Buffalo Bills: National media members harmonious in latest power rankings

Here is a look at where some sports media outlets rank the Buffalo Bills prior to its Week 1 contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The NFL’s power rankings are not official statistics. In fact, many renditions published throughout the media harbor varying opinions. Unlike the NCAA’s Top 25 football rankings, these NFL’s rankings are not voted on by a selection committee nor do they determine playoff seeding. They are merely an uncorroborated pecking order of the 32 teams based on discretionary benchmarks.

What’s most intriguing about the power rankings is that they are updated each week to account for a team’s improvement or regression over the course of a season. Here is the first look at the initial power rankings of the Buffalo Bills from a few notable media outlets.

ESPN: Football Power Index (FPI) ranks the Bills as the third best team in the league

Respectfully, Buffalo sits as the third-best team in the league behind the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. NFL Nation reporters point out that the Bills’ familiarity on both sides of the ball and within its coaching staff should help the team reach the Super Bowl.

"Continuity is key in the NFL, and the Bills return 21 starters from last season’s team that was one win from the Super Bowl, as well as the same head coach and coordinators for a fourth straight year. With the sting from last season’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs still fresh in their minds, the Bills will make a Super Bowl appearance for the first time since the 1993 season. — Marcel Louis-Jacques"

Buffalo finished the season as the second best team in the AFC a year ago. They locked up the second seed in the playoffs and lost to the Super Bowl’s American Conference representative. A third place start in these power rankings is equitable.