Bills fans have so much to be thankful for when it comes to how the Buffalo Bills are doing right now. Spirits are at an all-time high as the Bills are currently 9-2 atop the AFC East and have proven all the doubters wrong about the team they would face last season.

At some point, the Bills were a joke for a long time. They were never able to get everything to work perfectly, and that cost them 17 years of playoff appearances. With today’s team, we can be thankful for Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott. Sure, there are moments when fans get frustrated with them, but without them the Bills wouldn’t be the powerhouse they are today.

The regime is all about development and continuity and they have done a good job putting together a competent squad that can challenge for a championship. Now they just have to execute their game plan perfectly to overcome the playoff hurdle. The 2024 Bills could be the team that can do it, and it comes from Josh Allen and four different Bills players who made a big impact this year.

The franchise guy. The best quarterback since Jim Kelly. Josh Allen represents Buffalo Bills fans; be diligent. Since being drafted in 2018, Allen has helped the Bills reach the playoffs five times and is on pace to help Buffalo secure their fifth straight AFC East title.

In 2024 alone, Allen has become a different type of player where he doesn’t turn the ball over. He threw just five interceptions and is the sole reason the Bills ended the Kansas City Chiefs’ undefeated streak in Week 11. He has a lot more ups than downs and as long as he continues to perform at this level, Bills fans can be grateful for him, even beyond the Thanksgiving holiday.

Remember when the Bills lost Tremaine Edmunds in free agency last year, leaving a big hole at linebacker? Well, Terrel Bernard clearly doesn’t, as he has shown that he is very valuable to the Buffalo defense. In fact, Bernard is a more influential player than Edmunds when he was with the Bills. Last year, Bernard was a tackling machine with 143 total tackles and 6.5 sacks. His performance last year was better than Matt Milano’s All-Pro season in 2022.

Bernard has had some injuries this year, but when he has played, this defense is way better. In Buffalo’s final game against the Chiefs, Bernard recorded eight tackles, one sack and had the game-winning interception that put the final nail in the Chiefs’ coffin. His performance earned him the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 11. Bernard has been special since he was named the starter last season and I hope he can stay healthy over this stretch.

For a long time, the Bills were unable to get their offense running consistently. When they released LeSean McCoy in 2019, it took until the 2023 season for them to identify a solid running back, and that player is James Cook. Last year, Cook became the first Bills running back to rush for over 1,000 yards since McCoy in 2016. This year, his on-field presence is the same, but he runs with more physicality than ever before, and his Week 2 performance against the Miami Dolphins totaling three touchdowns was what sparked the Bills’ offense to start the season.

The good news for Bills fans is that Cook has one year left on his rookie contract. So you should be grateful to have seen Cook’s production before he gets paid big money (like he deserves).

Fans outside of Buffalo may not have known that Taron Johnson was strengthening the Bills defense, but Bills Mafia certainly knew. It took Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde leaving the Bills for Johnson to shine as a star in the secondary. Johnson is a fantastic corner player who always finds the right time to be close to the ball.

There’s a reason why Brandon Beane signed Johnson to a three-year, $30 million extension last offseason. His leadership skills and familiarity with this defensive system make him more valuable than we think.

Say what you will about Spencer Brown, he is usually the first player to defend his teammates on the field. Yes, we know his penalties were an issue, but no one can say Brown isn’t a true team player. Whenever tension arises between the Bills and their opponent, Brown is always in the middle, defending his guys.

The right tackle has improved his game tremendously over the last year and Beane decided to pay him this past offseason to maintain protection for Allen. He may not be an All-Star player, but his value to the Bills is worth a lot.