The Bills fall into obscurity is likely beginning once again. There is still time to turn it around of course, but let’s be real here. We know they won’t. The Bills starting stronger than expected and fading into mediocrity is as constant as the Patriots being good, the Browns being bad, the Steelers sucking against bad teams on the road, and Eli Manning making a dumb face. These aren’t so much trends as facts until proven otherwise.

Is it just me who seems to have seen this happen with the Bills a lot over the past 20ish seasons, since the Music City Miracle? It feels like the Bills have a weird habit of entering the season with low expectations, win a few games people didn’t expect them to win, get a bit of a bandwagon momentum going, then come back to earth and draft somewhere in the early teens or high single digits. They went 4-2 last year to start, with 4 wins in a row. Ended 7-9. They were 5-4 in 2015, potential outside playoffs candidate. 8-8. 5-3 before that, 9-7 to finish, possibly the best season they’ve had in a long time.

They sucked in ’13.

They were 3-3 in ’12 but then finished 6-10.

They started 5-2 in ’11 (Including a win over SB bound NE), but finished 6-10.

They didn’t win a game until week 10 in ’10

They sucked in ’09

They started 5-1 in ’08, only to finish 7-9.

In ’07, they fought back from 0-3 to go 7-6 and threaten the playoffs, then finished 7-9.

They just sorta went off and on in ’06, ended 7-9

They sucked in ’05

They actually started bad (1-5) in ’04 only to finish strong at 9-7, but missed the playoffs

Started evenly in ’03, faded to 6-10

They started 5-3 in ’02 and then 8-8

Straight trash in ’01, 3-13, their worst finish on this list.

Went 7-4 in ’00, finished 8-8

Music City Miracle in ’99.

A lot of 5-7 win seasons. A couple 9 win seasons, a couple 8 win seasons. The Bills have been a consistent level of mediocrity for the entire millennium. I’ve seen nothing this season that indicates this season is any different. They beat the Jets, who are also mediocre. They beat the Broncos, which was a surprise at the time but looks significantly less impressive now. They beat the Falcons, who have taken a big step back from ’16. They beat a trash Bucs team and a mediocre Raiders team. They’ve also lost to the Panthers (who might be good), the Bengals (mediocre), the Jets (mediocre), and the Saints (A good team). No real statement wins in there.

The back half of the schedule looks similar. Pats twice (probable losses). Chargers (Could go either way). Chiefs (Probable loss). Colts (Probable win), and Dolphins twice (I’m going to assume a split). I think the Bills are right on track for a 7 to 9 win season and a playoff miss.

Never trust the Bills until they are 100% locked into the playoffs.