Media Mashup: Buffalo Bills Week 15 Power Rankings

It was a critical game against a plucky Miami Dolphins team, but the Buffalo Bills pulled out one of the most memorable wins of the season. The promised blizzard was late, but came in the clutch as the Bills froze out The Fish on Saturday Night Football. Josh Allen looked like the player we’ve known him to be, and risks reaped rewards. Let’s see how the media feels in their Week 15 Power Rankings.

NFL.com: 3rd

Author: Dan Hanzus

Last Week: 4th

“Saturday night’s 32-29 win over the Dolphins in the snow at Highmark Stadium is exactly the type of high-stakes playoff tune-up this team needed. This season has sometimes felt like a chore for a Buffalo squad that has been ticketed for the AFC Championship Game since July. These Bills have navigated injuries, inconsistent offensive play and a significantly improved AFC East to place themselves on the verge of another division title and possibly the conference’s No. 1 seed. And all of that was in peril if Josh Allen didn’t get his team off the mat after a rough third quarter on Saturday. Allen and Co. closed strong in a comeback win that felt like a playoff dress rehearsal.”

theScore: 5th

Author: theScore Staff

Last Week: 6th

“Dawson Knox appears to be emerging as a bigger part of Buffalo’s game plan, which should help open up opportunities for everyone.”

Bleacher Report: 2nd

Authors: NFL Staff

Last Week: 2nd

“The Buffalo Bills are in the playoffs for the fourth straight season. They’ll clinch the AFC East crown with one more win in the final three weeks. And if the season ended today, the Bills would be the top seed in the AFC. Of course, the Bills have their sights set much higher in 2022 than just making an appearance in the playoffs. But as superstar quarterback Josh Allen told reporters after Buffalo’s comeback win over the Dolphins, the Bills are taking things one step at a time.”

“That’s the No. 1 thing Coach [Sean] McDermott preaches, is playoff-caliber; [you] can’t win the Super Bowl unless you make the playoffs. So that’s goal No. 1 down. Goal No. 2 now is to clinch the division. That’s how we’ll take it. We’ll take it one game at a time. Be ready for next week.”

Josh Allen on tackling the end of the regular season (Per ESPN)

“The Bills appear to have everything necessary to make a deep playoff run. The offense is replete with firepower and led by arguably the best quarterback in the league. The defense plays equally well against the run and the pass. Buffalo has one of the best home-field advantages in the league, especially as we move farther into the winter. And with a win in Kansas City already on their 2022 résumé, it’s hard to view the Bills as anything but the team to beat in the AFC.”

The Ringer: 2nd

Author: Austin Gayle

Last Week: 3rd

“While the Bills defense has struggled at times lately after injuries to edge rusher Von Miller and safety Micah Hyde, Josh Allen has remained a superstar through an injury of his own to keep the Bills atop the AFC – and that was obvious as he led a game-tying drive in a snowstorm Saturday night against Miami. His Superman dive over the pile to the goal line for the two-point conversion showed the lengths he’ll go to will the Bills to victory. Allen is the second-ranked quarterback in EPA per dropback behind just Patrick Mahomes, and he’s the reason the Bills have the best odds to win the Super Bowl.”

ESPN: 2nd

Author: ESPN Staff

Last Week: 3rd

Pleasant surprise: DT DaQuan Jones

“The Bills added multiple defensive linemen in free agency this offseason, but Jones wasn’t one of the players who initially received significant attention. He has, however, been a key addition and one of the team’s best free agency moves. The veteran leads the team in run stop win rate (42.7%) and has two sacks (more than any other Bills defensive tackle). He has been disruptive up front and helps set up big plays. In a defensive line room full of personalities, Jones is one of the behind-the-curtain catalysts to the defense.” – Alaina Getzenberg

The Athletic: 3rd

Author: Bo Wulf

Last Week: 3rd

“Maybe no team has played more memorable games in 2022 than the Bills, who had the Ken Dorsey-tantrum loss to Miami in Week 3, the second-half comeback win over the Ravens in Week 4, the game-winning drive to exact some small measure of revenge over the Chiefs in Week 6, the stupefying loss to the Vikings in Week 10, the stolen Thanksgiving win over the Lions, and now the cinematic, snow-covered fourth-quarter comeback win over the Dolphins. And even before the playoffs, there may be another one on tap when they travel to Cincinnati for ‘Monday Night Football’ in Week 17 for a game with significant playoff implications.”

“Meanwhile, Josh Allen may have escaped Sean McDermott’s wrath with his touchdown throw with no time remaining in the second quarter, but he flipped the switch to full-on ‘I am the offense’ mode down the stretch. If you’re bullish on the Bills’ chances of winning it all, there’s an enticing prospect of Allen playing his best while the secondary rounds into shape with three more weeks of acclimation for Tre’Davious White and rookie Kaiir Elam potentially taking over on the other side.”

NBC Sports: 4th

Author: Josh Schrock

Last Week: 4th

“Josh Allen looked like his old self in rescuing the Bills from a snowy loss to the Dolphins. Does he have enough in his MVP bag to wipe away decades of Buffalo misery?”

CBS Sports: 2nd

Author: Pete Prisco

Last Week: 2nd

“They still have some defensive issues that show up, but they will be a tough team to beat at home if they have the top seed. That offense is back on track.”

Fox Sports: 3rd

Author: David Helman

Last Week: 6th

“The epitome of a Josh Allen Game in the biggest of spots. You could argue that Saturday night’s Snow Bowl was the first time we’ve seen the Bills look like fire-breathing monsters since before Halloween. That centered around Allen once again playing like an NFL MVP. This is the version of the Bills every other team should be scared to see in the postseason.”

Yahoo Sports: 2nd

Author: Frank Schwab

Last Week: 2nd

“Not that anyone was rooting for a Jalen Hurts injury, but it does have some effect in Buffalo too. Josh Allen’s MVP chances are alive again. If Allen leads the Bills to the No. 1 seed, and Hurts misses multiple games, assuming Allen has similar numbers to Mahomes by the end… well, let’s just say he’s got a shot.”

USA Today: 5th

Author: Nate Davis

Last Week: 5th

“Keep an eye on rookie RB James Cook, who’s really started eating into starter Devin Singletary’s snap count this month.”

Sporting News: 2nd

Author: Vinnie Iyer

Last Week: 2nd

“The Bills’ offense dug a little deeper and diversified around the passing and running of Josh Allen to come through in tough wintry conditions against the Dolphins. Now they got to go back to cleaning up a few things on defense for Sean McDermott.”

WalterFootball.com: 2nd

Author: Walter Cherepinsky

Last Week: 2nd

“The Bills barely beat the Dolphins, but they made so many mistakes in the third quarter. They were up by eight at halftime, and at that point, I thought they would run away with an easy victory.”

Sportsnaut: 2nd

Author: Matt Johnson

Last Week: 2nd

“The Buffalo Bills are effectively AFC East champions, the next battle is for the No. 1 seed and the first-round bye. We still have some reservations with Buffalo – the absence of Von Miller and Josh Allen’s slight decline since the elbow injury – but there’s no doubt the Bills are one of the best NFL teams right now and a legitimate Super Bowl contender.”

Athlon Sports: 2nd

Author: Bryan Fischer

Last Week: 2nd

“Was there a better sight than seeing the Bills’ offensive line clearing out snow with their hands for the game-winning field goal attempt, followed by a slip and slide down the field as they clinched a playoff berth for the fourth straight season? Maybe the sounds of Orchard Park singing ‘let it snow’ in unison perhaps.”

Buffalo Bills Power Rankings Summary

There seems to be no toppling the Philadelphia Eagles for the top spot. It would take a mistake from them to see the Bills take back first place in these Power Rankings, but we’ll gladly settle for first place in the AFC Conference title race. The Bills are a powerhouse, and the NFL has been reminded of that fact.

Sample Size	Second	Third	Fourth	Fifth	Average
15	9	3	1	2	2nd/3rd

For last week’s power rankings, click here, and come back next week for a fresh round of Power Rankings after the Buffalo Bills take on the Chicago Bears in a Christmas Eve clash. Have a “Power Ranking” that you think I should include? Reach out to @IestynTHarris on Twitter to let me know!

Featured Image: Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images