Your guide to the 2020 Bills season

It’s newsworthy now when a national pundit doesn’t pick the Buffalo Bills to win the AFC East.

Is there a better way to describe just how far the franchise has come entering the fourth year of the “McBeane” era?

Finally, pro football.

With NFL training camps shortened and the preseason canceled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, most fans will get their first look at their favorite team when the regular season kicks off in mostly empty stadiums around the league.

Here is how several News' sports writers see the Bills' season:

Vic Carucci

On June 17, the past met the present in the way so many encounters happen these days. Andre Reed and James Lofton, two of the greatest wide receivers to play for the Buffalo Bills, occupied a pair of boxes on a video-conference screen. The rest were filled by the Bills’ current receivers along with offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and receivers coach Chad Hall.

The team invited Reed and Lofton to share some of the wisdom that helped them contribute to the Bills reaching four straight Super Bowls in the early 1990s and to their inductions into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Buffalo Bills defensive linemen embrace the idea that the onus of success for the team’s defense this season falls on them.

“I’m a firm believer that we’re the tip of the spear,” said defensive tackle Harrison Phillips.

Brian Daboll has seen it before.

A rookie comes into the NFL and has a fair amount of success in his first season. Big things are expected in the player’s second year, and then ... crickets.

Buffalo Bills’ offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has a favorite saying: It’s all about the matchups.

Enter Stefon Diggs. The new No. 1 receiving weapon in the Bills’ offense should give Daboll the ability to dictate matchup advantages all across the field.

Don’t forget about John Brown.

It’s easy to do. He has never been one to seek attention. He’s approachable, but not particularly chatty. If you notice him on a football field, that’s fine, but he doesn’t necessarily go out of his way to be noticed.

Buffalo Bills radio play-by-play announcer John Murphy can summarize this season calling games on WGR potentially without fans in Bills Stadium due to the Covid-19 pandemic in one word:

“The word would be challenge,” said Murphy, who will be starting his 17th season on play-by-play and 33rd overall in the booth when the Bills kick off Sunday at home against the New York Jets.

He’s a Buffalo Bills season-ticket holder. On the list of what’s important in his life, attending games in Orchard Park ranks pretty close to the top.

We started talking Sunday morning, where I usually see him while my family gathers for our weekly breakfast. He pulled down the front of his black mask so he could be more clearly understood as he lamented the fact that, in seven days, neither he nor any other fans would be allowed to attend the season-opener against the New York Jets because of the coronavirus pandemic. His heartache was palpable.