Just two weeks ago, the NFL power rankings experts were nearly united in praise of Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.
But after two straight losses by Buffalo, everyone is agreeing on something drastically different: The bye week couldn’t have come at better time for the Bills.
Falcons running back Bijan Robinson ran for 170 yards and a touchdown, wide receiver Blake London hauled in 10 catches for 158 yards and a touchdown, and Atlanta’s defense harassed Josh Allen on seemingly every pass in the Bills’ 24-14 loss.
These days, the Bills are falling faster in the NFL power rankings are falling faster than the leaves on Western New York trees.
Bills’ average rank in Week 7: 7.18 (last week: 2.9)
Let’s see what NFL analysts had to say:
ESPN
Bills ranking: 3 ( one spot)
Lesson learned about Bills: This Bills team still has a lot to learn about itself. Coming into the season, the hype for the Bills was high, with reigning MVP Josh Allen set for another big year. But if anything has been clear for this team through six games, it’s that there are some major questions still to be answered to truly have a run at a Super Bowl title. Is the defense talented enough to put together a complete game? Is there enough talent at wide receiver to give Allen targets downfield? The limitations of this team have been clear, even in the wins, and there is work to be done. — Alaina Getzenberg
The Athletic
Bills ranking: 16 ( twelve spots)
Bills: James Cook was about the only thing working for Buffalo’s offense Monday night as Josh Allen threw two interceptions and was held to 180 yards and a 72.6 passer rating. Cook had 17 carries for 87 yards and is the 29th-leading fantasy scorer in the league (17.43 ppg).
New York Post
Bills ranking: 5 ( two spots)
Bills: Gashed for 238 yards from scrimmage by Bijan Robinson, the Bills head into the bye week off a second straight loss after falling 24-14 to the Falcons. Josh Allen threw two interceptions, including one in the final minute. Josh Allen strangely underhanded an incompletion on a fourth-and-2 and Elijah Moore dropped a third-and-1 handoff to stall out two second-half drives.
CBS Sports
Bills ranking: 10 ( seven spots)
Bills: They have major issues right now on the defensive side of the ball, and the offense has no speed down the field. They limp into their bye with two straight losses.
USA Today
Bills ranking: 7 ( five spots)
Bills: In fairness, they’re missing a lot of key guys at the moment. And, in fairness, their four victories came against clubs with an aggregate 3-21 record.
Pro Football Talk
Bills ranking: 11 ( seven spots)
Bills: Their four wins have come against teams with a combined record of 3-21.
The Arizona Republic
Bills ranking: 6 ( three spots)
Bills: Are there reasons for concern in Buffalo? The Bills have dropped two straight after starting 4-0. The bye couldn’t come at a better time for Josh Allen and company.
The Sporting News
Bills ranking: 6 ( three spots)
Bills: The Bills struggled to beat the Patriots with not enough offense. Then they didn’t get any kind of good defense to give Josh Allen a real chance to rebound in Atlanta. He’s pressing in needing to do too much as a MVP. The bye is coming at the ideal time to fix some things.
Bleacher Report
Bills ranking: 6 ( three spots)
Bills: Though many expected the Buffalo Bills to bounce back from their first loss of the season, they went flat under the Monday night bright lights. The Bills scored a season-low of 14 points and gave up a whopping 443 total yards from scrimmage. Buffalo must patch up its run defense, which ranked 30th going into Week 6, and allowed 170 yards and a score to Bijan Robinson. Just two weeks ago, the Bills were the league’s last unbeaten team. Now, they need to figure out how to end a two-game skid. — Maurice Moton
Yahoo! Sports
Bills ranking: 4 ( two spots)
The Bills’ nearly perfect runout in September has taken some hits in October. The loss to Atlanta was troubling because the defense was torched for 355 yards in the first half alone and the offense did almost nothing. There are some issues to clean up.
FOX Sports
Bills ranking: 5 ( one spot)
Bills: Back-to-back losses against inferior teams is bad enough, but the Bills’ bigger problem is they’re not going to win much late in the season or in the playoffs with the terrible run defense that Bijan Robinson shredded on Monday night.
— Bill Wolcott is a producer who helps cover the Buffalo Bills, high school and Rochester sports in general. The lifelong New Yorker has been a journalist for 31 years.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Are the Bills still a top team in NFL power rankings as losses mount? See where they sit
Reporting by Bill Wolcott, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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