Week 3 NFL power rankings: Buffalo Bills on the rise

The Buffalo Bills are one of nine two-win teams after two weeks of the 2019 NFL regular season. With two wins at MetLife Stadium—a 17-16 victory over the New York Jets in Week 1 and a 28-14 thumping of the New York Giants in Week 2—the Bills have shown themselves to be a resilient squad with a stout defense and a budding offense.

While a start like this would normally lead to some high rankings from most major outlets, this is the Bills we’re talking about here. The power rankings released on Tuesday show some trust in Buffalo’s start, but it also shows some outlets unwilling to buy into the process just yet.

Pete Prisco at CBS Sports continues to pile on the Buffalove, ranking the Bills No. 10 this week. He’s been high on Josh Allen and the squad this year, and he states the obvious in saying that Allen is the key to Buffalo’s season. “Josh Allen is playing good football,” he writes, “and if it stays that way they will be a playoff team.”

Over at NFL.com, the Bills come in at No. 12, up five spots from last week. They are the second-lowest of the undefeated teams (save the 1-0-1 Detroit Lions), coming in one spot before the San Francisco 49ers. Dan Hanzus notes that the Bills thoroughly dominated the Giants, citing ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques in writing that the Bills held the Giants to six plays or less on 75% of their drives. He praised Josh Allen’s execution, noting that he was decisive in spreading his completions out to eight different receivers. Hanzus closes with, “Get excited, Bills fans. This season could be fun.”

NBC Sports also has Buffalo ranked No. 12, with the 49ers one spot ahead at No. 11. Buffalo is the lowest ranked of the 2-0 teams in their poll. Scott Bair wrote little, but what he had was positive. “Calling my shot: Sean McDermott for coach of the year. He’s already got my vote,” Bair wrote.

Over at the Chicago Tribune, Buffalo is ranked No. 14, one spot behind San Francisco as the lowest two-win club. Brad Biggs writes that Josh Allen played well against the Giants, and he also said that the Bills’ defense “did the rest.” He mentions Buffalo’s upcoming schedule, which is quite favorable in terms of rest: The Bills have five home games and a bye week in the next seven weeks, with their only road contest coming in Week 5 at the Tennessee Titans.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, ESPN has the Bills ranked lower than any other poll, as Buffalo is No. 15 heading into Week 3. The theme of the discussion this week is “pleasant surprises,” and Marcel Louis-Jacques calls Shaq Lawson Buffalo’s pleasant surprise. He notes that the former first-round pick, whose fifth-year option was declined by the team, has been a strong performer early on. Lawson has one pass breakup, one sack, five tackles, and two quarterback hits through the season’s first two games.

Bleacher Report also has the Bills ranked No. 15, referring to the team as the “Kings of MetLife Stadium.” Brad Gagnon wrote the blurb on Buffalo, noting that the Bills have outscored their opponents 45-14 over their last 76 minutes of football. He also said that the team “may not be a Super Bowl team, but they’ve got the weapons on both sides of the ball to put up a fight in January.” He closes by noting that their ceiling is a Wild Card berth, a nod to the fact that the league’s clear No. 1 squad, the New England Patriots, still loom large in the AFC East.

Finally, heavy.com gives Buffalo the most respect, ranking them ninth overall. That’s the lowest of all the two-win teams, but it is the highest the Bills place in any of the power rankings this week. The write-up focuses on only the top five and the bottom five, so they say nothing about the Bills.