The Buffalo Bills finished their Week 5 "Monday Night Football" game against the LA Rams with their heads held high, taking a 37-34 overtime win.
On the field, the Bills (4-1) looked the part of a winning team in the end. How about off the field after the film has been broken down by NFL analysts across the media landscape?
Here is Bills Wire's roundup of national media power rankings polls following Week 5 and heading into Week 6:
USA TODAY
7. Buffalo Bills (8): QB Josh Allen has proven he can win in overtime. Does that mean he can win in overtime in January? Maybe even February? Monday night's rousing defeat of the Rams feels like one that could count for a lot more than just a mere Week 5 victory.
Pro Football Talk
Bills (No. 4; 3-1): Joe Brady wasn’t going to eff around
and find out by trying to get the game-winning field goal closer.
The Athletic
Monday: Beat Rams 37-34 (OT)
Who have you beaten? Texans, Lions, Chargers, Rams
Buffalo rebounded well from a home loss in Week 4, kicking off a weeklong stay out West by somehow outlasting the Rams in a wild back-and-forth game on Monday night. The Bills have plenty to correct (they had 13 penalties accepted for 112 yards), but they overcame an overtime fumble from James Cook thanks to some heroics from Josh Allen, who helped win the game with his legs (121 rushing yards).
Up next: at Raiders, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
Bleacher Report
4. Buffalo Bills (4-1)
Last Week: 4
Week 5 Result: Won at Los Angeles Rams 37-34 (OT)
A heavyweight fight was expected when the last two NFL MVPs took the field Monday, and it came to be. The Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen and Los Angeles Rams' Matthew Stafford landed multiple haymakers. Ultimately, the former left the contest with a victory, though the outcome didn't center on Allen.
Instead, James Cook coughed up the ball in overtime and allowed the Rams to take possession and attempt a game-winning field goal--which Greg Rousseau blocked. Cook lost two fumbles during the contest. The irony is the Bills didn't lean on their quarterback as much as they normally do. Instead, Cook finished the game with more carries than Allen attempted passes. However, the quarterback led the team with 121 rushing yards.
Buffalo bounced back after a tough loss to the rival New England Patriots. Joe Brady and his team now plan to stay on the West Coast, with the Las Vegas Raiders next on the docket. Allen and Co. can get back on a roll, establish themselves as arguably the AFC's best team and go into their Week 7 bye with only one loss on their record.
CBS Sports
5. Bills (+1)
They found a way against the Rams Monday night, but that defense needs to be better. Oh, and James Cook has to quit fumbling.
FOX Sports
3. Buffalo BillsRecord: 4-1
Previous ranking: 5 ↑
Super Bowl odds: +800 (tied for third-best)
That was a heavyweight win in Los Angeles on Monday night, and it was mostly thanks to the power of Josh Allen. He had 121 rushing yards, and combined with RB James Cook, for 232 total. When those two are rolling, this Bills team is just impossible to stop, even on a night when they were missing No. 1 WR D.J. Moore. Sure, they needed a field goal block in overtime to pull it off and their defense was generally terrible.
This was still the perfect bounce-back game from the Bills' stumble against the Patriots last week. It’s early, but it really is starting to feel like the Bills and Chiefs are headed towards an eventual showdown again in the AFC playoffs. The Bills really need to fix their defense before then.
Next game: @ Raiders (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET)
Stat To Know: Allen earned his first career overtime win, improving to 1-7 in overtime games with the Bills.
ESPN
3. Buffalo Bills (4-1)Week 5 result: Beat the Rams 37-34 (OT)Week 5 ranking: 4
Biggest issue on defense: Letting offenses off the hook
The Bills haven't had much issue pushing offenses backward on first down. But opponents have had far too much success extending drives in second-and-long and third-and-long situations. Plenty of this has to do with the Bills' dwindling cornerback depth, but that's hardly an excuse for how C.J. Stroud, Jared Goff, Drake Maye and Matthew Stafford completed 74.6% of their passes for 558 yards and five touchdowns (posting a 80.8 QBR) on second downs against the Bills.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: NFL power rankings roundup: Where the Bills land in national polls ahead of Week 6
