The Buffalo Bills continue to move up the Power Rankings after a big win over the Los Angeles Rams.
For the second straight week, the Buffalo Bills needed a fourth quarter comeback to remain undefeated. After beating the Dolphins in Week 2, the Bills were able to secure a 35-32 win over the Los Angeles Rams with a dramatic final drive that had everything from a 3rd and 22 conversion, to a pass interference call on fourth down that ended with a Tyler Kroft touchdown catch with 15 seconds left.
The Bills have moved to 3-0 and continue to move up in this week’s power ranking.
ESPN: Bills ranked fifth in the NFL
The first power ranking is on ESPN as the Buffalo Bills move up one spot from sixth last week to fifth this week. This week’s edition looked at preseason takes writers got wrong and no surprise it is about their defense:
"What we got wrong: Buffalo’s defense would lead the way again while its offense would be somewhere between good and competent.Sound the buzzer; this take is dead wrong. Through three weeks, the Bills sport the fourth-best offense in the NFL and the second-best passing attack. Josh Allen has looked like an MVP candidate in his first three games, willing the Bills to victory with fourth-quarter comebacks in each of his past two."
The Bills offense has been nearly unstoppable, especially in the first half, as Josh Allen has thrown for over 300 yards each of the first three games and 12 total touchdowns. However, the Bills defense has not looked nearly as dominant and have given up the same number of 300-yard passers (2) that they did all last year.
This is something the coaching staff is sure to focus on this week.
NFL.com: Bills remain at sixth
Dan Hanzus had the Buffalo Bills among the highest early this season however the Bills haven’t been able to move much higher and remain at sixth overall. Hanzus wrote:
"It’s not often that a team gives up 29 unanswered points in a game and still wins, but this is 2020 and the Bills have a little bit of magic to them right now."
There is no doubt about this but the question is how long will the magic last? If the Buffalo Bills want to get where many hope they can go, which is a deep playoff run, they can’t afford to continue to build these big leads and let the other teams back in.
This is also not new to this year as the Bills did the same thing against the Houston Texans in the playoffs last year. The trend certainly has to be concerning.
Bleacher Report: Bills move up one to sixth
Similar to NFL.com, the Buffalo Bills can’t crack the Top 5 and move to sixth in their latest rankings. Brad Gagnon gives an interesting perspective on the game against the Rams:
"“The Bills generally cruised against inferior opponents in Weeks 1 and 2, and this was their first true challenge,” he said. “It’s discouraging that they blew a four-score lead, but it’s even more encouraging that they built that lead and that they responded to adversity with a game-winning touchdown drive. This was a character-building performance for an evolving team.”"
There is certainly some validity to this and it is good to see that the Bills are winning games even when they let teams back into it. The game against the Texans, it never felt like the Bills regained their composure when the Texans cut into the lead. However, this time there doesn’t seem to be any panic on the sideline and the players just continue to try to do their job.
CBS Sports: Bills move up one spot to fourth
CBS Sports had the Buffalo Bills fifth last week and after their performance moved up one more to fourth. Pete Prisco wrote:
"Josh Allen has the offense looking special, but the defense has had some issues. They have to play better on that side of the ball."
Prisco reiterated the theme for the Buffalo Bills through the first three weeks. The Bills offense looks great, due in large part to Josh Allen, but the defense has to be a concern.
The Buffalo Bills head west to take on the Las Vegas Raiders and the hope is that the defense can have a better performance than the past two weeks.