In this week’s power rankings, the Buffalo Bills didn’t see much movement even though they came away with a win.
The Buffalo Bills ended a two week skid with an 18-10 win over the New York Jets in Week 7. However, it wasn’t the dominating performance many hoped to see since the Jets are arguably the worst team in the NFL.
This was reflected in some of the power rankings this week, including the Bills actually dropping in one power ranking.
ESPN: Buffalo Bills remain at eight
Last Week: 8
This week the ESPN Power Rankings looked at one player on each team that needs to step up in the coming weeks and Marcel Louis-Jacques selected middle linebacker, Tremaine Edmunds:
"To his credit, Edmunds has played through a shoulder injury that he suffered in Week 1 and caused him to miss the Bills’ following game. But when he has been out there, the third-year linebacker hasn’t looked like the Pro Bowler we saw last season. His reactions seem slower, he has missed tackles and he has difficulty shedding blocks."
For the Bills, it probably would have come down to Edmunds or the running backs. As Louis-Jacques notes Edmunds is playing through a shoulder injury that could be impacting his play, especially with his ability to shed blockers. The return of Matt Milano should help Edmunds and the Bills having both starting linebackers on the field should be a big boost for this defense.
NFL.com: Buffalo Bills stay at eighth
Last Week: 8
Dan Hanzus keeps the Buffalo Bills at eighth overall, similar to where ESPN ranked them in their power rankings this week. Hanzus wrote:
"Buffalo’s defense allowed just 4 yards in the second half — not a typo — and was led by Jerry Hughes, who wreaked havoc in the backfield and came down with the game-sealing interception on a deflection in the final minutes."
The defensive performance in the second half was a major storyline as this group had their best two quarters of football all season, led by defensive end Jerry Hughes. While it was against the Jets, they did have Sam Darnold, Breshad Perriman, and Denzel Mims for this game so the offense had more playmakers than at any point this season.
Bleacher Report: Bills drop two spots to 10
Last Week: 8
The power rankings on Bleacher Report was the only one in this group of four to drop the Buffalo Bills after their win and they dropped actually two spots. They were jumped by the Arizona Cardinals and New Orleans Saints.
"The problem? It wasn’t a big one on the scoreboard, despite playing a winless Jets team that is the stinkiest of stinky. As a matter of fact, the Bills actually spotted the Jets 10 points before peeling off six unanswered field goals."
This seems to be the general sentiment coming out of Week 7. The Buffalo Bills got the win but it wasn’t big enough or dominant enough. There were certainly some flaws but at the end of the day, the team is still 5-2 and remain at the top of the AFC East. The question becomes where do they rank within the AFC and NFL as a whole, and that was likely the driving force for dropping them this week.
CBS Sports: Buffalo Bills move up one to eight
Last Week: 9
The only power rankings that the Buffalo Bills moved up was the one done by Pete Prisco. However, he had the Bills the lowest last week so the consensus seems to be the Bills are the eighth-best team in the NFL.
"It wasn’t a dominant showing against the Jets, but they found a way. Now they have a big one with the Patriots."
As Prisco mentions, the Buffalo Bills have a big matchup this coming week against the New England Patriots. While this is not the same dominant Patriots team over the last two decades, they should not be taken lightly and will be a key game this season due to the divisional race.