Bills skyrocket in ESPN's NFL Week 3 power rankings

The Buffalo Bills have seen their placement in ESPN's NFL Week 3 power rankings blossom.

Kyle Silagyi | Sep 17, 2024

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A lot of the national offseason discourse is starting to seem a bit humorous in hindsight, isn’t it?

The Buffalo Bills underwent significant alterations this past spring, with stalwarts like Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, Tre’Davious White, Mitch Morse, and Stefon Diggs being shown the exit door as the team attempted to free up long-term financial flexibility while simultaneously resetting its championship window. The turnover resulted in an, on paper, weaker squad that a bevy of national pundits wrote off, with many suggesting that the team was not a Super Bowl contender and that it may have difficulties even qualifying for the postseason.

The presence of quarterback Josh Allen largely quelled local concerns, but some general analysts even questioned his ability to elevate a lesser weapons corps. Through the first two games of the 2024 campaign, however, the Bills are, shockingly, still the Bills; they’ve gotten off to a 2-0 start, displaying resiliency in a come-from-behind Week 1 win over the Arizona Cardinals before dismantling the division rival Miami Dolphins in Week 2. Allen is an early MVP contender while the team’s running game and secondary look excellent, suggesting that Buffalo is still a contender despite all the offseason talk of the contrary.

This idea has been reflected in ESPN’s Week 3 power rankings, as the team has skyrocketed following its Week 2 triumph. The Bills are currently slotted in at No. 2 on the outlet’s ranking, behind only the Kansas City Chiefs; this comes after the team was ranked at No. 8 last week. Beat reporter Alaina Getzenberg gave particular praise to defensive back Cam Lewis, who was filled in admirably for injured nickel defender Taron Johnson.

“The former undrafted free agent out of the University at Buffalo is also a backup at safety and a special teams player,” Getzenberg wrote. “He tied for the team high in tackles (10) against the Dolphins and continuing to play well while Johnson misses time will be important.”

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Lewis has shined through the first two games of the regular season, as has fellow depth defender Ja’Marcus Ingram, who broke out against the Dolphins to the tune of two interceptions. The two University at Buffalo products are just a few of the several Bills players who have flashed to start the year, as Allen, James Cook, Dion Dawkins, Greg Rousseau, Christian Benford, and Rasul Douglas have all looked stellar. This is objectively a different Buffalo team than fans have seen in recent years, but it's one that’s seemingly learned from its past mistakes and evolved on both sides of the ball.

The injury bug has already bitten, but the Bills are a demonstrably well-coached team that consistently gets the most out of their depth players; some tried to say otherwise throughout the offseason, but Buffalo is still one of the NFL’s foremost teams until proven otherwise. The team will look to maintain its elite status and ranking next week when it hosts the Jacksonville Jaguars in a Monday Night Football clash.

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