Bills are named one of the NFL’s most likely early Super Bowl champions in the 2024 season.

It’s a phrase that has become a running joke in Western New York due to locals’ propensity to use it: “It’s our year.”

The quote perfectly embodies the – sometimes blind – optimism that Buffalo Bills fans operate with; Despite a pile of information and a host of circumstances suggesting otherwise, the Buffalo faithful are still convinced that the Bills will finally overcome the obstacle and hoist their first Lombardi Trophy next campaign.

And the optimism, in recent seasons, has been anything but “blind”; the team has been a perennial contender over the past half-decade, clinching five straight playoff berths and four straight AFC East titles as quarterback Josh Allen has pulled the team from the depths of the irrelevance of the NFL towards the notoriety of the general public.

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Given Allen’s excellence — he’s a former All-Pro who has earned NFL MVP votes in three of the last four seasons — the Bills will be a contender as long as he leads the offensive.

Despite this, some fans are pessimistic about the team’s Super Bowl aspirations in the 2024 campaign.

The team, admittedly, has seen quite a bit of turnover in the 2024 offseason, moving on from solid starters Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, Tre’Davious White, Mitch Morse, Gabriel Davis and Stefon Diggs. These players have almost exclusively been replaced internally or by rookies, leaving today’s Bills as a less experienced — and arguably less talented — team than the Bills of just a few months ago.

Buffalo, while seemingly well positioned for the future, has mixed national and local expectations heading into the 2024 season, and there are a multitude of question marks that need to be answered before we have a true reading its potential ceiling and floor. That said, Allen’s presence makes it impossible to completely dismiss the team.

That sentiment was reflected in NFL.com writer Eric Edholm’s recent article ranking the 12 NFL teams that have never won a Super Bowl based on their immediate championship aspirations; the Bills come in third on the list, with Edholm pinning his hopes on their signal-caller.

“. . . “It’s hard to make the case that Buffalo has more talent after moving on from WRs Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis, center Mitch Morse, a slew of defensive linemen and four key members of the secondary this offseason,” Edholm wrote. “. . . But Allen gives them a chance. Was he really stripped of all his weaponry? If you look closer at last season, when Diggs’ production started to decline, the Bills played some of their best ball and got back into the playoff race. Davis has always been a wild card: hot or cold, no in-between.

“With James Cook, two good tight ends, Samuel, rookie Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir and others, there should be a lot of feeding mouths – and not as many yips to get the ball on every play. It won’t be easy, although with the Bills it rarely is. Write off their title chances this year at your peril.

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Edholm’s analysis is solid: Buffalo did cut its roster in the spring, but there’s still talent everywhere. The defense returns nine starters and returns former All-Pro linebacker Matt Milano from injury. The receiving corps, while lighter than last year, is balanced, deploying several skill sets (or, as general manager Brandon Beane put it, “flavors”) that make it a catching unit. deep passes which is difficult. defend.

Combine those positives with the fact that the team still has a world beater at quarterback, and it’s hard to say for sure that they aren’t a Super Bowl contender.

Only the Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals appear above Buffalo on Edholm’s list; Detroit was just a few points away from making the Super Bowl last season, while the recently competitive Bengals missed the playoffs entirely due to quarterback Joe Burrow’s wrist injury.