The Buffalo Bills haven’t won the AFC East division title since the 1995 season. A 22-year drought has been on their shoulders since, but this year shows great promise to ending this long stretch. As the trade deadline came to an end at 4:00 PM Tuesday afternoon, the Bills enter the second half of the season with new WR Kelvin Benjamin.
Bills Acquire Kelvin Benjamin To Push For AFC East Title
A Struggling Passing Game
Buffalo traded a third and seventh round pick to bring Benjamin to the Bills. This was a much-needed acquisition for the Bills passing game. Buffalo currently ranks 30th in receiving yards per game and 31st in receptions. Their top two leaders in receiving yards are Charles Clay and LeSean McCoy. Neither of these two is a wide receiver, Clay is a tight end and McCoy a running back. Kelvin Benjamin, now in a Bills uniform, will give QB Tyrod Taylor a reliable option out wide.
Benjamin has had a respectable year thus far. The wide receiver currently has 475 yards receiving on 32 catches and two touchdowns on the year. He was the leading receiver on the Carolina Panthers for the first eight weeks of the season. He will most likely be the number one target for Taylor and the Bills. Kelvin will look to put up his second 1,000-yard receiving season in his fourth year in the league.
Close Race For AFC East
The Buffalo Bills are right behind the New England Patriots for the top spot in the AFC East. The Bills are only one win behind the 6-2 Patriots with a 5-2 record of their own. With the Pats on their bye-week, the Bills look to have a tie for the top spot with a win in New York against the Jets Thursday night.
Kelvin Benjamin will really help stretch the offense for the Buffalo Bills at a crucial point in the season. The Bills still have five of their six divisional games to play in the final nine games of the season. This Buffalo team has shown strong performances through the first half. Beating the Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders and Atlanta Falcons with the Raiders and Falcons being playoff teams a year ago. The Bills have surprised people with their 5-2 record, especially their rivals in the AFC East. Benjamin will only improve their offense and it will come down to those five divisional games remaining to see if they will take the AFC East for the first time since 1995.