Rated Rev: Ranking The Buffalo Bills’ 2022 Opponents

On the latest Rated Rev, The Rev and Z-Bot tried ranking the Buffalo Bills’ 2022 opponents. The Bills face a tough slate this season, and will need to bring their best to topple some of these titans.

Ranking the Buffalo Bills 2022 Opponents (47:53)

1.) Los Angeles Rams

Of course the L.A. Rams are at the top. The reigning Super Bowl champions play hosts to the Bills in Week 1’s electric Thursday Night Football matchup, minus one piece. Losing Von Miller will be difficult for them, and a boon for us. With Odell Beckham Jr. still unsigned and unlikely to be healthy for Week 1 even if he was, the Bills could start the season off the right way against a very tough opponent. Still, Cooper Kupp is elite, and could eat against our zone coverage. Tre’Davious White is a big question mark for these early-season games, and will definitely be a factor if absent.

2.) Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals seem to be getting somewhat disrespected this season, following an AFC Championship title and a close-fought Super Bowl loss. Funny thing is, they deserve it. We haven’t seen anything indicative of future success from this team, and Joe Burrow will likely spend much of his season flat on his back. That being said, this team is very good and will cause plenty of trouble if they play to the caliber they finished last season with.

3.) Kansas City Chiefs

Like the Rams, the Chiefs will be without a game-changing WR. With Tyreek Hill in Miami, they arguably lost their fastball. They made good on keeping Mahomes happy and Skyy Moore has some real potential, but for now it seems a minor step down is inevitable. While their offense will need to adjust to these changes fast, this team is still scary. Our notorious playoff opponents of the past two years are beatable once again.

4.) Baltimore Ravens

Up next are our Week 4 opponents. Lamar Jackson has been one of the biggest mysteries of the offseason for NFL fans, and he still is. Representing himself in negotiations, his new contract is now roughly a year overdue. If he’s set to play another season, we should see a bounce-back as his health, and that of the team around him, improves.

5.) Cleveland Browns

If the Browns have a QB on the field in 2022 that isn’t Deshaun Watson, they’re dead in the water. They’re not that much better off if they do have him. His unending cases and allegations have been an incessant distraction for the past year and a half. Still, we must take a look at the team they’re fielding. It’s not ideal, and there doesn’t seem to be that much to look forward to for Browns fans, but their run game and defense gives us plenty to be concerned about.

6.) Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are a great team, but they also parted ways with the best WR in the NFL this offseason. The loss of Davante Adams is huge, and it’s difficult to imagine what this offense will look like without him. Still, the Packers boast an elite secondary and have the chops to compete for the crown. They’re a force to be reckoned with.

7.) Tennessee Titans

The Titans got rid of a lot of talent, and didn’t seem too interested in replacing it. They didn’t get much worse, but unless they expect Robert Woods to bounce back from his injury on a new team, we shouldn’t have high hopes. Perhaps “King Henry” can dominate again, but it’s a big risk to put your chips in that basket this season.

8.) Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings are hard to put a pin into. They confound us time and time again, for good or for ill, and we’re left scratching our heads. This team has all that it needs to win games and triumph through historic moments, but will they? They’re a tough offense to stop, and an inconsistent defense to score against.

9.) Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers have a terrifying front seven, and not much else. The secondary is talented, but short-staffed, and the offense is expected to wash out entirely with massive uncertainty at QB. They could upset quite a few powerhouses this season, but don’t expect the Buffalo Bills to be one of them.

10.) Miami Dolphins (x2)

Miami finally took that step forward we thought we would see last offseason. They broke the bank building this roster and it looks great on paper. We could see a change in style as Tua develops and their new head coach settles in, but if they figure it out by Thanksgiving we could be looking at a playoff contender. They’re our main opponents in the race for the AFC East.

11.) New York Jets (x2)

The New York Jets had the best draft in the league, and that’s only their first-round picks. They didn’t splash in free agency, but they have coveted DE Carl Lawson finally getting on the field this year after his debut season with gang green was postponed due to injury. With a little growth from Zach Wilson, they’re going to be troublesome. Not competitive, but definitely worth keeping an eye on.

12.) New England Patriots (x2)

New England reminds us somewhat of Miami in 2021. They’re coming off a good season where they were about a game shy of postseason success, but have followed up with the most depressing offseason in recent memory. Can Mac Jones be good? Absolutely, yes. Is this team indisputably worse than they were last season? Also yes.

13.) Chicago Bears

The Bears made real, sincere efforts to get better this offseason, but failed miserably. We don’t quite know how things got to where they are, but the Bears will need a leap from Justin Fields to actually cause real trouble to playoff opponents this season.

14.) Detroit Lions

When Matthew Stafford won the Super Bowl, so did much of the city of Detroit. Unfortunately, when they woke up the next morning, they found themselves to be Lions fans once again. The clock had struck midnight and their carriage turned back into a pumpkin. Now, they’re faced with a dreadful reality. Can they expect success this season? Not really, but there’s some hope for the future. The far future.

The boys also touched on the Baker Mayfield trade (15:20) and the latest news about Von Miller (26:05). For all of that and more, check out the latest show on the Buffalo Fanatics YouTube channel.