The Bills trounced the winless Browns on Sunday, 33-13. The people who write the power rankings didn’t seem to care a whole lot, though, as the Bills barely moved (if they did at all) after a win over the consensus #32 team in the league.
SBNation returned the Bills to the 15 spot a week after dropping them to 17 after the loss to the Steelers. That may have more of a rise by default, though; the Broncos (13 to 20) and Bengals (16 to 22) took big falls after losses that either put their playoff hopes on life support or ended them entirely.
NFL.com bumped the Bills up one spot from 20 to 19 this week. Elliott Harrison used his blurb on the Bills to stump for the jobs of Rex Ryan and Tyrod Taylor, although he brings up the fact that the Bills are still alive in the playoff race without mentioning the myriad of outcomes that need to happen for the Bills to make it in. The Vikings dropped three spots after a blowout loss to the Colts.
ESPN.com was a little more realistic about the Bills’ playoff hopes, even though keeping them static at 25 seems a bit harsh. They point out that the Bills are 24-22 since the start of 2014. The inexplicably moved the Eagles up three spots after a loss to the Ravens while dropping the Chargers five spots after a three-point loss to the division-leading Raiders.
The MMQB kept the Bills on the periphery of the Fine Fifteen for about the 177th week in a row, keeping the Bills steady at 19. The Colts and Vikings swapped 17th and 20th after their game, with no teams moving into or out of the rankings.