Bills power rankings: Buffalo still among top NFL teams, Broncos clearly aren't
How you'll view the next paragraph depends largely on whether you are glass-is-half-full person.
Despite losing to the Cincinnati Bengals 24-18 Sunday, power rankings experts still consider the banged-up Buffalo Bills in the top third of NFL teams.
A sampling of Week 10 rankings have the Bills sitting at roughly No. 10.
This week's opponent, the Denver Broncos, come to town with an average power ranking of No. 24.
And while the Broncos have won two straight heading into their bye week, they are considered among the bottom 10 teams in the NFL:
USA Today
Bills ranking: 9 (⬇ one spot)
Broncos ranking: 25 (no change)
Bills: They've only got one more road game (at Philadelphia) before December 10 – a good time to right the ship given the advantage Buffalo enjoys at Orchard Park … and maybe to try and evolve this offense beyond QB Josh Allen running or throwing to WR Stefon Diggs.
Broncos: Quiet at the trade deadline, time to find out if they overvalued their players … or might go on a run with them after winning the last two games.
NFL.com
Bills ranking: 11 (⬇ two spots)
Broncos ranking: 24 (no change)
Bills: You can convince yourself that Sunday's loss was simply a Bengals problem; it was clear last season Cincinnati had an edge against this Bills team, and perhaps that edge just carried over. But Buffalo is now 5-4, and the offense has arguably had as many issues as the defense, at least relative to expectation. The Bills put together an impressive 85-yard TD drive on their first possession, then gained only 108 yards in their next six drives. The offensive line wasn't really an issue. The offensive personnel appears to be in decent shape. But the up-tempo pace and some of the four-wide formations they seemingly flourished with against Tampa were nowhere to be found against the Bengals. Can they secure five more victories somewhere against a really tough remaining schedule?
Broncos: Two wins before the Week 9 bye have changed the Broncos' vector dramatically, and that's thanks largely to the defense. Yes, the same unit that was humiliated by the Dolphins. The same group that gave up 28 and 31 points to the Bears and Jets, respectively. Since then, though, Denver allowed the Chiefs to score 28 points in eight quarters and held the Packers to 17. There have been personnel changes in the secondary and up front, with Fabian Moreau, Ja'Quan McMillian, Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto thriving in expanded roles, and multiple injured players returning after missing the toughest stretches of the season. Could the Broncos go to Buffalo and give a suddenly struggling Bills team some fits next Monday? You can't rule it out.
CBS Sports
Bills ranking: 10 (⬇ three spots)
Broncos ranking: 26 (no change)
Bills: They have offensive issues in large part because of the play-calling. They need to let Josh Allen play fast because the defense has lost too many players.
Broncos: They come off their bye with a tough road game against the Bills. They looked good In beating the Chiefs before the bye, but this is another brutal test.
Pro Football Talk
Bills ranking: 12 (⬇ two spots)
Broncos ranking: 23 (no change)
Bills: They need to get things figured out, or the playoffs won’t happen this year.
Broncos: Beat the Bills, and maybe they can make a playoff push.
Sports Illustrated
Bills ranking: 11 (⬇ one spot)
Broncos ranking: 25 (⬇ four spots)
Bills: I’ll say this for Josh Allen: watching him single-handedly shoulder a team amid a late-game comeback is beautiful. He is made of the hardest oak and can still throw his body around like a Bills fan in the parking lot. The problem is that he has to. Allen is the power component of a surprisingly finesse Bills offense. And I know the offensive line takes this personally, and that, once and a while, when a running back in this offense has a good game everyone pounds their chest. But the truth is that 12 attempts per game for James Cook is not enough. I wish LeGarrette Blount was still hanging around somewhere and could sign in peak condition.
Broncos: The Broncos come out of the bye buoyed by good vibes but with a hellish schedule: at Buffalo, Minnesota, Cleveland, at Houston, at L.A. Chargers and at Detroit. I wonder if they will regret sitting out the trade deadline after that particular stretch of time. Still, credit where credit is due: Sean Payton and Russell Wilson have helped this team dig itself out of a massive hole to start the season.
Touchdown Wire
Bills ranking: 8 (⬇ two spots)
Broncos ranking: 25 (⬆ one spot)
Bills: That was a typical Bills loss. The offense struggled early, turned the ball over, Gabe Davis was a complete non-factor, and the lack of depth on both sides of the ball was very evident.
Broncos: How lucky are we that we didn’t have to sit through a Broncos game this week? Unfortunately, we have to sit through another primetime game, as they take on the Bills on Monday night in Week 10.
33rd Team
Bills ranking: 10 (⬇ one spot)
Broncos ranking: 20 (⬇ one spot)
Bills: The Buffalo Bills have been up and down this season. At their best, they’ve won three games by at least 28 points, which includes a win over Miami. At their worst, they’ve lost to Zach Wilson’s Jets and given New England one of its two wins. From this point forward, the Bills face six opponents that are at least .500. Buffalo has the pedigree and talent to weather that storm, but the playoffs are no longer a foregone conclusion.
Broncos: Russell Wilson has 16 touchdowns to just four interceptions, but he’s also thrown for fewer than 200 yards in each of his last four games. The Denver Broncos are 16th in points per game, and their defense played its three best games of the season entering their bye. The Broncos are a team that can ascend if they can put everything together, but that’s a big if.
Pro Football Network
Bills ranking: 9 (⬇ one spot)
Broncos ranking: 24 (no change)
Bills: Josh Allen has played like an MVP candidate since his Week 1 stinker against the Jets. Allen must continue to prove his value during the back half of their schedule, considering how much loss they’ve sustained on the defensive side of the ball. Since Week 5, only the Packers, Commanders, and Panthers have produced worse EPA markers. It turns out that losing your best interior run presence, an All-Pro linebacker, and a former All-Pro CB does a number on your defensive cohesiveness. That defense proved once again to be their Achilles heel. Although Buffalo made a move for Rasul Douglas at the deadline, it wasn’t enough to defend against a Bengals offense riddled with weapons and a healthy Joe Burrow.
Broncos: Denver is coming off their first win against the Chiefs since 2015. As they entered their week off, they ranked 17th in offensive EPA and 16th in success rate. Things are far from perfect on that side of the ball, but things are better than they were a season ago by a long shot. They’re still analytically the worst defense in the NFL, but they haven’t allowed 20 points since their Week 5 loss to the Jets. And they’re coming off a defensive performance that made Patrick Mahomes look human.
The Sporting News
Bills ranking: 12 (⬇ two spots)
Broncos ranking: 24 (no change)
Bills: The Bills once again couldn't figure out the Bengals as their defensive injuries keep costing them against better offensive teams. Allen is down to having little margin for error with less support.
Broncos: The Broncos decided not to sell, keeping key pieces after the trade deadline ahead of their midseason bye. Denver is hoping to still make a late-developing playoff run with Russell Wilson, but a gauntlet of Buffalo, Minnesota, Cleveland and Houston make up the next four games.
Yahoo! Sports
Bills ranking: 11 (⬇ two spots)
Broncos ranking: 24 (⬇ three spots)
Bills: Von Miller’s whiff on Joe Mixon in the backfield, when the Bills needed a tackle on third down to get the ball back, sums up where the Bills are at. The talent is there, but Buffalo is a step behind. Buffalo is about a coin flip to make the playoffs at this point. It still seems like a decent bet that the Bills will make the postseason, but it’s surprising this conversation is taking place after nine weeks.
Broncos: It was odd the Broncos didn’t make any moves at the trade deadline. Perhaps they think they’re a playoff contender, or they didn’t get a reasonable offer for someone like Jerry Jeudy. It’s fine for head coach Sean Payton to look at a team coming off a win over the Chiefs and want to see how it progresses. It’s hard to see Denver being in playoff contention, though we’ll see.
FOX Sports
Bills ranking: 11 (⬇ one spot)
Broncos ranking: 24 (no change)
Bills: As I've said before, I'm worried that the Bills are incurring the sorts of injuries that derail a season. Terrel Bernard and Micah Hyde left the loss to Cincinnati early. Buffalo has at least one major injury at all three levels of its defense. Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs are great, but are they great enough to overcome that, week in and week out?
Broncos: The league office sure seems to have done a good job setting teams up with a big test coming out of the bye week. Fresh from the week off, the Broncos' next test after beating the Chiefs is a national TV game against the reeling Bills.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills vs Broncos: Buffalo among top teams in NFL power rankings
