The Bills spent Week 7 on the sideline, but the national conversation around Buffalo kept moving. Even without playing, the 5-1 team saw its stock shift across the NFL’s power-rankings landscape heading into Week 8.
Several outlets pushed Buffalo toward the top after the bye, and one even put the Bills at No. 1.
Pro Football Talk had Buffalo first after the team climbed from No. 3, noting, “For the first time ever, a team ascends to No. 1 without playing.” FOX Sports also slotted Buffalo at No. 1, up from No. 3, with the Bills’ record listed at 5-1 and their Super Bowl odds at +700, second-best.
FOX’s ranking came with a reminder of what’s driving the rise: the “1-2 punch of Josh Allen and James Cook” and a high-powered offense that has carried Buffalo through the first part of the season. The outlet also pointed to what comes next, with a quick test against the Ravens and, later, a Thanksgiving meeting with the Chiefs.
The Bills’ offense has been the obvious selling point in the national polls. USA TODAY kept Buffalo at No. 9 while highlighting Joe Brady’s start as rookie coach. The outlet pointed out that Buffalo’s 32.8 points per game are the second best of the Super Bowl era since 1966 through an head coach’s first six career games, adding, “If they figure out how to stop anyone, look out.”
That defensive concern showed up over and over again. The Athletic bumped Buffalo to No. 1 but called out “Something spooky: Their pass defense,” noting that the Bills have the fourth-worst pass defense in the league based on EPA per dropback and the third-worst defense overall. The Athletic also said Buffalo has allowed more than 250 passing yards in five of six games this season.
Bleacher Report also had the Bills at No. 1 after the bye, writing that Buffalo “probably needed the break.” The site described the Bills as a legitimate Super Bowl contender, but one that has lived dangerously, with five of six games decided by one score. It also said the offense has looked “unstoppable at times,” while the 31st-ranked defense has turned “almost every contest into a nail-biter.”
CBS Sports ranked Buffalo second and made the matchup ahead impossible to ignore: “They come off the bye with a big one against the Ravens, who should have Lamar Jackson back. The defense has to be better than it was before the bye.”
ESPN also moved Buffalo up to No. 2 from No. 3 and singled out D.J. Moore as the team’s best offseason addition.
The outlet said the offense has functioned while Moore recovers from a shoulder injury, but that the passing game looks smoother with him involved. ESPN added that Moore’s ability to stretch the field opens running lanes for James Cook III and Josh Allen, and noted that Moore is averaging 2.47 yards per route run with an average depth of target of 15.9 yards.
The piece also said he was acquired from the Bears for a 2026 second-round pick this offseason.
Across the rankings, the theme was consistent: Buffalo’s offense is doing enough to keep the Bills near the top, and the bye week gave everyone a chance to focus on the one thing that could keep them from staying there.
In Other News...
Bills Face One Big Question On A Maxx Crosby Trade
The Bills have spent enough time dealing with defensive inconsistency this season that any proven pass-rush help will naturally draw attention, and Maxx Crosby sits near the top of that conversation. A fit between Buffalo and the Raiders star has already been floated by CBS Sports Jordan Dajani, which makes sense on the surface for a team looking to lift its pressure off the edge and steady a unit that has had its share of issues.
Crosbys name carries obvious weight because of what he has meant to Las Vegas in recent years, even with the Raiders also trending in the wrong direction overall. The wrinkle for Buffalo is that interest is one thing and an actual deal is another, and right now there is no confirmation that the Bills have moved beyond the speculative stage, even as the idea keeps hanging over the market. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Trade Deadline Focus Is Narrowing Around One Real Roster Decision
With the trade deadline approaching, the Bills are doing what contenders usually do at this time of year: weighing whether a small roster tweak could help them keep pace in the AFC without disrupting what is already working. Lloyd Cushenberry, Mike Danna and Josh Palmer have all come up in the conversation as possible trade candidates, but the idea is less about chasing a splash and more about making one clean, targeted decision.
Palmer is the name to watch most closely because his role has been limited, which naturally makes him easier to imagine in a deal if Buffalo chooses to reshape the bottom of the roster. No trade has been reported yet, and the Bills still have time to let the market come to them, but the sense is that this is narrowing toward one real question rather than a wide-open deadline chase. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Head Into Ravens Test With One Massive Problem Behind Josh Allen
Buffalo heads into its meeting with Baltimore at 5-1 and sitting atop the AFC East, which is exactly where a contender wants to be this late in October. Josh Allen has been the driving force, giving the offense the kind of week-to-week punch that keeps the Bills in control of games and capable of surviving stretches when things get loose.
But there is a bigger concern lurking beneath that start, and it does not have anything to do with the scoreboard on offense. A statistic shared by Anthony Dabbundo paints an uncomfortable picture of the Bills through the first seven weeks, one that suggests the team is living in an unusually rare kind of imbalance as the Ravens loom on the schedule. [Read more 🡒]