Brandon Beane and the Buffalo Bills’ front office have faced intense criticism this season.
With several position groups failing to take the step forward the team was hoping for throughout the 2025 campaign, the Bills’ general manager and his staff have come under fire for their perceived failure to surround Josh Allen with adequate talent capable of making a Super Bowl run.
And some of the harshest criticism came from NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell during a recent appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd.
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Nov 16, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau (50) warms up prior to the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Highmark Stadium. | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
Crushing analysis
Cosell blasted the Bills’ roster construction, citing the team’s lack of impact players, on the defensive side of the ball specifically, as a significant failure of Buffalo’s front office.
“They are not one of the more talented teams in the league,” said Cosell. “You’d be hard-pressed to name an impact player on the defensive side of the ball.”
Ed Oliver got off to a strong start to the season before being lost to Injured Reserve due to a torn biceps, and cornerback Christian Benford has come on strong in recent weeks. But aside from those two players, Cosell’s analysis rings true.
Edge rusher Greg Rousseau has been a disappointment in his first season since signing a lucrative contract extension, as has linebacker Terrel Bernard. Second-year pro Cole Bishop has started to show signs of progression, but he has a long way to go before becoming a household name.
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Greg Cosell RIPPING into Brandon Beane’s work pic.twitter.com/r6o3DYPYwq
— Air Raid | Buffalo (@TheBillsGuys) December 12, 2025No threat
Cosell then proceeded to rip into Buffalo’s wide receiver corps, which is now relying on the likes of Gabe Davis and midseason acquisition Brandin Cooks to boost a unit that has been let down by the uneven performance of Keon Coleman and others this season.
“If we look at Shakir and say he is their best receiver, he’s clearly a No. 3 type — he’s very good at that, but he’s a No. 3 type,” he said. “So they’re really not that good a football team.”
Some may take issue with Cosell’s analysis, as Buffalo sits at 9-4 and in a position to make another postseason run. But much of what he said echoed what the fan base has been saying throughout the season.
James Cook has powered the Bills’ running game to another productive season, and Dalton Kincaid has been a positive force when he has been healthy this season. But outside of the quarterback, running back, tight end and a couple players on defense, there simply is not that much to write home about in terms of high-level talent at the most important positions on the field.
Now, it should be mentioned that the Bills have one of the top offensive lines in football, both in pass protection and the running game. But even that unit has shown signs of weakness this season.
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Nov 16, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard (8) warms up prior to the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Highmark Stadium. | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
Championship hopes?
While many have once again placed Super Bowl expectations on the Bills following their most recent win over the Cincinnati Bengals, Cosell says not so fast.
“There’s been a lot of talk about, ‘Oh this is Josh Allen’s year and if he doesn’t make it’ — that is so silly,” he said. “They’re just not that good overall from a talent perspective. I mean, look what happened last week. They had two interceptions, which were both kind of fluky — I mean, good plays, but fluky. And they couldn’t stop the Bengals at all on third down.”
He added, “They don’t really have an impact player on (defense), and they’ve got no receiving corps. So, they’re a hard team. They have to scheme up everything on offense and hope that Josh Allen, in a given game, makes Josh Allen plays. And it’s very hard to live in that world every single week.”
There are still a few weeks left for the Bills to round into form, beginning on Sunday with a critical AFC East matchup with the New England Patriots. And with Buffalo getting a little bit healthier, this team has the potential to take things to another level down the stretch.
But if you ask Cosell and many others around the league, this team is not constructed with enough stars and could be in danger of a significant step back this postseason.
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