A bad stretch has cooled some early season optimism
The Buffalo Bills lost for the second straight week, dropping a 23-20 game against the Houston Texans on Sunday. The game looked like it was going to be a runaway in Houston’s favor, as the Texans jumped out to a 20-3 lead after their first third-quarter possession. However, a rejuvenated Bills defense combined with an opportunistic, if inefficient, Buffalo offense helped the them close the gap.
Alas, it was all for naught, as Ka’imi Fairbairn drilled a 59-yard field goal as time expired to thwart the Bills’ hopes of overtime. Heading into Week 6, there are plenty of issues in Buffalo, and the people who compile power rankings took notice.
We start over at ESPN, where the power ranking panel dropped Buffalo to No. 6 this week. Alaina Getzenberg was tasked with writing about the Bills’ biggest fantasy football surprise, and she discussed wideout Curtis Samuel and his complete lack of use in Buffalo’s offense. Samuel has nine catches on 13 targets for a total of 48 yards. He’s dealt with a turf toe injury, but the fact remains that Buffalo’s three-year, $27 million investment in Samuel has been especially baffling so far given his lack of a role.
Brian Blewis at Pro Football Network also has Buffalo at No. 6 this week. He notes that the Bills rallied from a big deficit, and he also expresses optimism that the defense will improve after allowing 852 total yards to “two Super Bowl contenders.” Blewis also correctly notes that the Bills are “in the driver’s seat in the AFC East,” which appears to be quite weak overall.
Marcus Mosher at The 33rd Team has the Bills at No. 7 this week. He gives Buffalo credit for going “toe-to-toe with the Texans,” which may be a bit of an overstatement given how poorly most of that game went for the Bills. He also writes that “some rough game management decisions from head coach Sean McDermott gave this game away.” Whether one believes that line of thinking or not, one fact remains: The Texans had chances to score with under a minute to go in both halves. In each case, they had a great punt return, which led to great field position, and ultimately gave their kicker a shot at field goals as the half ended. Those six points were the difference in the win.
Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk has Buffalo ranked No. 10 this week, down a whole five spots. He writes, “Why aren’t [the Bills] linked to Davante Adams?” First of all, they are linked to Adams. Secondly, a cursory look at the salary cap will tell you all you need to know about why Adams is an unlikely addition for the Bills, who would be wise to pursue another option like Amari Cooper or Romeo Doubs instead.
Eric Edholm at NFL Network ranked Buffalo No. 7 this week. He notes that the Bills “made their bed on Sunday with a slew of offensive miscues and third-down breakdowns on defense,” which led to the loss. Edholm thinks that quarterback Josh Allen and his receiver group can each take part of the blame for the loss, as neither Allen nor his pass catchers played particularly well. He notes that Buffalo can be “in relatively good shape” with a win over the New York Jets on Monday night.
Pete Prisco at CBS Sports has Buffalo at No. 8 this week. He writes that it’s “funny” the way perception surrounding a team can change after consecutive road losses against quality opponents. He calls Buffalo “the team to beat in the AFC East,” but also thinks that the way they play this week against the Jets will tell us a lot about what the Bills truly are.
Frank Schwab at Yahoo! Sports has the Bills ranked No. 6 this week. He writes that Josh Allen was “horrible” when pressured, combining to complete one of 14 passes when under duress. He also writes that we shouldn’t “freak out” over consecutive losses to the Baltimore Ravens and the Texans, two quality AFC teams.
Vinnie Iyer at Sporting News has Buffalo ranked No. 7 this week. He writes that the Bills are “a little erratic” in the passing game, which is the understatement of the century after the horror show that the last two contests have been. Josh Allen has endured what is easily the worst two-game stretch of his career since his rookie season, completing just 42% of his passes for 311 yards and one score over 59 attempts.
Josh Kendall at The Athletic has Buffalo at No. 7 this week. He writes that Allen’s poor statistics were less of a story on Sunday than his health. After Allen whacked his head hard on the turf, he remained down for a moment, kicking his legs and in obvious pain. He missed just one play after the Bills forced and recovered a fumble, but he was 0-for-5 in his final five passing attempts.
Robert Zeglinski and Christian D’Andrea have Buffalo at No. 10 in their power rankings at For the Win. Zeglinski writes that we likely overcorrected a bit on the Bills after their hot start given the low expectations many had in the preseason. He writes that “Buffalo’s receivers can’t win one-on-one matchups” (True), the linebackers “are straight-up liabilities” (What?), and “Sean McDermott is still prone to mind-numbing brain farts that this flawed roster can’t afford” (Yes).
Finally, Nate Davis at USA Today has Buffalo just outside the top 10, ranking them at No. 11 this week. He notes that Allen has been putrid over his last two games coming off a three-game stretch where he seemed to be an MVP front runner. Fortunately for Allen, for the Bills, and for fans, there’s still plenty of season left.