Power rankings: Where the Bills rank heading into Week 12
The Buffalo Bills (9-2) head into their Week 12 bye fresh off of a 30-21 home win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Coming into the year, many were all over the place when ranking how the Bills stacked up against the rest of the league. But, through 11 weeks the Bills have put the NFL world on notice. Their 9-2 record is the Bills’ best mark through 11 games since 1992.
Here’s how the Bills fare in national media power rankings polls heading into Week 12:
USA Today
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Josh Allen remains superhuman, which is exactly what the Bills need to end a streak of postseason futility. But the more encouraging sign from Sunday night’s win was a rebuilt defense’s ability to limit Patrick Mahomes’ offense to just 5.0 yards per play — a mark roughly equal to what the Jets have put together in 2024 as a whole.
Pro Football Talk
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We know they can beat the Chiefs in the regular season. Can they do it in the postseason?
Bleacher Report
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After a two-score win over the reigning champions, Buffalo is the team to beat in the AFC. Without starting tight end Dalton Kincaid and upstart rookie wideout Keon Coleman, the Bills knocked off the Chiefs, who came into Week 11 undefeated.Though the Chiefs have had the Bills’ number in January, Buffalo should feel confident about another meeting with Kansas City in the playoffs.
NFL.com
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Josh Allen’s fourth-and-2 TD rumble will be talked about for some time. Was it his “MVP moment”? Perhaps. Did it start the boulder rolling toward the Bills taking the AFC crown? We’ll see. Buffalo has six games remaining, while Kansas City has seven, and the Bills are still a game back in the loss column. But even with their run game stalling at times, they made a statement by dropping 30 points on a Chiefs defense that hadn’t allowed an opponent to score that many in a regular-season game in more than two years. That they did it without Dalton Kincaid or Keon Coleman is a testament to Allen and his ability to lift everyone around him. Buffalo’s defense certainly did its job, forcing interceptions on K.C.’s first and last possessions and inducing three-and-outs on three separate occasions in between. Not to mention, the unit could get Matt Milano back for the home stretch. The Bills are by no means perfect, but they can go toe to toe with just about any team right now.
CBS Sports
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The face some tough games down the stretch, but they have a chance at the top seed. The defense often gets overlooked and shouldn’t.
33rd Team
USA Today Sports
The Chiefs are no longer the clear-cut best team in the AFC. The Buffalo Bills have now won six straight games and took down the Chiefs in Week 11. Josh Allen made nearly every significant play in the game, and the defense managed to create several turnovers and big-time stops against Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid.In a year in which many expected the Bills to regress, they have a chance to clinch the AFC East by Thanksgiving. But they still have much bigger goals on the radar.
ESPN
USA Today Sports
This was never about job security but instead about the challenge facing McDermott due to the many changes to the Bills’ roster. He has aced the task and put himself in conversation for NFL Coach of the Year. Buffalo is off to its best start since 1992 and goes into the bye week having taken down the defending Super Bowl champions and keeping the No. 1 seed in play. Despite injuries and new faces, McDermott has impressively coached the Bills to a 9-2 start. — Alaina Getzenberg
Read all the best Bills coverage at the Democrat and Chronicle and Bills Wire.
