The Buffalo Bills ended their 2025 campaign feeling like an opportunity had been missed. Buffalo put together another strong season, ending the year with 12 wins. However, losses to New England, Miami, and Atlanta doomed the Bills, causing them to drop from the top of the AFC East standings for the first time in five seasons.
The Bills season, once again, ended heartbreakingly. Buffalo could not finish the job in the AFC Divisional Playoff Round, falling to the Denver Broncos in overtime.
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Buffalo started their offseason with a bang, firing head coach Sean McDermott after nine seasons at the helm. Owner Terry Pegula highlighted McDermott’s inability to get the team to the Super Bowl as a primary reason for moving on from arguably the franchise’s second-best coach behind Marv Levy.
This series of articles will explore each positional group ahead of free agency. This edition will focus on the quarterback position.
Season Review
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is disappointed in having to try for a field goal to tie the game after several unsuccessful drives to the end zone during second half action at Empower FIeld at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Jan. 17, 2026.
Quarterback Josh Allen is everything to this franchise. This team is a .500 team, at best, without Allen at the helm. He played through several ailments and still brought the team to another deep playoff run.
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Allen didn’t play up to the level of his 2024 Super Bowl season, but he was still outstanding for the Bills.
Allen once again was dominant as a runner, acting as Buffalo’s short-yardage attack. He made the most of his receiving corps as well, putting them in decent positions to make plays all year.
However, Allen seemed to shoulder the team to his detriment at times as well. Allen’s injuries hindered him at times. There were plays that he forced in which he would have definitely wanted back. For example, Allen missed close throws in the Philadelphia and Denver playoff games that would have made the team victorious.
Make no mistake: no Allen and there’s no playoffs, let alone a winning season. However, some of his mistakes contributed to a less-than-desirable outcome for Buffalo this year.
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Contracts
Pending Free Agents:
Important Stats
![Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) passes during the thrid quarter in an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. Bills lead 10-7 at the half over the Jaguars. The Bills defeated the Jaguars 27-24. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/xZE9rhSqmVmKzTJfj5P8Ow--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYzOTtjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/buffalo_bills_wire_usa_today_sports_articles_253/24e5e90f627cd9ff802b877d204fd3e0)
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) passes during the thrid quarter in an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. Bills lead 10-7 at the half over the Jaguars. The Bills defeated the Jaguars 27-24. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]
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Josh Allen (passing)– 319-of-460 passing; 69.3% completion percentage; 3,668 yards; 25 touchdowns; 10 interceptions
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Josh Allen (rushing)– 112 carries, 579 yards, 14 touchdowns
Big Question
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen gets ready to take the first snap of the game against the Jets at home in Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Jan. 4, 2026. After this play he left the field and Mitchell Trubisky took over.
Can Allen keep this up?
Allen is all-everything for Buffalo. It’s hard to imagine where this team would be without him on the roster.
He is the focal point for Buffalo’s offense. Whenever he is on the field, the Bills have a chance to win.
However, there were far too many times when Allen went into Superman mode and carried the team on his back. Once again, it felt like Allen was doing more than his counterparts in the league.
Buffalo may have been fourth in the league in points per game, but it felt as if scoring was a bit of a challenge at times this year.
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In addition, Allen’s health had an impact on his play. Allen at 80 percent is better than most quarterbacks at their best. Still, the effect of the injuries limited the superstar at times.
Simply put: the new regime has to do more to help Allen. Otherwise, we see Allen playing over his head, which leads to timely mistakes. Allen is a superstar–he shouldn’t have to force it and carry this team all of the time.
Draft Status
It’s a long shot if the Bills will draft a quarterback this year. It makes more sense for the team to have an experienced quarterback as a reserve to Allen. There’s no way a rookie quarterback can come close to replicating what allen can do. It’s safer to have a known commodity behind Allen on the depth chart.
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This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: 2025 Bills season positional review: Quarterbacks