NFL Bandwagon Report: Can Bills make good on grand expectations?

There are the teams you’re born rooting for, for better or worse, and then there are the bandwagon clubs — the franchises and star players that pique your interest, draw you in and drop you off. Each week of the 2022 season, we’ve been recapping some of the most encouraging and discouraging developments from around the NFL and deciding whose bandwagon to hop on or off — even if only for a week.

With the 2022 regular season in the books, Wild Card Weekend is officially upon us… and so is the final installment of our NFL Bandwagon Report.

It has been, to use a terribly over-used phrase, a wild ride indeed. And looking at the field of 14 still in contention, we’re in for some fun.

In this final edition of the Bandwagon Report, we’re hopping aboard our final picks that we think can go all the way to the Super Bowl… and we’re also looking ahead to next year with some early bandwagon-ing for 2023.

Buckle up, we’re heading to the Super Bowl.

Hopping on in the AFC: The Buffalo Bills

As tempting as it is to pick the Chiefs here, I’ll stick to the original pick from wire to wire. The Buffalo Bills were the Super Bowl pick from the start, that iconic logo strewn across pre-season predictions at every turn. And yet, this was a season no one could’ve predicted – one that brought storms and relocations and a traumatic health crisis to one of their own, Damar, Hamlin. To call 2022 a difficult, emotional year for this franchise would be an understatement and yet, here they are, ready for the playoff run to come. Armed with the finest arm in the league right now, a lockdown group of defenders and the kind of leadership that is crafted through hardship, the Bills look like the contender most of us predicted they’d be at this point in the year.

Their path forward is an interesting one, starting with a home game against a Miami team whose quarterback situation is very much up in the air. Should everything go as planned, and a trip to the AFC Championship is indeed a reality, they’re in a position to either host (anyone other than Kansas City) or play at a neutral site (if they meet the Chiefs) due to the Week 17 cancellation. (ES)

Hopping on in the AFC: The Cincinnati Bengals

It’s no secret an AFC Championship between the Bills and Chiefs is something many football fans are pining to see this season, but let’s not forget about the Bengals. The No. 3 AFC seed is a better version of the team that advanced to and nearly won the Super Bowl a year ago. Joe

Burrow’s clutch gene is more proven than Josh Allen’s or even Patrick Mahomes at this early stage of his career, so I won’t be counting him out these playoffs – even with a banged-up offensive line. This Bengals defence has been a shutdown unit in the second half of games and their playoff opponents will be reminded of that. (MJ)

Hopping on in the NFC: The San Francisco 49ers

Riding a win streak of 10 games into the post-season, the 49ers are a study in momentum. And considering how stacked this roster is – seriously, find a weakness, I’ll wait – it’s hard to see their playoff record being anything but perfect.

The emergence of Brock Purdy has been a remarkable second-half story. Thanks to Mr. Irrelevant 2022 – the ultimate underdog tale – as well as their elite defence and powerful group of offensive weapons the 49ers are both a David and a Goliath all rolled into one.

They’ve twice defeated their wild-card foe already this season in the Seahawks, and are nearly unbeatable at home, which is where they’ll be for most of this post-season. They have an 8-1 home record, their lone loss in The Bay Area coming against the mighty Chiefs. (ES)

Hopping on in the NFC: The Philadelphia Eagles

There’s no hotter team in the NFC than the 49ers right now but the best team throughout the season has been the Philadelphia Eagles. They have among the most well-rounded rosters in the league and recently showed the ability to overcome late-season adversity as Jalen Hurts missed multiple games with an injury yet the team still managed to clinch first place. Philly had five turnovers in the two games Hurts missed, which shouldn’t be an issue with Hurts back behind centre. Securing the bye gives Hurts and others an extra week to heal up and prepare for a playoff game at home where they went 7-2 this season. Philly didn’t face San Francisco in the regular season and the road to the Super Bowl likely goes through the Niners but between an MVP candidate like Hurts leading this versatile Eagles offence plus a defence that defends the pass and gets to opposing QBs effectively, I’m flying with the Eagles this post-season. (MJ)

Better luck next year? We’re betting on it. Here are two teams in each conference whose bandwagon we’re jumping on now in hopes of a brighter 2023.

Hopping on early in the AFC: 2023 Denver Broncos

Whichever way you size up the season, there’s simply no avoiding the same conclusion: This year was a no good, terrible, total and complete mess. Nathaniel Hackett was clearly the wrong man for the job, Russell Wilson’s talent crumbled before our very eyes, and the team as a whole just never really clicked. Considering the mile-high expectations around this club heading into the season, their ability to reach new lows with every loss was, frankly, stunning.

Surely, they can be better than this… right?

I have to believe the answer to that question is yes. Unlike some of their fellow basement-dwellers, the Broncos don’t have the silver lining of a top draft pick, thanks to the trade that brought in Wilson. But what they do have is a really strong defensive core, a group of offensive weapons awaiting the right playbook, a franchise quarterback whose track record still suggests he can win when it counts, and a new ownership group that has already shown its commitment to sparing no expense in the name of winning. That they are already in the mix to speak with top coaching candidate Sean Payton proves that.

This team feels like it’s one coach away from making a huge turnaround. It has to be. (ES)

Hopping on early in the AFC: 2023 New York Jets

Hot take warning: the New York Jets are one good starting quarterback away from being a Super Bowl contender. Pretty much the only thing holding this team back from a playoff berth this season was poor and/or inconsistent performances from their QBs, several of whom they’d be wise to move on from. The core of this Jets roster is top level on both sides of the ball with several of the league’s top young talents still on very manageable contracts. Whether it’s through free agency, the draft or a trade, don’t be surprised if the Jets make a push for top spot in the AFC East in 2023…if they find their guy. (MJ)

Hopping on early in the NFC: 2023 Detroit Lions

With Seattle’s win over the Rams earlier on Sunday, the Lions’ season finale was technically a meaningless game in terms of Detroit’s place in the standings and dashed playoff hopes… but if we’ve learned anything at all about Dan Campbell’s Lions, it’s that there is simply no such thing as a “meaningless” game. Put simply, the Lions made football really fun in 2022, and with every second-half victory we watched the club shed its Loveable Losers identity and officially put the league on notice that it’s ready to contend. There was no more fitting way to hammer home that message than to take Green Bay out at the knees Sunday night, sweeping the season series for the first time in the Aaron Rodgers era and knocking him out of playoff contention.

That’s gotta feel like a playoff win. And next year, there will be a playoff win for the Lions. With the creative playcalling on offence and crafty clock management on display Sunday night, a playbook that’s harnessed Jared Goff’s strengths and a defence that’s getting better before our eyes, I can honestly say for the first time ever that I can’t wait to see what Honolulu Blue can do next season. (ES)

Hopping on early in the NFC: 2023 Chicago Bears

Lovie Smith must still have a soft spot for Chicago, where he coached from 2004-2012, and the passionate fan base there because him motivating the lowly Houston Texans enough to win in Week 18 didn’t make much sense otherwise. Houston besting the Colts in dramatic come-from-

behind fashion did not benefit the Texans franchise. In fact, it resulted in Chicago landing the first-overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Houston has the No. 2 pick and its front office is likely looking to draft the next Texans franchise QB, which means any other team in the market for a franchise QB (and there are several) would need to look to the Bears to ensure they get the player they want. Chicago’s seemingly in a spot where they have their QB – Justin Fields was among the league’s biggest breakout stars in 2022 – so they can afford to trade down the board to add a handful of meaningful assets and still come out of the draft with several top talents. (MJ)