NFL power rankings Week 16: Bills climb after statement win over Lions

The Buffalo Bills notched a huge win over the Detroit Lions in Week 15, and as a result they are moving up in the NFL power rankings of experts.

Mike Moraitis | 2 Hours Ago

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen . / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Not that we needed more evidence that the Buffalo Bills are Super Bowl contenders, but quarterback Josh Allen and Co. provided it with a statement win over the Detroit Lions in Week 15 on Sunday.

While the final score was 48-42, the Bills were in total control for much of the game against the Lions. Buffalo took a solid Detroit defense and dominated it, with Allen looking unstoppable — and Allen may have locked up the MVP in the process. The Bills also handed the Lions their first loss since September.

The Bills weren't able to gain any ground for the No. 1 seed in the AFC, as the Kansas City Chiefs won again, but Patrick Mahomes suffered an ankle injury that could open the door for Buffalo to snatch the top spot over the final three weeks.

With the Pittsburgh Steelers losing to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Bills put some space between themselves and the Steelers for the No. 2 seed in the AFC. Buffalo basically has a two-game lead over Pittsburgh because of the strength of victory tiebreaker.

As you'd expect, the Bills are movin' on up in the NFL power rankings of experts going into Week 16 after beating a Detroit team that was considered arguably the best in the league.

Here's a look at where the Bills land.

NFL power rankings Week 16

Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News: 6 (+3)

Iyer: "The Bills rode the Josh Allen express train into Detroit and were relentless in showing no mercy to a depleted defense. Buffalo eventually got into its more comfortable game script to also better protect its own defense."

Jeremy Cluff, Arizona Republic: 3 (+3)

Cluff: "We thought about putting Buffalo at No. 1. The win at Detroit was that impressive, but the Bills do have three losses on the season, so some might think No. 3 is too high. When this team is on, however, they are very tough to beat."

Sayre Bedinger, NFL Spin Zone: 2 (+1)

Bedinger: "Not many teams have been doing this this year (alright, maybe some have), but the Buffalo Bills proved me right in a big way on Sunday with their decisive win against the Detroit Lions in a potential Super Bowl preview."

Taylor Wirth, NBC Sports: 4 (+1)

Wirth: "I've seen enough. Josh Allen is your league MVP. Every week he seems to find a new way to score touchdowns. Crown him."