NFL power rankings Week 15: Bills slide after losing wild game to Rams

The Buffalo Bills are moving down in the NFL power rankings of experts going into Week 15 after losing to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

In what was one of the more wild games you will ever see, the Buffalo Bills were narrowly defeated by the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14, with Sean McVay's squad winning a shootout over Sean McDermott's, 44-42.

The Rams looked like they were going to run away with the game after staking themselves to a 31-14 lead in the third quarter, but the Bills clawed their way back in and were within a field goal midway through the third quarter

After the Rams answered with a touchdown drive to grab a nine-point lead, the Bills followed that up with another touchdown drive, although curiously running a QB sneak that forced Buffalo to use a timeout derailed any chance the Bills had of getting the ball back after the failed onside kick.

The loss spoils an incredible individual performance from quarterback Josh Allen, who scored a whopping six total touchdowns while throwing for 342 yards and rushing for another 82. Allen also broke the record for the most fantasy football points ever scored by a quarterback in one game.

Thanks to owning the strength of victory tiebreaker over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Bills maintain their No. 2 seed in the AFC for another week. As you'd expect, the loss dropped the Bills in the NFL power rankings of experts for Week 15. Let's see where they land.

NFL power rankings Week 15

Peter Dewey, Sports Illustrated: 4 (-1)

Dewey: "Buffalo nearly erased a 17-point second-half deficit, but it lost to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14, making it a little tougher on the Bills to earn the No. 1 seed in the AFC."

Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News: 6 (-3)

Iyer: "The Bills' defense, special teams, and traditional running game all got lost in Los Angeles, but Josh Allen didn't. They can't afford a similar breakdown around their MVP QB again with the Lions next on the road."

Jeremy Cluff, Arizona Republic: 6 (-4)

Cluff: "Josh Allen became the first person in NFL history with three touchdown passes and three rushing touchdowns in a game in the Bills' loss, their first since Oct. 6."

Lou Scataglia, NFL Spin Zone: 3 (-1)

Scataglia: "Buffalo sometimes can’t get out of their own way, as their defense was atrocious in this loss to the LA Rams.  Josh Allen had the first six-touchdown game of his career, and they lost!  This type of loss, to me, is kind of why I have believed for some time now that Buffalo isn’t going to win a Super Bowl in this current era. We’ll see if the postseason brings anything different, but it’s shaping up to be a situation where Buffalo may again have to go into Kansas City to try and beat the Chiefs, which is something they have not done in the postseason in the Josh Allen era.  Buffalo is still a very good team, but this loss was just ugly and not something this team with Super Bowl hopes needed to have this late in the season."

Matt Johnson, Sportsnaut: 5 (-2)

Johnson: "Josh Allen did everything possible to beat the Rams in one of the highest-scoring NFL games this season. Unfortunately, the Buffalo Bills forgot to bring their defense on the cross-country trip to Los Angeles. Allen was practically flawless on Sunday, accounting for 6 total touchdowns with another 300-yard performance through the air and he led the team in rushing by more than 50 yards. The MVP-caliber performance was just wasted by this defense in a tough 44-35 loss. Time for Buffalo to put this behind them quickly because the Detroit Lions are looming."

Taylor Wirth, NBC Sports: 5 (-2)

Wirth: "Josh Allen had SIX total touchdowns, but the defense was absolutely atrocious. Can you blame them? They're outdoor cats, not indoor cats."

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