Bills' Record Is Great, But Deceiving

As the Bills look to settle in on both sides of the ball, they’d be wise to keep riding Devin Singletary on offense.

Luckily for the Buffalo Bills, wins and losses in the NFL aren’t awarded on style points.

“I’m done apologizing for ugly wins,” safety Micah Hyde said after Buffalo’s 24-9 win over Washington. “It’s a win. We’re 6-2. This time last year we were 2-6.”

That 6-2 record is in fact much better than the alternative. The Bills are off to their best start since 1993, which just so happens to be the last year Buffalo went to the Super Bowl.

But if this first half of the season has taught us anything, it’s that this Bills team is playing with fire. And it has a long way to go if it wants to be considered a serious threat in the AFC and not just the beneficiary of a soft schedule.

Buffalo’s record is one thing. But the prevailing theme for the Bills through eight games is inconsistency. Performances have been littered with slow starts and strong finishes, or strong starts and slow finishes. One side of the ball is often forced to pick up the slack for the other. There’s a prevailing sense that this team is not playing up to its record, that it can’t be considered the real deal until it proves it against better competition.

Buffalo’s recent stretch against the NFC East showcases this dichotomy.

The Bills failed to bring their “A” game in Week 8 against the Philadelphia Eagles and paid the price. The Eagles came into that game on the ropes in a game that was there for the taking. For all of Philadelphia’s flaws, however, the Eagles remain a quality team. They came into Buffalo’s house and smashed the Bills with the run game while preventing Buffalo’s offense from finding its rhythm. It was a wake-up call if there ever was one.