It’s always next year for the Buffalo Bills. But maybe this once it isn’t.

Since 2020, now, the Bills have gone into each season as one of the top Super Bowl favorites. They’re a shoo-in to win double digit games, Josh Allen has 40 touchdowns, and they lose in the playoffs to the Kansas City Chiefs.

To be clear, the Chiefs’ slow start this season is not enough to call for the destruction of an empire. Usually, it’s the ones that are least welcomed that stick around the longest. But there are cracks in the foundation, and following the Bills’ week 1 incredible comeback win over Baltimore, and another two wins over languishing division rivals in the Dolphins and the Jets, they’re in an ideal position to fight for the first seed in the AFC.

Nothing’s ever guaranteed in Buffalo. Losing four Super Bowls in a row alone could make the most sane onlooker begin to speak of curses. But if one year is ever to truly be the year, it might be this one.