Jan 26, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) leaps over the line of Kansas City Chiefs defenders during the AFC Championship game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Buffalo Bills under immense pressure to win big in 2025

Originally posted on Buffalo Bills on SI | By Owen Klein | Last updated Jul 18, 2025 5:15 PM ET

Never before have the Buffalo Bills won a Super Bowl, and in the eighth year of the Josh Allen-Sean McDermott era, the pressure is now greater than ever for the Lombardi Trophy to come to Western New York.

NFL.com's Tom Blair listed the 11 teams under the most pressure to succeed in the 2025 season, and he listed the Bills and rival Ravens as the teams under the third-most pressure to go big.

"The longer [Lamar] Jackson and Allen go without supplanting him [Patrick Mahomes] in the postseason, the more realistic it becomes, even if only incrementally, that their tenures will end without a title," wrote Blair, and his words cannot be any more true.

Allen and the Bills are 0-5 against the Chiefs and Mahomes in the playoffs since 2020, and they've fallen twice to Kansas City in the AFC Championship, but with an influx of talent on defense, especially on the line, there's reason to believe that trend can end.

But the defense can't do it alone. Allen, coming off his first MVP season, will be under the microscope more with most key offensive players returning, including all five starters on the O-line.

The AFC feels like it's as top-heavy as it has been over the past decade, and the ever-persistent hurdle that is Kansas City likely awaits the Bills in their high-pressure quest to win their first Lombardi Trophy.