NFL power rankings: Are Buffalo Bills still the favorites in a crowded AFC East?
The Buffalo Bills aren't the trendy pick to win the Super Bowl this year. But Buffalo is still expected to be stalwart and championship contender entering the Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season.
Buffalo sits in the 3-5 range in nearly every national power rankings list in the survey of 11 national outlets below. The outlier is No. 8 in Pro Football Talk's list, which puts the Bills behind the Miami Dolphins (No. 5) and New York Jets (No. 6) in their division.
Buffalo could be moving up with a win against the Aaron Rodgers-led New York Jets on Monday Night Football. The reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs were No. 1 in every ranking below. Kansas City was upset 21-20 by the Detroit Lions on Thursday, snapping the Chiefs' eight-game winning streak in season openers.
Here is a breakdown of where the Bills rank:
NFL.com
Ranking: 3
Von Miller is out for at least the first four weeks of the season, setting up a fascinating battle in Week 1. Sure, Josh Allen and Aaron Rodgers get top billing in this AFC East clash, but dig deeper and you see a shorthanded Bills pass rush against a Jets offensive line that has only recently come together as planned. But Buffalo trading Boogie Basham before the roster-cut deadline is an indication the Bills think they have enough with Greg Rousseau, Leonard Floyd, Shaq Lawson, A.J. Epenesa and Kingsley Jonathan to stem the tide until Miller returns. A strong showing against a still-jelling Jets group on Monday night would go a long way toward quelling any early fears about the teeth of the pass-rush unit.
USA Today
Ranking: 5
With LB Von Miller on the PUP list, they could be at a disadvantage defensively and in the Cook Brothers department on Monday night against the Jets.
CBS Sports
Ranking: 3
They are the forgotten AFC East team heading into the season with all the fanfare going to the Jets and Dolphins. But they are still the team to beat in the division with Josh Allen.
Pro Football Talk
Ranking: 8
It feels like this team is a Jenga tower, 20 moves in. There’s plenty of wobble; can they hold it all together?
Sports Illustrated
Ranking: 5
I think No. 5 is O.K., preferable even, for a Bills team and fan base that was utterly exhausted by the weight of its own expectations last year. In certain locales, a winning franchise means just a little bit more. Sean McVay having success in Los Angeles is not going to change the daily lives of the cashiers at House of Bijan on Rodeo Drive selling $880 yellow alligator wallets (a real thing).
Consider this a season in which the Bills are met with their realities: a QB who thrives because he takes on a lot, a wide receiver core in transition, a defense evolving. This takes time. Buffalo can still be good, but perhaps just the fifth-best team for now.
Touchdown Wire
Ranking: 4
The fighting Josh Allens are going to be back in the thick of things in 2023, but they need someone not named Stefon Diggs to do something offensively. That’s why they drafted Dalton Kincaid, who will be a multi-tool weapon as both a tight end and a slot receiver. They also need more from their pass rush. It can’t be Von Miller or bust off the edge. Guys like Greg Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa need to step up and take leaps of their own. The Bills are going to be players in the AFC for a long time, but their gameplan has to be more than Josh Allen playing like he’s listening to “Dragula” by Rob Zombie for 60 minutes.
33rd Team
Ranking: 4
Opening the season without veteran edge Von Miller reduces the ceiling of Buffalo’s pass rush. Regardless, as long as Josh Allen is standing, the Buffalo Bills are a contending team. They’ll be tested early with a Monday night trip to the Big Apple to face Aaron Rodgers’ new-look New York Jets.
Pro Football Network
Ranking: 4
The Bills are seemingly being slept on because of the new shiny thing in New York and the offensive firepower in South Beach. However, Buffalo has consistently been one of the best teams in the AFC over the past four seasons, and very little has changed from last season to suggest a regression.
Josh Allen is still a playground bully. Stefon Diggs remains one of the best receivers in the NFL, and this passing attack has been impressive for years. Their defense may not be as dominant until Von Miller returns, but outside of LB2 and CB2, there aren’t any holes on the roster.
The Sporting News
Ranking: 5
The Bills are right there to try to stop the Jets' major challenge but they have just enough offensive and defensive questions in a little bit of a transition around their corps to think they will slip after not taking advantage of their wheelhouse window.
Yahoo! Sports
Ranking: 4
Von Miller will miss at least the first four weeks of the season, and that's fine. The Bills will be smart with Miller, making sure he's healthy and able to be a factor late in the season. The defense missed Miller last season after he tore his ACL.
FOX Sports
Ranking: 4
There's been a lot of hand wringing about Buffalo's window closing, but let's pump the brakes. The Bills have bolstered their offensive line and given Josh Allen a few new weapons to work with. This should still be one of the best offenses in the NFL. True, there's a bit more uncertainty surrounding the defense, but this team should fully expect to contend in a loaded AFC.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: NFL 2023 power rankings: Buffalo Bills roundup entering Week 1
