Power rankings: Bills stay alive and are on the rise

Coming off Sunday’s win at Kansas City, it seems like the right time to note – despite his flaws – Josh Allen leads the NFL by accounting for 35 TDs (25 passing, 10 rushing). He’s just the third quarterback in league history, joining Kyler Murray and Cam Newton, to hit those pass/rush TD totals in one season.

Last Week: 10

Josh Allen made one of the greatest plays I’ve ever seen when he hit a fadeaway pass over to Chiefs defenders like he was Reggie Miller in the Garden. The Bills’ defense came up huge in the end, as well. Despite all of the self-inflicted wounds this season, Buffalo has taken a lickin’ but they’ve kept on tickin’.

They’re very much alive — and the pressure is off.

Last Week: 10

Week 14 Result: Won at Kansas City 20-17

After losing three of four heading into the bye week to fall to .500 for the season, there wasn’t a team in the NFL that needed a win in Week 14 more than the Buffalo Bills. And as if that wasn’t enough pressure, the Bills had to go to Arrowhead to try to get that win against the defending Super Bowl champions.

The Bills got that win—and in doing so, the team may well have saved its season.

While speaking to reporters after the game, cornerback Rasul Douglas said that while the Bills never lost their confidence, it was good to show on the field that confidence wasn’t misplaced.

“I think that’s what we needed to do,” Douglas said. “You know how it’s easy for you to say something like, ‘Oh, this is who I am, or this is what I am,’ but until you do it, it’s like, do you actually believe that that’s who you are? So, I think that’s something that we needed and I’m glad we got it and I feel like that will help us.”

The Bills are back above .500, but if the season ended today, they would not make the playoffs. And with the red-hot Dallas Cowboys headed to Western New York next week, Buffalo still has precious little margin for error.

(Last week: 8)

Sunday: Beat Kansas City Chiefs 20-17

Fantasy spotlight: Josh Allen

Allen leads all players this season with 307.28 fantasy points. It’s his lowest points-per-game output of the last four years, and it’s still the 13th-best fantasy season of the last five seasons in the NFL. That’s how much of the offense Allen is carrying in Buffalo. He wasn’t spectacular against the Chiefs on Sunday (23-for-42 for 233 yards, one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown), but the Bills don’t win that game (or many games at all) without him.

Up next: vs. Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET

They might remain 11th in the AFC playoff pecking order, needing to pass four teams ahead of them right now, but the Bills remain a viable playoff contender at 7-6. Yes, Buffalo hosts red-hot Dallas this coming Sunday, must go on the road twice more and still has to face the Dolphins and Patriots, who beat the Bills in their first meeting. But the Bills earned a win at Arrowhead with Stefon Diggs having a poor outing by his standards (four catches, 24 yards) and with the defense being able to finish off the game, something it hasn’t always done this season, even if it required a penalty to wipe out a Chiefs touchdown in the final minute-plus. There’s plenty to gripe about, but Josh Allen made some big throws and James Cook carried the offense with a strong effort. Fifteen touches for the second-year back feels too low; Cook needs 20 per game. The Bills are far from perfect, but they remain dangerous.

They might have saved their season by beating the Chiefs on the road. Now comes a huge game with the Cowboys. The defense came up big against the Chiefs.

If the Bills can just make the playoffs, they could advance to the Super Bowl. There’s nobody in the AFC they can’t beat. The problem is the Bills are still far from a playoff lock even after a win at Kansas City. Their odds are up, but just to 35.5% to make the playoffs at DVOA. They need another upset or two against a very tough remaining schedule. Up next is Dallas.

Week 14 ranking: 9

Biggest improvement: TE Dalton Kincaid

While the Bills’ first game of the season wasn’t a high, the team’s hottest streak of the season in terms of statistical production came in Weeks 2-4, so improvement here is nuanced. But one thing that certainly leaped forward for the team throughout the season is the rookie tight end’s role and involvement in the offense. Since Week 6, Kincaid has been targeted at least six times in every game, and he has developed into a reliable target for quarterback Josh Allen. Now with Dawson Knox back from injured reserve, the team can continue to find ways to fold in the two-tight end approach it envisioned when drafting Kincaid.