Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw says the Buffalo Bills will not win the Super Bowl this season, pointing to what he called a “horrible” defense as the team’s fatal flaw.
Bradshaw made the comments during the opening segment of Fox NFL Sunday while previewing the AFC matchup between the Bills and the Baltimore Ravens. The two teams met last season in a game Buffalo won 41-40.
“This is gonna be a fun game to watch,” Bradshaw said. “Last year, they played each other and the final score was 41-40, Buffalo. You got two great quarterbacks, all right?”
He noted the strength at running back on both sides, with James Cook for Buffalo and Derrick Henry for Baltimore, before turning to his central argument.
“So you got great running backs, great quarterbacks, but here’s the deal, no good defense. Buffalo’s defense is horrible,” Bradshaw said.
Bradshaw also addressed Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is dealing with a bad ankle. “With Lamar Jackson back, I expect him to throw the football, play action, even though Lamar has a bad ankle. This game’s gonna be fun to watch it,” he said.
Bradshaw then laid out his broader thesis on what it takes to win a championship.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the NFL this season, if you don’t have a great defense … you’re not going to win a Super Bowl. You may have a great offense, but you will not win a Super Bowl. Buffalo right now, fun to watch. Fun to watch. But they’re not gonna win a Super Bowl,” Bradshaw said.
The Bills currently rank 30th in the league in scoring defense. No team has ever won a Super Bowl after finishing a regular season ranked in the bottom three in points allowed. The closest exceptions were the 2011 New York Giants, who ranked 25th in points allowed, and the 2006 Indianapolis Colts and 2009 New Orleans Saints, who both ranked in the low 20s.
Buffalo is in its first season under head coach Joe Brady, an offense-focused hire who has helped the team improve on that side of the ball compared to last year. But the departure of former head coach Sean McDermott, known for his defensive background, appears to have coincided with the team’s struggles on defense.
Super Bowl LXI is scheduled for Feb. 14.
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