Power rankings: Bills tumble after Week 9

Last week: No. 2

Buffalo took a hard fall in Week 9. It was bad enough to lose to the New York Jets, but to also have Josh Allen sustain an injury to his UCL — elbow injury — is enough to unseat them as the second-best team in the NFL. If Buffalo can weather the storm, they are still favorites in the AFC.

Not quite ready to overreact to a road loss to a tough, physical NYJ squad. And Buffalo’s Week 6 win at Kansas City keeps Bills on the inside track for the AFC’s No. 1 seed. But their lack of aggression at the trade deadline could come back to haunt them … as could an 0-2 division record that threatens to undermine Super Bowl darlings if they don’t get right quickly.

Beating the Chiefs in October won’t mean anything in January if they sleepwalk their way through games they should easily win.

Previous rank: No. 1

Consider Sunday’s stunning 20-17 loss to the Jets a wakeup call to the Bills. Long an AFC East doormat, Gang Green has quickly built up a smothering and dynamic young defense that matches up well with Buffalo’s powerful attack. New York’s spectacular cornerback duo of Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed largely neutralized Stefon Diggs, while a surging Jets defensive front regularly harassed Josh Allen without the need to blitz. Allen tossed two interceptions and fumbled twice, his second consecutive sloppy performance. The question coming out of the Meadowlands: Were the Jets fortunate to catch the Bills on a bad week — or has this division suddenly been turned upside down?

They have to get back to playing up-tempo offense again, although Josh Allen’s elbow injury bears watching. They face a tough challenge against the Vikings this week.

(Last week: 1)

Trade recall: Wyatt Teller and seventh-round pick Jermar Jefferson for fifth-round pick Trevis Gipson and sixth-round pick Tyler Bass (trade with Browns, August 2019)

The real question here is whether the Bills opt to wind the clock back to their 2017 draft-day trade with the Chiefs that landed Kansas City Patrick Mahomes. But Buffalo has spent too long chasing Mahomes to cast Josh Allen aside now, even after his uncharacteristically sloppy game in the loss to the Jets Sunday. Plus, that would mean getting rid of Tre’Davious White, who was selected with one of the picks returned by Kansas City and is expected to return next week for his season debut. Instead, they bring back a Pro Bowl-caliber guard in Teller.

Up next: vs. Minnesota, Sunday 1 p.m. ET

Josh Allen didn’t play well again beyond his early big running as the Jets’ defense with Sauce Gardner under Robert Saleh was up to the task in a big spot. Buffalo is also showing a major issue against teams that stick with the running game against its defense.

The Bills can’t lose games like Sunday. They were double-digit favorites. Give the Jets a lot of credit; they played well and won it. But the Bills have Super Bowl hopes this season, and that’s the type of loss that can cost a team the No. 1 seed. But, really, the top seed and Super Bowl talk ends if Josh Allen’s elbow is seriously injured.

Week 9 ranking: 1

Non-QB MVP: LB Von Miller

The Bills brought in Miller to be the dominant pass-rusher they were missing and to use his experience to help better the team and its young defensive linemen. He has done just that. Miller has a team-high seven sacks and is sixth in the league in pass rush win rate (23.4%). His performance has impacted the rest of the D-line, with second-year pass-rusher Greg Rousseau already setting a career high in sacks (five). The Bills have issues to fix, including run defense, but Miller has been a stellar addition so far.