After another dominant performance for the Buffalo Bills, this one a 40-0 drubbing of the Houston Texans, most media outlets have taken notice of our boys from Orchard Park. The Bills find themselves nestled firmly in the league’s upper tank in the Week 5 NFL power rankings, with a few outlets placing them in the top spot overall.
We’ll start at Sports Illustrated, where the Bills are ranked No. 7 overall. I can’t go any further into why for a few reasons: first, there’s a paywall, and second, I can’t subscribe from my school computer. So if my principal is reading this (Hello, friend!), I’m sorry for writing during my duty period. But Bills Mafia doesn’t wait for the end of the school day, and neither can I. I’ll prioritize my deadline for now, but I’ll pay the $1 so that I can read more next week.
Nate Davis at USA Today has Buffalo ranked No. 6 overall, up one spot from his ranking last week. He notes that the Bills are in the midst of a dominant three-game stretch, outscoring their opponents 118-21 in that span. However, he writes that with a caveat, calling the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans “severely underpowered” opponents. He writes that he’ll think the Bills are for real if they defeat the Kansas City Chiefs this weekend at Arrowhead Stadium.
Vinnie Iyer at The Sporting News has the Bills ranked No. 4 overall, one spot higher than they were last week. He writes that the Bills “have pitched two shutouts in four games,” noting that the defense has finally arrived at the level that head coach Sean McDermott and assistant head coach/defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier expect it to be. Iyer also writes that Josh Allen is back to form after a weak Week 1.
Pete Prisco at CBS Sports also has Buffalo ranked No. 4 overall, and that’s also one spot higher than he had the club last week. He writes what essentially all of us are thinking, calling this week’s matchup with the Chiefs a “proving ground” for the Bills. After last year’s unceremonious end to the playoff run against Kansas City, coupled with an ugly regular-season loss at the hands of the Chiefs, Prisco is spot-on in his assessment.
Dan Hanzus at NFL Network has Buffalo ranked at No. 3 this week, which is one spot higher than he had them last week. He writes that Buffalo is “absolutely humming on offense” at this point, which looks to be completely correct based on point totals; however, Bills fans have watched the team score a ton even when they haven’t quite hit on all cylinders in two of the last three games. Hanzus finishes by noting how important linebacker Matt Milano, who injured his hamstring on Sunday, is to the Bills’ chances against Kansas City this upcoming Sunday night.
Dalton Miller at Pro Football Network has the Bills ranked at No. 2 overall, and he has high praise for the squad. He writes that the Bills “may be the most terrifying team in the AFC,” going on to say that the roster is “built beautifully.” He compared some of Buffalo’s recent opponents to FCS teams, but also notes that if Josh Allen can return to his MVP-level from 2020, Buffalo could “walk away” with the AFC.
Mark Maske at the Washington Post has the Bills at No. 1 overall this week, up a spot from last week’s rank. He called their Week 1 defeat against the Pittsburgh Steelers “inexplicable,” moving on to note just how thoroughly the Bills have beaten their last three opponents. He writes that they’ve looked like the league’s top team over the last three weeks.
Finally, ESPN also has the Bills at No. 1 overall, up two spots from their ranking last week. The Worldwide Leader’s blurb is about each team’s biggest surprise thus far on the year and, for Buffalo, Alaina Getzenberg writes about the team’s dominant defense. She notes that Buffalo is only the fifth team in the last 20 years to have a scoring differential of plus-80 through four games. While she does write that the Bills have played against three backup quarterbacks in that span, she correctly notes that it’s still the NFL, so the accomplishment is a big one.