Buffalo is universally thought of as one of the league’s best teams
After Sunday’s thrilling 30-27 victory over the Miami Dolphins, the Buffalo Bills are 6-2 and in the driver’s seat in the race for their fifth-straight AFC East Division crown. It took a franchise-record field goal from Tyler Bass, as his 61-yard kick catapulted the Bills to victory. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how a team wins, it just matters that the team wins.
The power-rankers this week all seem to have come close to a consensus top-four. The Bills, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Detroit Lions are all up there on every list, while the fourth team is either the Baltimore Ravens, the Washington Commanders, or even the Pittsburgh Steelers in one ranking.
We start over at ESPN, where the Bills are ranked No. 3 this week. Bills beat writer Alaina Getzenberg was tasked with writing about Buffalo’s most important remaining game, and clearly, she wrote about their Week 16 clash with the New England Patriots. I’m kidding. She wrote about the Week 11 showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs, which is a chance to renew one of the league’s best current rivalries.
Nate Davis at USA Today has Buffalo ranked No. 4 this week. He notes that newly acquired wideout Amari Cooper has just five catches with the Bills, yet that lack of production hasn’t stopped a Buffalo offense that keeps improving. He also notes that the team is likely to keep kicker Tyler Bass after his game-winning kick.
Mike Florio ranked Buffalo No. 3 this week. He notes that “the best teams win when it feels like they’re going to lose,” which I’m assuming is a reference to the Bills pulling off a win against the Dolphins on Sunday. My only bone of contention there is that I never felt like that was a game Buffalo was going to lose.
Josh Kendall at The Athletic ranked Buffalo No. 4 this week. He writes that the Bills “something nice” is quarterback Josh Allen’s touchdown-to-interception ratio. Allen has thrown 17 touchdowns against just two interceptions this season. He and Lamar Jackson are the only quarterbacks in the league with 10 touchdowns or more with so few interceptions.
Pete Prisco at CBS Sports ranked the Bills No. 3 this week. He notes that Buffalo has to “fix their run defense,” but he also thinks that all of the Bills’ games that remain will be more about playoff seeding than they will be about making the playoffs.
Vinnie Iyer at Sporting News has the Bills at No. 3 this week, as well. He writes that the Bills need to rely on their “loaded” offense to offset the issues that they’re having stopping opposing running backs. I think that’s the first time I’ve heard someone call the Bills’ offense “loaded” in a while.
Matt Johnson at Sportsnaut has Buffalo ranked No. 4 this week. He discusses loyalty and how it often doesn’t pay off; however, in this case, he notes that Buffalo’s loyalty to kicker Tyler Bass paid off with a big game-winning kick. That loyalty may have been in part a love for Bass, but it’s also likely that it was driven by salary-cap implications. Either way, Bass came up huge.
Robert Zeglinski and Christian D’Andrea at For the Win have the Bills ranked No. 4 this week. They write that Buffalo “sweated out” this win thanks to Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. They add that Josh Allen showed that his “superhero cape” is still at the ready, as he put the team on his back and willed them to a win. They end by saying that the Bills need to find help at off-ball linebacker or safety, and while I don’t disagree, the best linebacker Buffalo is going to add is likely the one who’s already rehabbing on their injured reserve list.
Frank Schwab at Yahoo! Sports has the Bills ranked No. 4 this week. He writes that the Bills “didn’t look great” against the Dolphins, but it was okay given that a “desperate” Miami team was likely playing for its season. He notes that Buffalo can clinch the AFC East as early as December 1.
Finally, Marcus Mosher at The 33rd Team has Buffalo ranked No. 3 this week. He reminisces about a time in the offseason when the New York Jets were favored to win the AFC East, and he calls the Bills a “clear No. 2 in the AFC.” The Ravens might have something to say about that given their 35-10 drubbing of the Bills earlier this season; however, the Bills are the two seed at the moment.