The Buffalo Bills head into Week 4 of NFL action undefeated, now set to face a rather downtrodden team in the New Orleans Saints. The last things the Bills should do is treat an opponent they rare see
as an afterthought, but the truth is these are two teams headed in opposite directions at the moment.
Currently, almost every print and digital outlet sees Buffalo among the very best in the NFL. That makes it difficult to look anywhere but down the road if you’re a fan, especially when ESPN gives the Bills the best playoff odds in their four key metrics — and ones far better than any other team (and improved from last week at this time).
Okay, yes, I said last week that it was too early to start talking about the playoffs. That’s still mostly true.
Back on track… The wildest part? Buffalo has yet to put together a complete game, and it feels like their best is yet to come. Hopefully that means playoffs in 2025, and playing their best football at the perfect moment. What do national pundits from some well-known publications (and others off the beaten path) say about the Bills following their Week 3 win over the Miami Dolphins?
In what’s likely to become a tidy refrain in this space, let’s live in the present and dive into the latest NFL power rankings, passing the mic to rankings experts around the country. This week, we’ll use a reverse pyramid, going from “worst” ranking on up. Ready?
ESPN: 2 (down from 1 in Week 3)
“Biggest issue on defense: Getting off the field”
“The Bills’ defense was incredibly effective against the Jets in Week 2, but Buffalo struggled to end drives versus Baltimore and Miami. Third downs were a specific issue against the Dolphins, who converted 10 of 15 attempts to keep that game close. The Bills also have given up five touchdowns in the red zone this season. Buffalo hopes linebacker Matt Milano and defensive tackle Ed Oliver will solve this issue when they return after being injured.” — Alaina Getzenberg
Sports Illustrated: 2 (down from 1 in Week 3)
“Letting the Miami Dolphins get too close for comfort costs the Bills just enough in my hidden, unspoken fractional scoring system, which I do not disclose or speak about other than to say that I wield my power joyfully but also sometimes irresponsibly and harshly. Please let the Eagles and Bills play in the Super Bowl as I predicted. It’s the only satisfying outcome.” — Conor Orr
NFL.com: 2 (unchanged)
“The offense was methodical and effective against the Dolphins but really lacked a big-play element in the passing game, something that lingered a bit from the Jets game. Defensively, Buffalo also kept the door open for Miami to steal a win by allowing 10-of-15 third-down conversions. In the end, the Bills made enough plays and are earning a reputation as closers, having grown some thicker skin in the past few years. There’s also no real reason to panic, given that their next three opponents before the Week 7 bye (New Orleans, New England and Atlanta) all lost Sunday and have a combined two victories. The Bills will receive some defensive line reinforcements after the bye with Michael Hoecht and Larry Ogunjobi coming off suspension, and we could see rookie CB Maxwell Hairston (currently on injured reserve with a knee injury) prior to that point. Those should be some welcome additions to the defense.” — Eric Edholm
Pro Football Talk: 2 (unchanged)
“Best sign a team is elite? A 10-point win feels ‘close.’” — Mike Florio
CBS Sports: 2 (unchanged)
“It wasn’t pretty against Miami, but winning by 10 against a division foe when you don’t play well is the sign of a good team. The defense does have to get better.” — Pete Prisco
USA Today: 2 (unchanged)
“2. Buffalo Bills (2): They’re favored by 16½ points… …to beat New Orleans this Sunday in what could be the lock of the year − a 14th straight regular-season victory at Highmark Stadium.” — Nate Davis
FOX Sports: 2 (unchanged)
“Josh Allen has thrown for 19 touchdowns with just one interception in his last 11 games, including the playoffs. Somehow, it still feels like he hasn’t played at his best yet this season, which should be frightening for the rest of the league.” — Ralph Vacchiano
Pressbox: 2 (unchanged)
“Look at their schedule. Start pulling out your parka for a trip in January.” — Glenn Clark
Bleacher Report: 2 (unchanged)
“The Bills continue to look like the team to beat in the AFC, largely because of their Week 1 win over the Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore probably has the more balanced overall roster, but Josh Allen is still playing MVP-level football.
Thursday night’s win over the Dolphins was closer than the final score might indicate, which might concern some fans. However, short-week games against familiar division rivals are often closer than expected.
McDaniel and the Dolphins know how to attack a Bills defense that is more good than great. Buffalo’s offense—and a timely Terrel Bernard pick—were enough to counter.
Great teams find ways to win ugly games. Buffalo should actually feel pretty good that it played one on Thursday and still won by 10.” — Kris Knox
Touchdown Wire: 2 (unchanged)
“Holding steady at number two are the Buffalo Bills. It is nothing short of amazing what Josh Allen has been able to do without a true superstar on the offensive side of the ball. The team works well together, and everyone has a role to play to keep moving this train forward, and that’s precisely what happens every (copy missing).” — Josh Petry
New York Post: 1 (unchanged)
“Terrel Bernard sealed a 31-21 victory against the Dolphins with a late interception to set up Matt Prater’s insurance field goal. Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes — the last was a 15-yarder to Khalil Shakir after a critical penalty by the Dolphins wiped out a punt in a tie game — and improved his career record against Miami to 14-2.” — Ryan Dunleavy
NFL Spin Zone: 1
“The Buffalo Bills are 3-0 after a ho-hum win over the Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football in Week 3. Buffalo continues to remain as one of the top teams in the NFL, and at this point, the regular season is just a formality – Buffalo probably prefers to just fast-forward to the playoffs, and for good reason.
The rest of the AFC East looks quite awful thus far, and the Kansas City Chiefs haven’t exactly looked like a great team. This could be the best chance that the Bills have at actually making a Super Bowl run.
There isn’t much more to say – Buffalo is a juggernaut.” — Lou Scataglia
FanDuel Research: 1
(All NFL odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook.)
The Athletic: 2 (up from 3 in Week 3)
“QB confidence: Could it be any higher?“
“Josh Allen is the defending MVP. He’s already up to seven touchdowns (five passing, two rushing) and 869 total yards. He’s as good as there is right now. There’s nothing left for him to prove in the regular season.” — Josh Kendall / Chad Graff
Sportsnaut: 2 (up from 3 in Week 3)
“It wasn’t the prettiest victory for the Buffalo Bills on Thursday Night Football, but blowouts are especially hard to come by on short weeks. What Buffalo can feel good about here is its 3-0 record, with its offense putting up 30-plus points and averaging 3.28 points per drive in each of those victories. Buffalo already passed its first early-season test (Baltimore), so it can just pile up the victories in the next few weeks versus New Orleans and New England. Even with some issues defensively, there’s no reason to think the Bills won’t reach 5-0.” — Matt Johnson
The Sporting News: 2 (up from 3 in Week 3)
“The Bills didn’t sweat the Dolphins much with James Cook living up to his new contract to help keep things rolling with Josh Allen. They have been methodical so far since the Week 1 epic comeback and get another such chance vs. the Saints at home.” — Vinnie Iyer
Yahoo! Sports: 1 (up from 2 in Week 3)
“The NFL season is long, and being rather flat at home on a Thursday night against a desperate division rival like the Dolphins will happen. It’ll be hard for the Bills to get up this week too, considering they’re facing an entirely overmatched Saints team at home.” — Frank Schwab
Love them or hate them, you can’t look away from power rankings. The Bills are ranked as high as first and no worse than second in any of the 16 lists above. Where they aren’t first, they trail just the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Is their toughest task right now being sure to remain focused and sustaining momentum up to and through the playoffs?
