Buffalo Bills stay in bottom half of Top 10 of recent power rankings

This is a recap of where the Buffalo Bills rank among some of the power rankings on other media outlets.

The Buffalo Bills moved to 8-3 on the season with a 27-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. However, did the win do enough to move them up in power rankings? This is a recap of where they rank on some other websites.

ESPN: Buffalo Bills stay at 5

Last Week: 5

This week, the power ranking on ESPN looked at the most important game left on every team’s schedule. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the biggest game selected by Marcel Louis-Jacques was Week 14 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"With Pittsburgh coming into town possibly still undefeated, it will be a prime opportunity for Buffalo to throw its hat in the ring of conference title contenders against arguably the best team in the NFL on “Sunday Night Football.” The Steelers’ defense also will provide a challenging litmus test for the Bills’ upstart passing offense."

While the game will be a good measuring stick for the Buffalo Bills for where they rank among the best teams in the AFC, there is a case to be made that Week 17 against Miami Dolphins could be more important. The reason being this game could be the one that decides whether or not the Bills win the AFC East for the first time since 1995.

NFL.com: Buffalo Bills remain at seven

Last Week: 7

Dan Hanzus at NFL.com was the toughest on the Buffalo Bills, leaving them at seven. They were jumped by the Seattle Seahawks, who the Bills beat, as well as the Titans, who beat the Bills.

"The Bills talked during the bye week about getting their running game going, and we saw that on Sunday: Buffalo rushed for 172 yards at 5.7 yards per carry. Devin Singletary (82) and Zack Moss (59) combined to go over 100 yards for just the second time this year. The Bills are 8-3 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1995-96."

The run game was a point of emphasis and at least this past week the returns were good as Hanzus notes. While Josh Allen has been great passing the ball, the offense could benefit from having a balanced offense, or at least more threat from the run game, moving forward.

Bleacher Report: Bills don’t move up and stay at 5

Last Week: 5

Even with the win, the power rankings on Bleacher Report kept the Buffalo Bills at fifth overall.

"Sloppy second half aside, the Bills did what they had to do to stay ahead of the surprising Dolphins in the AFC East. But it won’t be easy to maintain that lead. Of Buffalo’s last five contests, four come against clubs that are 5-6 or better."

It wasn’t a pretty win but it was a win none the less. However, as they note the Bills are going to have to play better as they will be facing a number of tough opponents down the stretch. They control their own destiny but that means they are going to need to win these games in the final five weeks.

CBS Sports: Buffalo Bills move up two spots to six

Last Week: 8

Pete Prisco moved the Buffalo Bills up two spots to sixth overall and wrote:

"It wasn’t pretty against the Chargers, but the defense was better. That’s big going forward. They face a tough road game against the 49ers Monday night."

While Prisco isn’t wrong that it wasn’t their best performance, the biggest positive to takeaways was that the defense was better.

The Chargers with Justin Herbert under center has one of the better passing attacks in the NFL and the rookie only threw for one touchdown. This came after a streak of seven straight games with multiple touchdown passes.