The Buffalo Bills are riding a two-game winning streak, and now enter a three-game home stand that begins with an AFC East showdown against the Miami Dolphins for Thursday Night Football in Week 3. Fresh off a 30-10 thrashing of the hapless New York Jets, and with a comeback for ages still the talk of the town, where do national analysts place the Bills in their latest power rankings?
You likely aren’t surprised to learn that Buffalo is the talk of the league right now, at least in conversations about
the best NFL teams. I pointed out in our latest Reacts poll just how fortuitous the early season has been for the Bills, thanks to this tidy chart courtesy of ESPN:
Every bit of that above comes with the territory when a team has the reigning NFL MVP at quarterback. Josh Allen is still very much on an upward trajectory, young enough that his prime is nowhere near a plateau. The Super Bowl remains well within reach so long as Buffalo’s Winter Soldier continues slinging footballs.
But yes, I get it — it’s far too early to talk about the playoffs (even though we may begin doing so sooner than you expect). For now, let’s live in the present and dive in to the latest NFL power rankings, passing the mic to rankings experts around the country…
ESPN: 1 (unchanged)
“Biggest QB takeaway: Josh Allen continues to embrace he doesn’t have to be Superman”
“Although it’s sometimes necessary for Allen to put the Bills on his back, he had issues early in his career of trying to do too much on his own. That still comes up sometimes, but the Bills have shown that they don’t have to rely solely on Allen’s arm and legs. That was on display versus the Jets, as Buffalo’s dominant rushing attack led the way. James Cook finished with 132 yards and two touchdowns, and Allen didn’t score in a start for just the eighth time in his NFL career.” — Alaina Getzenberg
Sports Illustrated: 1 (unchanged)
“There are a small handful of NFL teams each season that make inferior opponents look like actual collegiate programs attempting to play professionally. Such was the case when Buffalo avoided a major hangover in East Rutherford and won a game in which Josh Allen’s nose was hammered (and Allen didn’t score a passing or rushing touchdown).” — Conor Orr
NFL.com: 2 (unchanged)
“It was a dominant performance against the Jets, even as Josh Allen had a pedestrian day throwing the football and suffered a bloodied nose, giving way to Mitchell Trubisky for a short spell. Allen got back in to lead a ground-based punishment of New York’s defense. James Cook led the way, and Buffalo’s defense made a strong statement after giving up 40 points to Baltimore in Week 1. The Bills only allowed the Jets to cross midfield once in the first 53 minutes of the game. Buffalo’s next three games are at home, and the team could be 3-0 in the AFC East by the first week of October. Things are good in Western New York.“ — Eric Edholm
Pro Football Talk: 2 (unchanged)
“It’s gonna take more than a busted nose to slow Josh Allen down.” — Mike Florio
CBSSports.com: 2 (unchanged)
“They dominated the Jets and clearly have staked a claim as one of the best teams after two weeks. The defense impressed in beating New York.” — Pete Prisco
Yahoo! Sports: 2 (unchanged)
“The Bills could be the No. 1 team. Josh Allen is awesome. Still, they needed a miracle to win Week 1, and the defense gave up 40 points in that game. The Bills look very good, and there’s time for them to move up a spot. I just prefer the Packers’ start more.” — Frank Schwab
USA Today: 2 (unchanged)
“2. Buffalo Bills (2): After trampling the Jets, they now start a three-game homestand against opponents with a combined 1-5 record and don’t see another 2024 playoff squad (K.C.) until November. Sure feels like a fast track to the AFC’s No. 1 seed.” — Nate Davis
FOX Sports: 2
“They played way down to the level of their Week 2 opponent (Jets), but did what they had to do. The best news is that RB James Cook (21-132-2) showed they might have their best rushing attack in years.” — Ralph Vacchiano
The Athletic: 3 (unchanged)
“Overreaction: James Cook should have gotten more money”
“The Bills’ fifth-year running back had to hold in to get a four-year, $48 million contract extension. He’s fourth in the league with 176 rushing yards after a 132-yard, two-touchdown effort Sunday, including a 44-yard score in the second quarter. Cook’s five 40-plus-yard touchdown runs since 2022 lead the NFL, and he’s sixth in the league in rushing since the start of the 2023 season (2,307 yards).” — Josh Kendall / Chad Graff
The Sporting News: 3 (down from 2 in Week 2)
“The Bills continue to dominate with the Josh Allen and James Cook show on offense and when their defense plays up to its swarming capacity, they are almost impossible to beat. The big comeback vs. the Ravens in Week 1 was a nice early wakeup call.” — Vinnie Iyer
What do you think, Rumblers? Should the Bills be even higher on some of these lists? I did take exception to Vacchiano’s quip about playing “way down to the lever of their Week 2 opponent…,” seeing how the Jets were manhandled at the line of scrimmage offensively and defensively. Allen has struggled a fair bit against the Jets’ corners, so to imply they played down seems misguided.
But are the Bills so good to be considered the best team per some of the above rankings, or do you see flaws that would hold them back at the moment against the likes of the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers in the NFC.?
