‘4 Downs’ with Rich: the Buffalo Bills’ Biggest Questions ahead of the ‘26 NFL Season

Four downs on the Buffalo Bills, and the first one is the question Rich asks about every new head coach. This time it lands harder than usual, because of who is going to be watching.

Is Joe Brady ready for primetime? Not the play calling. Brady has been doing that. It is everything else that comes with the corner office. The red challenge flag. The timeouts. What happens when things move fast and he is no longer just getting into Josh Allen's headset and letting Sean McDermott handle the rest of it. Smart guy. We shall see.

The primetime part is literal. Six games on Buffalo's schedule carry the asterisk, and two of the biggest are holidays. Kansas City comes to Buffalo on Thanksgiving night. The Bills are in Denver on Christmas Day. Add a home opener in a new stadium and the whole world is going to see whether Brady is ready. The front of the schedule is not gentle either, with Houston on the road and Detroit and the Chargers at home inside the first five games. As Rich put it, all five of those teams could win the Super Bowl.

Second down goes to the wide receiver room, and the question is whether everybody eats or Josh needs more. Buffalo added DJ Moore, who Mike Garafolo reported is already on the same page with Allen after touring training camps and coming away calling the Bills the best team he saw. Moore joins Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman, and after that it is Joshua Palmer, Skyler Bell and Mecole Hardman.

The nagging piece of this is history. How many times across Allen's career has someone said if he only had a true number one? They gave him Stefon Diggs, and Diggs was awesome, and it still ended in gear grinding with the previous head coach. Whether that dynamic changes with a new one is an open question.

Third down is Jim Leonhard, the new defensive coordinator, running a 3-4 in a total defensive rebuild. Can the revamped defense provide an unobstructed view? Look at the offenses on the schedule and the question answers its own importance. The Lions. The Patriots. The Rams. Kansas City. Baltimore. Green Bay. Chicago. Denver. Leonhard is calling the plays now in a brand new scheme.

There is talent to work with. Bradley Chubb is on that roster. Ed Oliver is still right there. Greg Rousseau and Terrel Bernard are back. C.J. Gardner-Johnson is going to be yapping at people, which you already knew. Dion Dawkins remains a show favorite.

Fourth down is the only question that ever really matters in Buffalo. Is this finally the year the Mafia can die happy?

New stadium. Potential new home field advantage. Same maybe-best-in-the-world quarterback. A fan base ready to roll. Everyone keeps saying the AFC is wide open, and the Bills are very much part of that wide open. All they have to do is get to SoFi, and four quarters later it does not matter who is on the other side of the field.

Red and blue confetti. That is the whole ask.