The NFL football team with the longest playoff drought is not the Cleveland Browns or Jacksonville Jaguars. While both of those teams have been hopeless over the last decade, it is a team that has a proud history and has been to a Super Bowls that holds that unfortunate distinction. The Buffalo Bills have not made it to the NFL playoffs in 17 seasons, the longest of any NFL team. Despite this, the Bills come into the 2017 NFL season with hope and want to prove they belong.
However, Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula is not going to concede anything to his franchise and isn’t even promising an NFL playoffs appearance.
According to ESPN, the Bills’ owner said that he wants and expects his team to prove themselves and earn the respect through their play on the field.
Terry Pegula’s comments
When it comes to making it back to the NFL playoffs, Terry Pegula said that earning respect from other teams, other players, and the Buffalo Bills fans is more important than promising a playoff spot. Pegula said that wherever it falls is where it will fall but the most important thing is playing hard and gaining respect around the NFL. This is a huge difference from Rex Ryan, who has always believed in talking big and making promises, even when his team is not at the level needed to reach his boasts.
Replacing Rex Ryan as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills is Sean McDermott, who is taking on a head coaching job for the first time in his career.
Much like Pegula, McDermott is not making any promises and is not making huge boasts or guarantees. Instead of coming in and promising the sky like Rex Ryan did, McDermott is talking about turning the Bills into a contender – and doing it the right way.
Terry Pegula said that Sean McDermott is bringing in players with the same mindset that he has, players who want to execute his plans and make it work.
Pegula said that McDermott wants to execute a plan and turn the Buffalo Bills into contenders and he wants to do it right and build an organization that will win on a consistent basis, not just this year but in years to come.
The 2017 Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills face a huge obstacle from the start. They are in the AFC East alongside the New England Patriots.
There is no chance for any team other than New England to win the division but the Bills have as good a chance as anyone for an AFC Wildcard playoff spot in 2017. In their own division, they face the upstart Miami Dolphins as well as the New York Jets, a team picked to finish at the bottom of the entire NFL.
Tyrod Taylor is getting one more chance to prove he can lead the Buffalo Bills to the NFL playoffs. There are other weapons on offense, including Sammy Watkins at wide receiver and LeSean McCoy at running back. This Bills team has a chance in 2017 but as far as Terry Pegula believes, it all starts with earning respect.
