Bills slightly ascend NFL power rankings following promising Week 1 win

The Buffalo Bills have moved up slightly in The 33rd Team's NFL power rankings following their Week 1 win.

Kyle Silagyi | Sep 10, 2024

Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

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The Buffalo Bills’ placement in NFL power rankings around the sports media landscape varied entering the new campaign, with the dichotomy in positioning largely coming down to a particular writer’s belief in quarterback Josh Allen’s ability to elevate a comparatively lesser offense. The 33rd Team’s Marcus Mosher penciled Buffalo into the No. 7 spot on his pre-Week 1 ranking; the team has moved up slightly following their come-from-behind 34-28 win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1, coming in at No. 6 in the outlet’s Week 2 power rankings.

Mosher notes the Bills’ offensive excellence in the win but questioned their defensive performance, suggesting that the team has adjustments to make on the defensive side of the ball.

“Things got a little scary for the Buffalo Bills early against the Cardinals as they trailed 17-3 at home,” Mosher wrote. “But Josh Allen turned things around in the second half, and the Bills outlasted the Cardinals in one of the week's most fun games. Buffalo’s offense looked fantastic, but the defense was the biggest area of concern. That’ll need to be cleaned up quickly, given their upcoming schedule.”

Buffalo’s offense did look quite strong following early growing pains, ultimately finishing the contest with 352 yards on the back of Allen. The signal-caller totaled four touchdowns in the contest and spread the ball quite evenly amongst his reworked weapons corps (with nine players recording receptions), orchestrating an offensive performance in which the unit picked up an average of 6.1 yards per play while finishing as one of the league’s most efficient offenses of Week 1.

Mosher also writes that the Bills will need to ‘clean up’ defensive issues, but Buffalo largely did that midway through its Week 1 win. Arizona moved the ball with ease throughout the first half, scoring points on each drive as it possessed the ball for over 20 minutes and converted on five of its seven third downs. Buffalo’s defense shored itself up after halftime, allowing just three points and 80 yards over the third and fourth quarters. Per Howard Simon, four of the Cardinals’ five second-half drives ended with zero or negative yards.

Maintaining the quality of play set in the second half (on both sides of the ball) will be the more pertinent task for the Bills as opposed to ‘cleaning things up’ moving forward. Doing so will be paramount this week as the team is set to take on an AFC East rival on a short turnaround, facing off against the Miami Dolphins this Thursday night. Miami pulled off a come-from-behind victory of its own over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1; the Dolphins are placed at No. 10 on Mosher’s ranking.

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