The one where James Cook III ran away with the football
The Buffalo Bills survived a potential letdown in Week 13, laying waste to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second half of last Sunday’s game. It might just be that it took a bit longer than usual for the tryptophan to wear off for the Bills. That, or someone finally woke up offensive coordinator Joe Brady to remind him about the very special talent lining up with quarterback Josh Allen in the offensive backfield.
Running back James Cook III is
a bona fide stud, and he should be an NFL MVP candidate — though his chances of that are null and void after running back Saquon Barkley failed to claim the title over Allen in 2024. Still, in 2025 Buffalo tends to go as James Cook goes.
It’s not that Allen has fallen off a cliff, but he has had to hunt too often for reliable pass catchers. That can only be sustainable for so long before something detrimental enters the frame. At least the Bills have the NFL’s best rushing attack to “lean on” in moments where the passing attack fails to matriculate the ball down the field.
These Bills are a bit of a time capsule on offense, more similar to those teams that dominated in the 1970s than the ones that lay waste to passing records in the 2020s. That’s okay, because it’s clear that even when a team knows Buffalo’s going to run (and to do so using the same play over and over again), they very well may struggle to stop it.
How do the Bills make a triumphant run toward the playoffs? By letting Cook lead the way, and allowing Allen to leverage his magic when the moment dictates. The New England Patriots are a problem, but everyone dismissing Buffalo’s chances in the postseason at this point in time may eventually ask for a side of salt with their shoe.
What does any of this mean for the glamorous world of NFL power rankings — and how does it impact the Bills’ standing in those eyes of the beholder? Let’s dive in to the latest batch, those rankings preceding Buffalo’s Week 14 home tilt against the Cincinnati Bengals.
To those of you new to Buffalo Rumblings’ power rankings roundup, I provide you, the reader, with a convenient one-stop shop to catch up with the Bills’ weekly rankings from a wide variety of outlets and writers covering the NFL. There’s no need to click away to find out more about what each analyst says, but the links are provided in case you want to dive deeper into rankings for other teams.
Before we get to the latest rankings, let’s catch up with the latest ESPN playoff odds for the Bills in four key metrics. A positive development here, Buffalo moves back up the ladder, now at three. People may have panned the Bills’ win against a seemingly hapless Steelers group, but the win was important to Buffalo’s postseason hunt.
Entering Week 14, Buffalo’s odds of making the playoffs now sit at 90% (was 79%); their odds of winning the division improved slightly to 15% (was 14%). As for earning a playoff bye, the Bills’ odds are back up to a still-unlikely 5% (was 3%), while Buffalo’s odds of making it to the Super Bowl are back up to 13% (was 9%). (ESPN’s latest and full AFC playoff odds chart)
Now, let’s live in the present and dive into the latest NFL power rankings, passing the mic to hierarchy experts around the country. Ready? (Week 13 Power Rankings for comparison)
ESPN: 9 (up from 10 in Week 13)
“X factor for final stretch: Running back James Cook III”
“The Bills’ rushing attack — fueled by Cook and his offensive line and coached by Aaron Kromer — has been a vital piece of the team’s success. To secure a spot in the postseason, the Bills need production on the ground when their inconsistent passing game falls short. All four of the Bills’ losses have come when Cook rushes for fewer than 100 yards.” — Alaina Getzenberg
NFL.com: 9 (up from 10 in Week 13)
“If you look at what Buffalo did offensively without its two starting offensive tackles, that was a pretty strong effort in Pittsburgh, all things considered. The Bills’ pass game hasn’t really been pretty this season, outside of some occasional Josh Allen magic and a few big YAC plays. So, for Buffalo to run the ball for 249 yards and control the clock for 42 minutes — out-Steelering the Steelers in their stadium — it was a character victory on offense. Eight runs of 10-plus yards and 16 rushing first downs. Defensively, it was even more impressive, arguably the Bills’ best performance of the season. The game turned at the start of the third quarter on Joey Bosa’s strip sack, which was run back for a touchdown by Christian Benford, who added a pick on the next series. Winning games without Allen going nuclear isn’t always a bad thing, folks. The Bills have their foot in the playoff door, occupying the final wild-card spot, and the division isn’t lost yet. We’ll see you in Foxborough in two weeks.” — Eric Edholm
Pro Football Focus: 4 (up from 6 in Week 13)
“Chance of making playoffs: 94%”
“Chance of winning Super Bowl: 9%”“It took a while for the Bills to get going — they only scored three points in the first half — but once they got there, they didn’t let up in a 26-7 Week 13 win against the Steelers. The offense leaned on a huge performance from James Cook (80.3 grade; 10th) — who ran the ball 32 times for 144 yards — to carry the offense while the passing game felt stuck in the mud.
And the defense, which has been oft-maligned in recent weeks, shut down the Steelers’ offense and came up with a defensive touchdown on an Joey Bosa (79.2 grade; 21st) strip-sack. Better for the Bills.” — Thomas Valentine
The Athletic: 7 (up from 9 in Week 13)
“Best-case scenario: The defense is turning things around”
“It hasn’t been a great year for that side of the ball in Buffalo, but the defense was dominant against Pittsburgh on Sunday. Sure, maybe that says more about the Steelers offense than the Bills defense, but if the Buffalo D can play even average football the rest of the way, this will be a dangerous team come the postseason.” — Chad Graff/Josh Kendall
CBS Sports: 12 (down from 9 in Week 13)
“They ran it right down the throats of the Steelers defenders to win Sunday. That, plus the improved run defense, are reasons for hope down the stretch.” — Pete Prisco
USA Today: 7 (up from 12 in Week 13)
“The league’s No. 1 rushing attack is fresh off producing a season-high 249 yards − which are also the most gained at Pittsburgh in half a century.” — Nate Davis
Bleacher Report: 7 (up from 8 in Week 13)
“The Bills were missing both of their starting offensive tackles, Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown, Sunday because of injuries. Ten days earlier, the team surrendered a career-high eight sacks on Josh Allen. The Steelers’ T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith were poised to light up Allen, right?
Wrong. Buffalo’s offensive line responded. Allen wasn’t sacked once. In fact, he was barely touched. The group opened the way for another big day from running back James Cook, who accumulated 144 rushing yards on 32 carries. The Bills dominated at the point of attack and made the Steelers look soft in Pittsburgh. ” — Brent Sobleski
Sportsnaut: 9 (up from 12 in Week 13)
“Sunday’s victory in Pittsburgh might not have erased the concerns many have for the Buffalo Bills’ passing game, but all that matters right now is the win. By moving to 8-4 on Sunday, the Bills keep themselves in a favorable position for a playoff spot ahead of a critical two-game stretch versus the Bengals and Patriots. For the time being, Buffalo gets to control its destiny.” — Matt Johnson
The Sporting News: 7 (up from 9 in Week 13)
“The Bills ran all over the Steelers to establish their dominant strength of the season and had to be inspired by all the big plays its defense was able to make when not gashed by the run.” — Vinnie Iyer
Yahoo! Sports: 8 (up from 11 in Week 13)
“It’s hard to tell if Sunday’s result in Pittsburgh was due to the incompetence of the Steelers’ offense or a resurgence from Buffalo’s defense. The Steelers had 166 yards and got only 10 first downs. Buffalo was allowing 317.1 yards per game before Sunday. The Bills are getting healthier on defense, and if Sunday was a sign of a big improvement, Buffalo can still be a factor this postseason. They still have a lot to prove though.” — Frank Schwab
NFL Spin Zone: 9 (up from 10 in Week 13)
“The Bills got a much-needed win against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, but I don’t think anyone’s declaring them officially “back” after that one.
Beating up an injured Aaron Rodgers isn’t going to be the moment this team looks back on at the end of the season as a turning point or anything, but winning against the Steelers this week absolutely had to be done, because the Bills have fallen way behind the New England Patriots in the race for the AFC East.
Their loss on Thursday night against Houston in Week 12 was brutal, and really exposed a lot of issues with the team overall. I think a couple of things can be true about the Bills right now. Of course they are a legitimate and viable threat in the AFC. You can’t count them out with the big games Josh Allen has been in and how he plays when he has to put on the Superman cape.
But also, this Bills team is not nearly as good as others they’ve had in their recent window.” — Sayre Bedinger
New York Post: 7 (up from 10 in Week 13)
“Josh Allen set the career record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (76) and the Bills had the most rushing yards by an opponent in Pittsburgh in 50 years during a 26-7 victory against the Steelers. James Cook’s 144 yards set the pace for a 249 on the ground. Christian Benford had two takeaways and scored a touchdown in a 90-second span to start the second half.
With their 26-7 victory, the Bills are now 8-4 for the season. They’re still slightly behind the Patriots in the race atop the AFC East, but they’re in a favorable position for a playoff spot. With that roster’s talent, they should be a serious threat to win the conference at this pace.” — Ryan Dunleavy
Pro Football Network: 6 (up from 8 in Week 13)
“Things looked ugly for the Buffalo Bills in the first half against the Steelers, scoring only three points before halftime. Though they went into halftime down by four, they pulled away quickly with their second-half performance, outscoring Pittsburgh 23-0 in the final two quarters of the game.” — Jacob Infante
theScore: 11 (no change from Week 13)
“The Bills making easy work of the Steelers despite a beat-up offensive line is a promising sign. I need to see a lot more from the passing game before they climb back up this list, though. Josh Allen’s 1.7 air yards per attempt against Pittsburgh is the lowest mark of any quarterback in a game this season.” — Dan Wilkins
Sports Illustrated: 4 (up from 7 in Week 13)
“If we were to take our own expectations out of the fold, we would be overwhelmingly praising an offense and a coordinator for logging a venue-record number of rushing yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers without their two starting tackles. I think with this iteration of the Bills, we have to stop hoping it looks like something and appreciating that each game is kind of its own survival effort.” — Conor Orr
FOX Sports: 10 (up from 11 in Week 13)
“Josh Allen may not look like an MVP anymore, but RB James Cook sure does. And if their defense can play like they did against the Steelers, maybe they’ve got something there.” — Ralph Vacchiano
Tom Brady with FOX Sports: 7 (unranked in Week 13)
Tom Brady’s an acquired taste, no?
Pressbox: 8 (up from 10 in Week 13)
“Attention @ the Ravens:”
I actually believe this is the preferred comment for Bills Mafia:
“The Rich Eisen Show”: unranked (no change from Week 13)
Computer Cowboy (Ben Baldwin): 6 (up from 9 in Week 13)
That’s it for another week of the always scientifically correct and never indisputable world of NFL power rankings. What’s your take on the latest Bills rankings?
