Buffalo Bills drop in Week 8 power rankings following bye week

The Buffalo Bills had a week off, yet they managed to fall off a bit in most NFL power rankings heading into Week 8. This isn’t necessarily surprising, as the power-rankers-that-be often boost teams that, you know, played this week. However, Buffalo is still ranked rather highly considering that they haven’t won since October 10.

We start with Dalton Miller at Pro Football Network, who ranks Buffalo No. 6 overall this week. He wrote that the Bills “could be higher” based on their “potential,” but two “stinkers” against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Tennessee Titans have lowered their rank. (Side Note: in the midst of “The Drought,” the thought of a game where Buffalo put up 31 points and allowed 34 to the NFL’s sixth-ranked scoring offense being classified as a stinker” was laughable...look how far we’ve come!) Miller calls Buffalo’s safety tandem the best in the NFL while spending much of his write-up lavishing praise on the team.

The group at ESPN has Buffalo ranked No. 5, and Alaina Getzenberg wrote about a preseason prediction that they missed. Getzenberg’s write-up is all about the defense, saying that they initially thought it would take Buffalo’s defense time to settle in to the season before finding its footing. That hasn’t happened, as the Bills entered their Week 6 matchup with the Tennessee Titans as the league’s top scoring defense. While they allowed 31 points in that game, they still find themselves ranked No. 2 in points allowed this year, so that time to settle wasn’t necessary.

Nate Davis at USA Today has the Bills ranked No. 7, which is one spot higher than he had them last week. He referred to Buffalo’s upcoming opponents as “Murdered Row,” a trio that consists of the Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, and New York Jets. Those three teams have combined for three wins on the year, and Davis thinks this is a great opportunity for the Bills to create separation between themselves and the rest of the AFC.

Vinnie Iyer at The Sporting News dropped the Bills three spots on their bye, as the team fell to No. 7 overall. He wrote that Buffalo “stubbed their toes” in their loss to Tennessee prior to the bye, but he still considers the Bills to be the AFC co-favorites, though he doesn’t note the other team sharing that title with Buffalo. He implies, though, that the team is Tennessee.

Dan Hanzus at NFL.com has Buffalo ranked No. 3, down a spot from their ranking last week. He wrote about the Bills’ struggles in the red zone thus far, as he writes that the offense has only scored on 55 percent of their opportunities inside an opponent’s 20-yard line. While the Bills went to the red zone more than any other team through six weeks, Hanzus notes that they ranked just 26th in converting those chances into touchdowns.

Pete Prisco at CBS Sports still has Buffalo as the AFC’s top team, though he has them ranked No. 6 overall. That’s one spot up from last week, and it’s also one spot higher than the AFC’s other top team on his list, the Cincinnati Bengals. Prisco writes that Buffalo is primed to use this week’s opponent, the Miami Dolphins, as the “tonic” to overcome their difficult loss to the Tennessee Titans.

Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk has Buffalo ranked No. 5 overall, which is one spot higher than they were ranked last week. Florio notes in his quick blurb that Buffalo has “plenty of winnable games” upcoming.

Finally, David Fucillo at Draft Kings compiled his rankings based on teams’ point differential against the spread. For the Bills, they are still second in the league, as they’ve managed a +67.5-point differential against what the point spread was. Only the Arizona Cardinals, with a differential of +81.5 points, have a better number. The Bills also trail the Cardinals in actual point differential, as Buffalo has scored 105 more points than they’ve allowed. Arizona has 111 more points than their opponents.