After another three-score win, the Bills are back near the top
The Buffalo Bills are back among the NFL’s elite in most of this week’s NFL power rankings. Perhaps we shouldn’t call it a comeback, as it’s not like the Bills ever left those lofty ranks in real life. However, after back-to-back road losses against the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans, combined with a close road win over a New York Jets team in disarray, some pundits lost faith in Buffalo.
That faith seems to have been restored after they trounced the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, winning 31-10 in a big-time road contest. It was Buffalo’s first victory this season over a team with a winning record, but more importantly, it was a win in adverse conditions: Buffalo was on the road, in the rain, 2,500 miles from home, and they won in dominant fashion.
We start with the committee over at ESPN, who kept Buffalo ranked No. 3 this week. Bills beat writer Alaina Getzenberg was tasked with discussing Buffalo’s best offseason addition, and she nominated wideout Keon Coleman. She wrote that the rookie has had two straight strong performances, including his first career 100-yard game against the Tennessee Titans and a five-catch, 70-yard performance last week against the Seahawks.
Conor Orr at Sports Illustrated also kept the Bills at No. 3 this week. He writes that Buffalo benefited from two “great weeks in a row” by Coleman. He also noted that he did not like the trade that “handed” Xavier Worthy to the Chiefs, but given Coleman’s success, he knows why both teams coveted their respective choices.
Josh Kendall at The Athletic ranked Buffalo No. 4 this week, a three-spot jump from their spot entering play. He wrote about “something scary” for each team, and for the Bills, it’s their plus-11 turnover margin. That figure leads the league. Kendall notes that quarterback Josh Allen is the only passer in the league who has more than 200 attempts with just one interception, and while he also notes that luck sometimes plays into turnovers, he notes that Allen deserves credit for making that margin what it is.
Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk has Buffalo at No. 4 this week, as well. That’s four places higher than they were before this week’s games. He notes that the Bills have a good chance at clinching an AFC East title, their fifth in a row, “before it’s time to slaughter the turkey.”
Nate Davis at USA Today also has the Bills at No. 4 this week, and he also thinks that Buffalo has essentially wrapped up the division already. He writes that the Bills have the largest division lead in the NFL right now, as they’re the only club at plus-four in the win column. He writes that this week’s matchup with the Miami Dolphins clearly favors the Bills, as Buffalo has won 12 of the last 13 matchups in Orchard Park, NY.
Vinnie Iyer at Sporting News has Buffalo at No. 3 after ranking them No. 8 before the week began. He writes that the Bills “know themselves offensively,” as he seems to like the run-first approach Buffalo has used to great success this year. He likes that the team is taking “calculated deep shots” with Allen, and he also compliments head coach Sean McDermott on his management of a short-handed defense.
Pete Prisco at CBS Sports ranked Buffalo No. 3 this week, up three spots from last week. He writes that the Bills “dominated the Seahawks on the road,” calling it a harbinger of things to come for the team. He also likes that Buffalo can win in multiple ways, writing that it’s one of the biggest reasons why “they are cruising to a division title.”
Frank Schwab at Yahoo! Sports has Buffalo at No. 3 this week, up two spots from their ranking last week. He liked the performance against Seattle, writing that “Josh Allen made plays, they ran the ball well, the defense shut down Seattle’s run game and they didn’t give up much against the pass, either.” He thinks that Buffalo’s best effort on any given Sunday is Super Bowl-caliber.
Finally, Marcus Mosher at The 33rd Team has Buffalo at No. 3, which is three spots higher than they were last week. He writes that Buffalo’s victory over Seattle was the “most impressive win of the weekend by any team.” Mosher wrote that Buffalo “kept Kenneth Walker in check,” which is an understatement given that he carried nine times for just 12 yards. He calls Buffalo a “near-lock” to win the AFC East and host another playoff game.