Buffalo Bills

The Los Angeles Rams boasted no shortage of star power en route to winning the Super Bowl in 2021, and even Von Miller was a bit taken aback by the depth on display.

"It was crazy. It felt like the Pro Bowl every day," Miller said at the 3:04 mark during Tuesday's episode of Kevin Hart's Cold as Balls video series. "You look back and you got Jalen Ramsey. You got Aaron Donald right next to you. Leonard Floyd across from you. Odell Beckham, my boy, on the other side. Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp."

The Rams only had four representatives in the 2022 Pro Bowl: Kupp, Donald, Ramsey and Matt Gay. Miller, Stafford, Beckham and Andrew Whitworth were all Pro Bowlers at one time as well. General manager Les Snead spared no expense in pursuit of a championship.

Miller joined Los Angeles midway through the year following his trade from the Denver Broncos. He provided an immediate impact by registering eight sacks and 12 tackles for loss in eight regular-season games. During the Rams' postseason run, he added four more sacks, including two in the team's 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.

The allure of chasing another title in L.A. wasn't enough for the eight-time Pro Bowler to stick around, though. He signed a six-year, $120 million deal with the Buffalo Bills that included $51.4 million guaranteed.

The Buffalo Bills are adding some speed to their wide receiver group.

Tavon Austin, who was the No. 8 overall pick of the 2013 NFL draft, signed with the reigning AFC East champions. The West Virginia product spent the 2021 campaign with the Jacksonville Jaguars but had just 24 catches for 213 yards and one touchdown.

The #Bills are signing WR Tavon Austin, according to a source and, well, Austin’s IG. Former eighth overall pick had 24 catches in seven games with the #Jaguars last year. pic.twitter.com/0l735Mh5tf

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) June 3, 2022

Austin has played for the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers and Jaguars during his NFL career, but he is still best known for his accomplishments at the collegiate level.

He was an electrifying playmaker for the Mountaineers and finished the 2012 season with 114 catches for 1,289 yards and 12 touchdowns to go with 643 yards and three scores on the ground. He also had a kick-return touchdown and punt-return touchdown during that season as one of the most unstoppable players in the nation.

It is fitting that the 2012 Johnny Rodgers Award winner as the nation's most outstanding return specialist first made his mark in the NFL on special teams with punt-return touchdowns in each of his first three seasons.

However, he is yet to live up to the expectations that came with his draft status as a wide receiver.

Austin has reached 500 receiving yards in a season just once (2016 for Los Angeles) and has been nothing more than a secondary contributor in the following years. Last season was no different on a Jacksonville squad that could have used more playmaking on the way to a 3-14 record.

Buffalo offers him a much more direct path to contributing for a contender, and he won't have to worry about drawing too much defensive attention playing in an offense that also has Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis, Dawson Knox, Devin Singletary and more.

Austin can work in the slot and take advantage of the openings that double-teams on Diggs create and perhaps use his speed to surpass 500 receiving yards once again.

On Wednesday night, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen took part in the latest iteration of Capital One's The Match. He and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes took on fellow signal-callers Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers in a match play-style golf event to benefit charity.

It was a competition where Allen stood out in a couple of respects—neither of which had anything to do with his golf game. All three of the other players involved have been named the NFL's Most Valuable Player, with Rodgers winning the award four times (including each of the past two seasons). The other three competitors have all also lifted the Lombardi Trophy as champions of the NFL, with Brady accomplishing the feat a staggering seven times.

It was quite the metaphor for Allen's goals for the season to come. For what he needs to do on the playing field in 2022. For all that Allen has accomplished in his first four seasons, if he truly wants to be considered among the game's greats under center, he needs to do one of two things this year.

He needs to win the league's MVP or take the Bills to the Super Bowl.

For what it's worth, when asked in a pre-match chat who would be the next to win MVP honors, Mahomes singled out his golf partner:

It's not like he was going out on a limb with his statement. At DraftKings Sportsbook, Allen is +700 (bet $100 to win $700) to be named MVP in 2022. No player has better odds. Not Brady. Not Mahomes. Not the two-time reigning winner of the honor.

His numbers the past two years back up those odds. In 2020, Allen completed 69.2 percent of his passes for 4,544 yards with 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He added 421 rushing yards and eight scores on the ground, made his first Pro Bowl and finished as the runner-up to Rodgers in MVP voting.

Last year's passing numbers were down relative to 2020, but they were still outstanding. He completed 63.3 percent of his passes for 4,407 yards and 36 scores against 15 interceptions. However, he picked it up on the ground, setting a career high with 763 yards (while averaging a robust 6.3 yards per carry) with six touchdowns and 12 broken tackles.

When we last saw Allen on the playing field, he and Mahomes were engaged in one of the best duels we have ever seen. Allen's Bills came up short on the scoreboard, but it certainly wasn't his fault, as he threw for 300-plus yards in both of Buffalo's playoff games last year with nine touchdowns and no interceptions.

Those last two seasons from Allen are the two best single-season passing years in the history of the Buffalo Bills—a history that includes a Hall of Fame quarterback in Jim Kelly. Per Nick Fierro of Bills Central, Allen is the only player in NFL history with 100 passing touchdowns and 20 rushing touchdowns over his first four seasons. Only one quarterback had more total touchdowns over the first four seasons.

Fella named Marino. Played in Miami. Rumor has it he was good.

Edge-rusher Von Miller hasn't had the chance to play with Allen yet, but he has played with a Super Bowl champion in Matthew Stafford and an all-time great in Peyton Manning. As Mark Mulville of the Buffalo News reported, Miller said he believes Allen absolutely has what it takes to be the best in the game at what he does.

"All the great quarterbacks I've ever been around—from Peyton Manning to Matthew Stafford to all the guys I've been around—they all have this aura about them," Miller said. "Like no matter how high it gets, no matter how low it gets, no matter if it's OTAs or no matter if it's the day before the Super Bowl. And Josh Allen has this aura about him, for sure."

Of course, Allen can't do it all himself. No one can. It's half a dirty secret, but even the best quarterbacks can't win without talent around them. Yes, they can make those around them better, but they can't turn water into wine. Or perhaps more aptly in Buffalo, snow into beer.

Fortunately, Allen doesn't have to. As a matter of fact, he has as much talent surrounding him as anyone.

If there was any question about the wisdom of the trade for wide receiver Stefon Diggs, it has been answered—emphatically. In two years in Buffalo, he has caught 230 passes for 2,760 yards and 18 touchdowns.

It's not just Diggs, either. Third-year pro Gabriel Davis had a coming-out party in that shootout loss to the Chiefs in the playoffs, hauling in eight passes for 201 yards and four touchdowns. Tight end Dawson Knox set career highs in catches and receiving yards last year, hauling in nine scores. The Bills bid goodbye to a pair of veteran receivers in the offseason (Emmanuel Sanders and Cole Beasley), but the team offset those losses with the addition of an experienced slot receiver in Jamison Crowder.

That's more passing-game weaponry than Rodgers has in 2022 and probably better weapons than Mahomes.

The Bills were a respectable sixth in the NFL in rushing last year, but a large chunk of that was Allen. Per Mulville, the Bills had the second-fewest rushing attempts and ranked 25th in the league in rushing yards at the position. To help bolster that ground game, they spent a second-round pick on Georgia's James Cook. Buffalo also added veteran guard Rodger Saffold to bolster the offensive front.

Even when Allen is on the sidelines, he's getting help. The Bills fielded the best defense in the NFL last year by yards allowed. They also paced the league in scoring defense, surrendering just 17 points per game.

Every piece of the supporting cast Allen needs to take the next step in his career is there, and so is the talent.

Now it's on him to get it done.

Granted, if Allen doesn't win MVP or the Super Bowl, it won't be the end of the world. Marino never won a Super Bowl. Drew Brees was never named MVP. Both were great players. But neither was considered the best in the game, at least not widely. Not while they were playing, and not after. Marino spent his career in the shadow of Joe Montana. So did Brees with the likes of Brady and Manning.

A quarterback doesn't reach the heights that Allen already has by wanting to be one of the best. He wants to be the best. To be the guy. The big cheese. King of the mountain.

Allen is a great player, absolutely capable of wearing the crown. But to stake a real claim to that title, he needs hardware.

Now is the time to start collecting it.

The rest of the Buffalo Bills would be wise to steer clear of Josh Allen before taking the field.

During an interview ahead of Capital One's The Match on Wednesday, the quarterback confirmed he throws up before every game:

Josh Allen says he throws up before EVERY football game 😳 #CapitalOnesTheMatch

(@capitalone) pic.twitter.com/Il7Ucs8b2k

— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) June 1, 2022

Allen has appeared in 61 games for the Bills since they selected him with the No. 7 pick in the 2018 NFL draft. That's a lot of pregame jitters, but the routine must be working because he is one of the best quarterbacks in the league.

The Wyoming product has thrown for more than 4,400 yards in each of the last two seasons and led Buffalo to the playoffs in each of the last three years.

The games only figure to get bigger if the Bills continue to live up to expectations and challenge for a Super Bowl title during the 2022 campaign, so Allen might have plenty of throwing up to do come the fall.

At least Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers can take solace in knowing it didn't seem like Allen was going to throw up before The Match.

Three professional sports teams in Buffalo raised more than $1 million for victims of the mass shooting that took place in the city last month and the East Buffalo community, per ESPN's Alaina Getzenberg.

On May 14, 10 people were killed and three more were injured when a man fired 50 shots at a supermarket in what authorities called a "racially motivated hate crime." The store is located in a predominantly Black community and all 10 people who were killed were Black.

The NFL's Buffalo Bills, NHL's Buffalo Sabres and National Lacrosse League's Buffalo Bandits joined together to sell T-shirts with the team logos and the text, "Choose Love." The proceeds go to the Buffalo 5/14 Survivors Fund and the Buffalo Together Community Response Fund.

Each of these funds were created to help families of the victims as well as the needs of the community following the shooting.

About 50 Bills players volunteered in the days following the tragedy, serving food while wearing black "Choose Love" T-shirts.

We love you and we grieve with you, Buffalo. pic.twitter.com/S75ZiSVbym

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) May 18, 2022

"'Choose Love'—it's a motto that I think maybe that we should start adopting as a country," quarterback Josh Allen said. "It's the golden rule, treating those as you'd wanna be treated. Again, what happened here was ... it's disgusting, despicable and there's so many different words you can use and none of them are nice."

In addition to the proceeds from the T-shirt sales, the Buffalo Bills Foundation teamed with the NFL Foundation to donate $400,000 to local response efforts following the shooting.

The lawsuit against Buffalo Bills pass-rusher Von Miller accusing him of revenge porn has been dismissed, according to TMZ Sports. 

Miller was accused of "sending sexually explicit pictures taken with a woman to two celebrities 'in a fit of jealousy, anger, and rage' in May 2020," per TMZ. The woman said Miller "sent texts to the celebs, saying things like, 'This the bitch you want? You can have her dawg.'"

According to TMZ's report in April after the lawsuit was filed, Miller and the woman who sued him were dating in 2020 and allegedly took photos of "sexual acts" together, under the agreement they wouldn't be shared. 

The woman was seeking monetary damages in the lawsuit and requested a court order for Miller to cease sharing the images. 

Miller, 33, signed a six-year, $120 million contract with the Bills this offseason in free agency after winning a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams last season. 

The eight-time Pro Bowler played for the Denver Broncos (2011-21) for his entire career before being traded to the Rams midway through last season.

In his latest Football Morning in America column, Peter King of NBC Sports dropped his latest 2022 NFL power rankings following the draft, and his top teams certainly don't come as a surprise. 

Here's a look at the top 10:

1. Buffalo Bills 
2. Los Angeles Chargers
3. Kansas City Chiefs
4. Los Angeles Rams
5. Green Bay Packers
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
7. Cincinnati Bengals
8. Baltimore Ravens
9. Philadelphia Eagles
10. San Francisco 49ers

It's no surprise that King ranked the Bills first in his latest column. The franchise was extremely close to reaching the Super Bowl last season and also made some solid upgrades to its roster for 2022.

The most significant addition came in the form of eight-time Pro Bowler Von Miller, who agreed to a six-year, $120 million deal with the Bills this offseason after winning the Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams. 

Miller is expected to supplant Boogie Basham on the opposite side of Greg Rousseau. The 33-year-old hasn't had a double-digit sack season since 2018 but was still effective in 2021, recording 9.5 sacks in 15 games. 

In addition to Miller, the Bills also signed wide receiver Jamison Crowder to complement with Gabriel Davis and Stefon Diggs as well as drafted cornerback Kaiir Elam, who is expected to join Tre'Davious White as a starter in the secondary. 

The Chargers are in King's top 10 because they "attacked their needs better than any teams in this offseason." 

L.A. traded for Khalil Mack to pair with Joey Bosa on the edge, signed cornerback J.C. Jackson, re-signed wide receiver Mike Williams and drafted guard Zion Johnson to help protect quarterback Justin Herbert. 

King also notes the Chargers have an advantage with their schedule, facing the Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons through Week 8. 

As for the Chiefs, King said he was "at a loss where to put Kansas City," which doesn't come as a surprise. 

The Chiefs traded star wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins this offseason and let Tyrann Mathieu sign with the New Orleans Saints in free agency. Those two players were significant in Kansas City's 2020 Super Bowl victory, and it'll be hard for the Chiefs to replace that production. 

Kansas City enters the 2022 campaign with Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Mecole Hardman and JuJu Smith-Schuster as its top wide receivers. The team also drafted Skyy Moore this offseason. 

As for the replacement of Mathieu, Justin Reid should slot in as the team's top safety. 

One team that might be viewed as a surprise in King's top 10 is the Eagles. However, he noted that he views Philadelphia "as the best team" in the NFC East after addressing many of their needs this offseason.

The Eagles acquired wide receiver A.J. Brown from the Tennessee Titans, signed edge-rusher Haason Reddick and cornerback James Bradberry and drafted defensive tackle Jordan Davis and inside linebacker Nakobe Dean.

With those additions, the Eagles could surprise everyone in 2022, provided quarterback Jalen Hurts also holds up his end of the bargain. 

Anyone looking to live in the former home of an NFL star while enjoying a cigar lounge and movie theater is in luck.

Buffalo Bills pass-rusher Von Miller is selling his Colorado home with a listing price of $4.125 million. He purchased it for $925,000 in 2012.

The 17,000-square foot home features nine bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a cigar lounge, a movie theater and a basketball court:

After signing a 6-year, $120M deal with the Bills, Von Miller is selling his Colorado home.

• 17,000 sqft
• 9 bed/11 bath
• Cigar lounge
• Movie theater
• Basketball court

He bought it for $925k in 2012 & is listing it for $4.125M — a potential 345% gain (16% annualized). pic.twitter.com/QOkZI8iaP8

— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) May 19, 2022

Miller became an NFL legend in Colorado while playing for the Denver Broncos. They selected him with the No. 2 overall pick of the 2011 NFL draft, and he played there until they traded him last season to the Los Angeles Rams, with whom he won Super Bowl LVI.

He was an eight-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro selection with the Broncos and also won his first Super Bowl title. The Texas A&M product was the 2011 Defensive Rookie of the Year and the Super Bowl 50 MVP and will go down as one of the great players in Denver history.

But after signing with the Bills this offseason, he decided it is time to sell his home in the state where he became an NFL star.   

Buffalo Bills safety Micah Hyde announced Sunday that he will donate a portion of the proceeds from his charity softball game to the families of victims from Saturday's shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.

Thank you Bills Mafia and the entire Buffalo community for coming together today as we begin the long process of support and healing for our community. We are sending prayers to the families impacted, and we will be donating a portion of today’s game proceeds to the families.

— Micah Hyde (@micah_hyde) May 15, 2022

Thirteen people were shot—10 of whom died—when a man opened fire at Tops Friendly Market. Payton Gendron was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder.

"I still can't believe it," Hyde said of the shooting, per ESPN's Alaina Getzenberg. "But when there's hate in the world, you kind of erase it with love, and coming out here today and showing the community love and love to the youth, love to the community, love to the foundation. I guess that's the way to combat it."

Per Getzenberg, Hyde weighed whether to stage Sunday's event in the wake of the shooting. He went ahead with the game, which drew a crowd of 10,000 at Sahlen Field, home of the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.

Bills star Josh Allen was among Hyde's teammates to take part in the occasion. The 2020 Pro Bowler said he was "sick to my stomach all day yesterday," adding the Bills players are likely to discuss more ways to provide aid when they gather Monday at the team facility:

"I'm sick to my stomach. We're going to meet as a team and find the best ways to help the families and community effected." pic.twitter.com/yZ6oZPb50x

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) May 15, 2022

According to the Buffalo News' Mark Gaughan, Hyde's I'MagINe For Youth Foundation received a $200,000 check from the sponsors for his charity game.

Hyde reflected on how much the event has grown after having failed to hit 2,000 fans for the first iteration. He said he was aware that 8,000 tickets had been sold earlier this week and that the attendance was only growing.

"That's Buffalo. You can go anywhere in this nation, and I don't think you'll find a better community than Buffalo, and I honestly mean that," Hyde said.

Ahead of his sixth season with the Bills, he went on to call Buffalo "home to me."

Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills have emerged as perennial Super Bowl contenders, a welcome sight for a fanbase that endured nearly two decades without playoff football before breaking the drought in 2017. But a championship has remained elusive so far.

The Bills reached the AFC Championship Game before coming up short against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020. They met the same opposition in the divisional round last season and, after one of the wildest postseason games in history, were again eliminated by Patrick Mahomes and Co.

Buffalo's front office has spent the offseason trying to rectify the problems that have prevented the organization from getting its hands on the Lombardi Trophy.

Most notably, the Bills lured superstar edge-rusher Von Miller away from the Los Angeles Rams in free agency with a six-year, $120 million contract. It's the type of move a team makes when it's all-in on chasing a title.

Guard Roger Saffold, wide receiver Jamison Crowder, tight end O.J. Howard and a trio of defensive tackles—DaQuan Jones, Tim Settle and Jordan Phillips—were among the other notable signing to an already strong roster in free agency. They also added Florida cornerback Kaiir Elam in the first round of the draft.

Now the revitalized Bills know the path they'll have to take to earn another playoff appearance after the NFL released its schedule for the 2022 campaign Thursday.

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2022 Buffalo Bills Schedule

𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐓 𝐈𝐒‼️

📺: 2022 NFL Schedule Release | 8PM on @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/b0i22sbRYt

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) May 13, 2022

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Analysis

One thing most AFC teams will notice this season is the lack of "gimme" games. The conference is loaded with established, high-end quarterback talent and young signal-callers looking to make a move toward that upper echelon in 2022.

In Buffalo's case, the cross-conference games don't provide much relief, either. Only the matchup with the Lions is one that could be placed in the win column with a high level of confidence, though it'll be favored in most of the others, too.

So, the overall view of the schedule has a couple of layers.

On one hand, if the Bills want to establish themselves as Super Bowl contenders, they should be able to navigate even a semi-difficult slate and earn a pretty high seed in the AFC playoff picture.

It should help they play in the East, which is arguably the weakest division in the conference, and taking care of business against the Dolphins, Patriots and Jets would go a long way to trying to hunt down the valuable No. 1 seed in the AFC.

That said, Buffalo can't expect to breeze through the regular season without being challenged. There are enough potential pitfalls to make the team's life difficult if it's not playing at an elite level all the way through.

Getting off to a strong start would take away some of the pressure and help the Bills start charting a path toward the top of the standings.

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Pivotal Matchups

As mentioned, everything for the Bills starts with the AFC East. Going at least 5-1 against their divisional foes will likely be necessary to achieve the No. 1 seed.

It's a reachable goal, but a lot of it also depends on the development of the young quarterbacks featured by their rivals—Miami's Tua Tagovailoa, New England's Mac Jones and New York's Zach Wilson. The division race could be tougher than it looks on paper right now.

Beyond that, head-to-head matchups against the Chiefs are always going to carry more weight for the Bills until they can beat the AFC's recent gold standard consistently.

Most of the pressure rests on the shoulders of the Buffalo defense, which is why the Miller addition was crucial. The teams have faced off twice in each of the past two seasons. Here's how many yards the Kansas City offense has racked up in each meeting:

• 2020 regular season: 466
• 2020 playoffs: 439
• 2021 regular season: 392
• 2021 playoffs: 552

The Chiefs' offense is a well-oiled machine with Mahomes at the helm and represents a major challenge for any opponent. Even so, those results are nowhere near good enough for a team with a defensive-minded head coach in Sean McDermott.

So, all eyes in Buffalo will be on that side of the ball when the teams meet at Arrowhead this year.