Matt Milano’s new injury doesn’t sink the Bills because they still have Josh Allen

Being "cursed" is a trait unique to any one NFL team. In fact, off the top of my head, I can probably name at least seven, maybe even eight, franchises who should probably consider themselves unfairly snakebitten.

But if you know the NFL, you'd probably say the Buffalo Bills are at the head of that depressing pack. We got another dose of this reality after it was revealed that star Bills linebacker Matt Milano tore his bicep, putting most of his 2024 season in jeopardy.

After everything the Bills have been through, with a hopeful redemption year staring them in the face, how could you not feel bad for them?

Well, at least they still have Josh Allen, the arguably second-best quarterback in pro football:

Yes, it's not great that the Bills lost their best defender -- the heart of their defense -- before the new NFL season even begins. After Milano also went down early last year, it was clear that the Bills' defense was a shell of itself. The Bills could be bullied, and they were glaringly weak in the middle of the field.

Even still, Allen is one of the best possible saving graces you can have in the NFL of 2024. He is one of the few players in the league who can take over any game on his whims, a veritable MVP-caliber cyborg who essentially says, "OK, I'm just going to win the game" with the flip of a switch.

It's uncanny.

The Bills do have arguably the weakest team of the Allen era on paper, and losing Milano will hurt. A lot. But I won't fade their AFC East chances precisely because Allen remains their superstar, difference-making quarterback. Meanwhile, some of Buffalo's primary divisional competition is spearheaded by the 40-year-old Aaron Rodgers, coming off an Achilles injury.

You do the math.

Oddsmakers with BetMGM seem to agree about the Bills' still-favorable standing in their division:

Where this gets dicier for the Bills is their Super Bowl outlook.

I already considered this iteration of Buffalo a clear second-tier championship contender only because I think other AFC heavyweights (the Kansas City Chiefs, the Baltimore Ravens, the Cincinnati Bengals) are all deeper and all have more star power. Milano was one of the Bills' remaining feathers in their cap. Now, they might not see him until December.

It's no wonder they only have +1500 odds to win Super Bowl 59. Ironically, most of that is probably rooted in faith in Allen's greatness.

The Bills' 2024 season didn't end because they lost their best linebacker. They're still probably going to win the AFC East. They're still going to have a chance in every game because of Allen's sheer brilliance. Just ... don't expect a deep playoff run. The 2024 season is already shaping up to be more of a year of growth than one where the Bills and Allen can actually make meaningful noise in January.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Matt Milano’s new injury doesn’t sink the Bills because they still have Josh Allen