Glab interviewed Young in March 2021 regarding her role with the team, most notably her added responsibilities on the COVID-19 protocol side:

Young is the coordinator of player services in a normal year and works with players and their families in the transition to Buffalo along with assisting the player development team in the daily needs for players. She continued to do that last season and, like many others, added many responsibilities having to do with the pandemic to her plate. This all ramped up when players showed up for training camp in late July.

Among other comments, Young said regarding her responsibilities:

One of the greatest attributes of this organization is the people I get to work with on a daily basis. Each day we needed to set up and take down about 400 tables and chairs, move video equipment and pipe and drape so that we could have walk-through and practice. It was an all-hands-on-deck approach with strength and conditioning, trainers, equipment, operations, PR, coaches and video all pitching in to get it done. 

That teamwork and camaraderie is a reflection of the selflessness of people in this organization.

Young's reported hire continues an exodus of Bills heading down the New York Thruway toward New Jersey.

Of note, the Giants' general manager (Joe Schoen), head coach (Brian Daboll), offensive line coach (Bobby Johnson) and quarterbacks coach (Shea Tierney) are all with Big Blue after working on the Bills' staff last year, per Raanan.

Former Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady will reportedly become an assistant on Sean McDermott's staff with the Buffalo Bills.

Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Brady is expected to be named quarterbacks coach after Ken Dorsey was promoted to offensive coordinator.

Brady has spent time in the NFL and college since starting his coaching career in 2013. He first was a linebackers coach at William & Mary for two seasons after graduating from the school in 2012. 

Penn State brought on Brady as a graduate assistant for two seasons from 2015-16, and then Sean Payton hired the 32-year-old as an offensive assistant for the New Orleans Saints. 

The 2019 season was transformational for Brady. He was the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach for the LSU squad that won the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.

The Tigers had a historic offensive season with 568.9 yards per game and 93 touchdowns. Joe Burrow, who won the Heisman Trophy, was the first SEC quarterback to throw for at least 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns in a season. He set an FBS record with 60 touchdown passes in 15 games.

LSU featured a 5,000-yard passer, two 1,000-yard receivers and a 1,000-yard rusher, and Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson and Clyde Edwards-Helaire were all first-round draft picks in the NFL. 

Brady won the Broyles Award as the nation's best assistant coach and spent the past two seasons with the Panthers as their offensive coordinator before being fired Dec. 5. 

The Bills have shuffled their offensive coaching staff in the wake of offensive coordinator Brian Daboll's being named head coach of the New York Giants. Dorsey was Buffalo's quarterbacks coach for the past three seasons and its passing game coordinator over the last two.

Now, Brady will work with Josh Allen as the Bills look to build on their success from the previous two seasons.

Buffalo has won the AFC East in each of the past two years, but it has lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs both times—first in the AFC Championship Game and then in the divisional round.    

The dominoes are beginning to fall after the New York Giants hired Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll as their next head coach.

For starters, it appears Bills quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator Ken Dorsey will either receive an in-house promotion to assume Buffalo's OC job or follow Daboll to the Giants and become their offensive coordinator, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The 40-year-old Dorsey has been the Bills' quarterbacks coach since 2019. He's overseen the growth and development of quarterback Josh Allen, a two-time Pro Bowler who has emerged as one of the game's brightest stars.

The former University of Miami star quarterback, who helped lead the 2001 Hurricanes to a national title, played professionally from 2003-2010 with the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns and the CFL's Toronto Argonauts.

He joined the Carolina Panthers as their quarterbacks coach in 2013 and stayed there until 2017. During that time, the Panthers made the playoffs in four of five seasons, and signal-caller Cam Newton won the 2015 NFL MVP award en route to leading the team to an NFC Championship.

Dorsey joined the Bills' staff in 2019, and he's established a great rapport with Allen.

“I think when he got here three years ago my career definitely changed. In terms of just how I viewed football and to have a guy in the room that played the game,” Allen told reporters regarding Dorsey (h/t Nick Wojton of Bills Wire) this week.

"Just the way that he approaches the game, he’s competitive, smart, he works his ass off. I appreciate what he’s done for me in my career so far...again, wherever the chips fall."

At the time, Daboll was heavily rumored for other coaching jobs. With that in mind, Allen publicly endorsed Dorsey for the OC role should Daboll leave.

Bills head coach Sean McDermott said the team would field Allen's input and keep him in the loop on the team's OC decision if Daboll left, which is now official.

As for what may happen on the Giants and Bills' staffs, Art Stapleton of the Bergen Record and ESPN's Dan Graziano speculated on what could be next. 

I mentioned Wink Martindale as possible DC with Daboll and Giants.

As for Ken Dorsey, if he doesn't land as OC in Buffalo, you could probably put that one in stone with Daboll here with Giants.

Still don't see how Bills don't elevate Dorsey ... https://t.co/Lvx6hkrdo5

— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) January 28, 2022

Will be interesting to see what happens with Ken Dorsey, who has been Buffalo's QB coach the last three years. I'd have to think Daboll will call plays in NY, so if the Bills offer to elevate Dorsey to OC, I would think he'd stay rather than go to NY as a non-playcalling OC. https://t.co/PpBOPJhNpi

— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) January 28, 2022

As Stapleton noted, former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Wink Martindale has been linked to the Giants' DC role, with ESPN's Jordan Raanan also mentioning the possibility.

Whomever runs the Giants' offense will oversee a unit that finished second-last in scoring each of the last two seasons and last overall over the two-year period.

A season-ending neck injury to quarterback Daniel Jones played a part in the offense's dysfunction, as did a litany of other ailments.

However, the Giants' offensive line (minus left tackle Andrew Thomas) struggled mightily all season, and a midseason offensive coordinator change from Jason Garrett to Freddie Kitchens did not jumpstart the team's offense as hoped, although the latter OC only had Jones as his QB for one game.

Still, the Giants' offense hasn't been able to get it going for the last few years, and now it's up to the Daboll-led regime to get that right.

If Dorsey leaves with Daboll, he will reunite with ex-Bills assistant general manager Joe Schoen, who just took the Giants' GM job last week.

Amber and Michael Naab have been arrested and charged with a count of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree each after allegedly attending the Buffalo Bills' 47-17 Wild Card Round win over the New England Patriots with fake vaccination cards, per Jordan Mendoza of USA Today. 

Per that report, the couple "allegedly got a blank Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine card, and then filled in their name, date of birth, a fake Pfizer lot number and put down they were vaccinated at a CVS store."

The charge is considered a class D felony, carrying a maximum seven-year sentence, though Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said he likely wouldn't send the pair to prison. 

He did charge them at the request of the Bills, however. 

"I readily admit this is not the crime of the century," he told reporters. "I hate to be the guy that says, 'I need to send a message.' I don't like being that guy, but you can't do this. There's a law, we got laws on the books."

"It's a slap in the face to the 70,000 others who did the right thing," Flynn added.

The Bills require all fans in attendance to be fully vaccinated, and the state of New York made it a crime to possess a fake vaccination card in December. 

Amber Naab, 34, and Michael Naab, 37, of West Seneca, New York, had reportedly posted on social media in the past that they had attended games with fake vaccination cards, alerting the team to the possibility that they were attending the playoff game using fake cards. Per Aaron Besecker of the Buffalo News, the team was also tipped off to the possibility of the fake vaccination cards.

Team officials and members of the Erie County Sheriff's Office questioned them during the third quarter of the game before the couple was kicked out of the stadium and the Bills opted to press charges.  

The couple is due back in court on Feb. 22. 

Josh Allen had an incredible playoff run even though the Buffalo Bills were eliminated in the divisional round, but not everyone is convinced the quarterback will have consistent success in the NFL.

"You're going to have more ups and downs with Allen once his contract affects the talent around him," an offensive coach told Mike Sando of The Athletic.

In a ranking of Allen, Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert, the coach put the Bills star last.

One concern could be the potential loss of offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who is reportedly the favorite to become the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, per Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News. 

Allen in August signed a six-year, $258 million contract extension, which could lead to salary-cap issues for the Bills. Pass-catchers Emmanuel Sanders and Isaiah McKenzie will be free agents this offseason, while Cole Beasley and Dawson Knox have one more year under team control.

Buffalo might also struggle to keep together a defense that ranked No. 1 in the NFL in both points and yards allowed.

Allen produced a 149.0 quarterback rating across two playoff games, throwing nine touchdown passes with zero interceptions, but some expect him to decline when he has less help.

Kansas City Chiefs fans have donated over $173,000 to the Patricia Allen Fund at Buffalo's Oishei Children's Hospital since Sunday's memorable playoff victory over quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills.

WKBW's Tim Meehan and Pheben Kassahun reported the updated total Wednesday, with many of the donations coming in $13 increments—representing the time left on the clock in regulation before the Chiefs drove for a tying field goal to force overtime.

Brett Fitzgerald, who runs the "Chiefs Kingdom Memes" Facebook page and called for the donations, credited Bills fans for their past charitable endeavors sparking the idea.

"Bills Mafia was the catalyst in this, and we're just following their lead on it," Fitzgerald told WKBW.

In November, Oishei Children's Hospital unveiled the Patricia Allen Pediatric Recovery Wing in memory of the Bills quarterback's grandmother after $1.1 million in donations were made by Bills fans following her death in 2020.

"My family and I cannot even begin to express our gratitude for the support this community has shown us," Allen said. "The dedication and commitment that the staff at Oishei shows families and patients during their time in the hospital absolutely exemplifies what it means to live in the city of good neighbors here in Buffalo. Thank you all so much, and go Bills!"

It's one of several examples of charitable support by Bills Mafia in recent years.

The trend started on New Year's Eve 2017, when the Cincinnati Bengals stunned the Baltimore Ravens in the final seconds of a game during the last week of the regular season, which allowed the Bills to clinch their first playoff berth in 18 years.

Buffalo fans proceeded to donate over $415,000 to the Andy and Jordan Dalton Foundation to thank the longtime Bengals quarterback, who spent the 2021 season with the Chicago Bears.

More recently, Bills Mafia donated more than $108,000 to the Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana after cornerback Tre'Davious White, a Louisiana native, suffered a season-ending torn ACL against the New Orleans Saints on Thanksgiving Day.

Chiefs fans are returning the favor as their team gets prepared to face the Bengals in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday.

The New York Giants announced Tuesday that Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll interviewed a second time for the team's vacant head coaching position.

He is the first candidate to conduct a second interview.

Per that press release, team president John Mara, chairman Steve Tisch, senior vice president of player personnel Chris Mara and general manager Joe Schoen took part in the interview.

Schoen was hired last week as the team's new general manager, replacing the retired Dave Gettleman.

The Giants have also interviewed Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier and Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo for the head coaching position.

The 46-year-old Daboll has made a number of stops in his NFL career, holding numerous roles with the New England Patriots (2000-2006, 2013-2016) in his coaching career. He also served as the quarterbacks coach for the New York Jets (2007-2008) and the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns (2009-2010), Miami Dolphins (2011), Kansas City Chiefs (2012) and Buffalo Bills (2018-present).

At the college level, he served as the Alabama Crimson Tide's offensive coordinator in 2017.

Under Daboll, quarterback Josh Allen has thrived, becoming one of the best players at the position, and the Bills have finished top-five in both yards and points in each of the past two years.

The Giants, meanwhile, haven't had a winning season since 2016 and have made just one trip to the playoffs since 2012. In two seasons under Joe Judge, the team went 10-23.

The Buffalo Bills' dramatic playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs will live long in the memory of head coach Sean McDermott.

McDermott told reporters Tuesday he has replayed the defeat both on video and "in my head a million times, in my stomach a million more":

It's my livelihood and I'm super competitive as well. I want the best for our football team and this organization and our fans, quite honestly. So I'll continue to watch it in my mind and in my gut for years ... but when we get to where we're trying to get to, I believe that'll make it that much more enjoyable in that moment.

Watching your team fail to protect a three-point lead with only 13 seconds on the clock is the kind of thing that will sear into the brain of any coach. Gabriel Davis' 19-yard touchdown reception appeared to be the decisive moment in the game.

JOSH ALLEN AND GABRIEL DAVIS' 4TH TD GIVES THE BILLS THE LEAD WITH 17 SECONDS.

📺: #BUFvsKC on CBS
📱: https://t.co/bCIjXIlFWh pic.twitter.com/DgdL4Pwvnd

— NFL (@NFL) January 24, 2022

For McDermott, the outcome is probably especially painful because the Bills might have held on if they had opted for a squib kick to drain more time off the clock on the ensuing kickoff.

We'll hear a lot about the unfairness of overtime rules. But the Bills kicked it in the end zone with 13 seconds left rather than using 4-6 seconds with a squib kick. And then let KC get in FG position.
But what a game..

— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) January 24, 2022

13 seconds means three plays--at the most, and one would have to be the field goal attempt, so if you squib the kick and make them field the ball in play, you boil the game down to one throw. Yet no one does this and it baffles me. The Bucs didn't either.

— Michael Lombardi (@mlombardiuncgm) January 24, 2022

Hindsight is always 20/20. 

As long as the Chiefs had enough time to run one play before lining up for a game-tying field goal, giving them possession on their own 35- or 40-yard line instead of the 25 may not have made a big difference.

After the game, McDermott declined to break the play down in detail, telling reporters instead that the Bills "can just execute better and that starts with me and goes all the way down."

Based on his comments, it's possible kicker Tyler Bass was supposed to avoid a touchback and misread the situation.

No matter what transpired on the sideline, the 2022 AFC Divisional Round will be another entry into the Bills' history of postseason heartbreaks.

Sunday's thrilling AFC divisional-round game between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs was a huge ratings success. 

Per Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith, Kansas City's 42-36 overtime win was the most-watched divisional-round matchup in five years with an average audience of 42.7 million viewers. 

According to Smith, the rating peaked at 51.7 million in overtime. 

The most recent divisional-round contest with a higher rating was between the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys on Jan. 15, 2017. 

The Packers-Cowboys game may have been the best fourth-quarter duel in a playoff game until the Bills-Chiefs game. 

Trailing 28-13 going into the fourth quarter, Dallas scored 18 points to even the score at 31 with 35 seconds remaining. Aaron Rodgers hit Jared Cook for 36 yards on 3rd-and-20 to set up Mason Crosby's game-winning field goal as time expired. 

The Bills-Chiefs contest took things to a completely different level. They combined for 34 points between the fourth quarter and overtime, with 31 of those points coming after the two-minute warning. 

Buffalo began the scoring onslaught when Josh Allen hit Gabriel Davis for a 27-yard touchdown on 4th-and-13 with 1:54 remaining. The Bills added a two-point conversion to take a 29-26 lead. 

Kansas City regained the lead 52 seconds later when Tyreek Hill ran past the entire Buffalo defense after catching a pass for a 64-yard score. Davis caught his fourth touchdown pass of the game with 13 seconds left in regulation to put Buffalo back on top 36-33. 

Patrick Mahomes completed passes to Hill and Travis Kelce to set up Harrison Butker's game-tying field goal as time expired in regulation. 

After winning the coin toss in overtime, the Chiefs capped off the game-winning 75-yard touchdown drive when Mahomes hit Kelce in the end zone. 

The victory sent Kansas City to the AFC Championship Game for the fourth consecutive season. The Chiefs will host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday looking to reach the Super Bowl for the third straight year.