The Buffalo Bills are out of their bye week, so now is the time to review how each position group has measured up so far through their first six games. While they have done well in some areas, others still need work if the team wants to make a deep run in the playoffs.
With the Bills tied for first place in the AFC conference standings with the Kansas City Chiefs, the Bills must control their own destiny if they want to clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC and earn a first-round bye in the playoffs.
The two conference rivals will face each other on Thanksgiving night at Highmark Stadium. It will give the Bills the opportunity to improve on their poorly graded metrics before the big holiday showdown.
Let's take a look at how the Bills scored across their five key areas and how the team can improve going forward.
Ranking 5 important measurements after Bills' bye week
1.) Run-defense: A-
As bad as the Bills' defense has been in the passing game and in yards allowed, the team has improved tremendously at stopping the run, and this year they are 15th in the league. That's a major improvement from last year, as they were 28th in stopping the run. But this year, they've gone through six games without allowing a single 100-yard run.
The short-term mindset for Bills defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard is to load the box to stop the run and force the quarterback to beat them with his arm, instead of his legs. It makes sense: quarterbacks nowadays throw for 252 to 300 yards a game, so the next best thing is to keep teams from running the ball on you and accept giving up 200-300 passing yards a game.
2.) Pass-defense: D
While the plan has been working to stop the run, opposing quarterbacks are having a field day against the Bills' pass defense. They are 31st in the league in yards per game (285.8) and 32nd in yards in the air (1,715).
Right now, the Bills get a pass for their pass defense as they adjust to Jim Leonhard's new aggressive scheme. But the long-term analytics suggest that this pass defense will improve and catch up to their vastly improved run defense in Year 1.
3.) Pass-offense: A-
Despite the short-term problems on the defensive side of the ball, the offense keeps improving, especially through the air. Quarterback Josh Allen continues to show he can consistently be elite in the regular season and, once again, is in the running for NFL MVP.
Allen has struggled to run consistently with his legs this year after taking a hit in the knee in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Despite that, the talented quarterback is hopefully taking the extra rest he needs during the bye week to prepare for the rest of the season.
4.) Run-offense: A
Running back James Cook is third in the NFL with 627 rushing yards. His offensive line should also get some of the credit for his incredible numbers. Cook is also seventh in the league with six rushing touchdowns, while Allen leads with eight.
While Cook is thriving in his rushing yards and touchdowns, he still needs to work on ball control when running with the ball in his hands.
5.) Special teams: A
The Bills are near the top of the NFL in special teams this year, especially in kick coverage and in the return game. In their past two games, Ray Davis opened with a huge return that led to field goals, giving the Bills an early 3-0 lead in both games.
Also, Tyler Bass is having a bounce-back year after missing all of 2025 with a pelvic injury. He recently kicked a game-winning 45-yard field goal in a huge OT thriller against the LA Rams, winning 37-34.
Bills Mafia favorite Joe Andreessen has been a tackling machine on kickoffs and has also earned reps at linebacker this season, showing off his versatility and hard work on the field.
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