Buffalo Bills still earning respect when it comes to power rankings

The Buffalo Bills made a return to the postseason, but that isn’t enough for ESPN to put the team in the top half of the league in terms of power rankings.

Tell a Buffalo Bills fan that the team isn’t going to return to the postseason in 2019. I would love to hear the responses.

While fans are still riding the high of a postseason game, there is still plenty to be improved upon heading into next season. From figuring out the quarterback situation on down, Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott have a lot of work to do in the coming months.

But the way the team finished the season may have some thinking that the Bills are considered at least among the top half of the NFL heading into this new league year. Not according to ESPN.

ESPN’s first 2018 power rankings have the Bills listed No. 21 overall, behind the likes of the San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, and others.

This is an improvement from the start of the year when the team was ranked No. 26 overall by ESPN. If you need a good laugh, here is the tidbit given in that original power rankings article:

"The Bills brought in Anquan Boldin to bolster their wide receiver corps. Boldin will be 37 in October, but he had twice has many touchdown receptions (eight) as any Bills player last season. At the very least he’ll be a nice red zone option for Tyrod Taylor."

Buffalo Bills legend Anquan Boldin.

So after a dismal outlook at the start of the season, things turned around. ESPN only saw the turnaround good enough to list the Bills No. 21 overall, but Bills fans are used to being underdogs by now.

These power rankings could change drastically if the Bills get a new quarterback or at least clarify the situation for 2018. The same goes for finding a center and potentially adding a big name along the defensive line.

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What do you think. Is the No. 21 overall ranking insulting?