Buffalo Bills 2026 Season

by Pat Freeman, The Mighty O’Ba

The Buffalo Bills will open their season on Sunday September 13 against the Houston Texans in Houston. This is going to be a great test for the Bills and their revamped coaching staff. The greatest area of concern is on the defensive side of the ball and new defensive coordinator Jim Leonard.

The Bills this year will be running a 3-4 base defense, and the issue that I have told people about is that you have drafted the last 9 years for a 4-3 base. Now I know a lot of you are saying that football is football but at the pro level you are picking players based on them excelling in certain schemes and changing the base of your defense could find some players unable to fit in. The area I have greatest concern about is the linebacker position.

The 3-4 usually requires that you have stud guys, especially in the inside. The Bills’ two starting inside linebackers are talented players but they are a bit undersized for this defense. The problem I see is that they are susceptible to injuries because they are just too small. The other position of concern is the defensive line because the Bills did not draft or bring in a true nose tackle.

We will see as this season unfolds with the Bills playing again on Thursday in their home opener against the Detroit Lions. Honestly, based on last year the Bills have a tough schedule to open the season so do not sell the team this early in the season.