3 Buffalo Bills who have to take the next step this season

ORCHARD PARK, NY – JANUARY 22: Gabe Davis #13 of the Buffalo Bills gets set against the Cincinnati Bengals at Highmark Stadium on January 22, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

The Buffalo Bills have been a playoff club for four straight seasons, but the team hasn’t been to the Super Bowl in three decades. Who needs to step up?

Under head coach Sean McDermott, the Buffalo Bills have been a playoff team in five of the past six seasons. They have won the AFC East the past three years.  McDermott owns a 62-35 regular-season record as the franchise’s sideline leader dating back to 2017.

However, things have been a little different when it comes to the playoffs. The Bills own a 4-5 postseason record under McDermott. The team has reached the AFC title game just once over that span. This season will mark 30 years (1993) since the Bills last played on Super Sunday.

What can this club do to get over the hump? There are three players that must step up and elevate their game this season.

Bills who need to step up: 3. Gabe Davis

He set career bests in starts (15), catches (48), receiving yards (836), and tied his career high with seven TD receptions in 2022. He finished second on the club with those 48 grabs and averaged an impressive 17.4 yards per catch. However, a lot more was probably expected from wide receiver Gabe Davis in his third NFL season.

During the 2021 playoffs, the former fourth-round pick caught a total of 10 passes for xxx yards and five scores in the Bills’ split with the Patriots and Chiefs. He set an NFL postseason record with four TD grabs in the 42-36 overtime loss at Kansas City.

What was somewhat disturbing about Davis’s play in 2022 was the lack of reliability. He was targeted 93 times on those 48 catches, a disappointing 51.6 reception percentage. That’s something that needs to dramatically improve this season.