It was a tough day at the office , who recorded their first loss of the season against the Titans and are now 4-1 overall.
The Bills have risen in the power ranking polls during the early weeks of 2020 thanks to their hot start. So where did the team fare in the national rankings following after that one? Despite the loss, the Bills are hanging around the top-10 in most lists even after losing some ground.
Here is a look at where the Bills fall national power ranking polls following their loss to the Tians:
USA TODAY
11. Bills (8)
In fairness to them, Tennessee’s situation dealt Buffalo a very tough hand. But no one expected P Corey Bojorquez to be Bills’ best player Tuesday night. If defense is Buffalo’s Achilles’ heel, it appears to be quickly fraying.
Touchdown Wire
8. Buffalo Bills (4-1. Last week: 2)
A couple of things happened on the way to the Bills’ rush to their status as perhaps the NFL’s best team: Cornerback Tre’Davious White, one of the best players at his position, missed Buffalo’s Tuesday game against the Titans due to a back injury. Second, and impressively after missing a ton of practice reps following a COVID outbreak that affected a total of 24 players and staff, Tennessee’s defense did many of the same things to Bills quarterback Josh Allen that they did to Lamar Jackson in the divisional round of the 2019 playoffs — be patient, give the young quarterback one coverage look before the snap and another one after, stay in your lanes, and wait for the kid to press when he shouldn’t.
However! On this 22-yard touchdown pass to running back T.J. Yeldon, Allen was able to counter Tennessee’s intelligent strategy with a counter that very few quarterbacks can pull off — wait out the three-man rush, and throw a 100-MPH heater. That didn’t erase his two interceptions, nor did it to nearly enough to affect the 42-16 final score.
Allen is a great young quarterback, and the Bills are a top-tier team, but this should be a course correction for Sean McDermott’s squad. The Bills next face the Chiefs, who can also throw all kinds of coverage looks at opposing quarterbacks, so it’s safe to say that the next phase of Allen’s education has begun.
Sports Illustrated
10. Buffalo Bills
Last week: Loss at Tennessee 42-16
Next week: vs. Kansas City (Monday
Josh Allen is still a touch streaky and it showed up Tuesday night. The second interception was due to some combination of indecision and inaccuracy, and while it shouldn’t have resulted in an interception, the first-quarter throw behind Andre Roberts that resulted in an INT was simply a miss. The absence of John Brown, the deficit after a slow start, and the Titans’ approach took away the big play (a late-in-the-down TD to T.J. Yeldon was the only 20-plus-yard play Allen got all night). All that said, Allen will be fine. The issue in Buffalo is the lack of depth in that secondary. The Bills needs Tre White back in the lineup with Mahomes coming to Orchard Park on Monday.
NFL.com
Previous rank: No. 4
The Bills had been so stellar this season that it was jarring to watch them struggle so mightily on Tuesday night in Nashville. Ill-timed penalties, killer turnovers, defensive lapses; Buffalo was not nearly sound enough against a Tennessee team that played crisp football despite a long layoff. Josh Allen made his usual collection of big throws, but was held back by accuracy issues that recalled his first two seasons. The defense struggled mightily in the red zone, playing without starters Tre’Davious White, Matt Milano and Levi Wallace. The Titans scored a touchdown all six times they entered inside Buffalo’s 20-yard line. A night to forget.
Sporting News
5. Buffalo Bills 4-0 (4)
The Bills have seen their Week 5 game move to Tuesday and their Week 6 game move to Sunday. Beating the Rams and the Raiders back to back have padded the resume nicely with Josh Allen balling out. Just imagine how high they can end up should they beat the Titans and Chiefs.
Yahoo! Sports
8. Buffalo Bills (No. 3; 4-1):
Josh Allen has left the MVP chat, at least for now.
CBS Sports
8. Bills (-4)
They got caught in a tough situation because of the Titans’ COVID-19 issues, and it showed. Now they have to try and regroup against the Chiefs.
Bleacher Report
High: 8
Low: 12
Last Week: 6
Week 5 Result: Lost 42-16 at Tennessee
Over their first four games, the Buffalo Bills were an offensive stampede.
Tuesday evening in Nashville, the team spit the bit.
Against the undefeated Titans, Josh Allen looked less like the potential MVP candidate we saw over the first month of the season and more like the talented but inconsistent passer we saw the first two seasons of his career. His completion percentage was way down, he missed more than one open receiver, and he threw a pair of costly interceptions.It wasn’t all on Allen, though. A Buffalo defense short top cornerback Tre’Davious White was carved up by Ryan Tannehill. Buffalo looked like the team that hadn’t practiced in two weeks, committing mental lapse after penalty after…well, you get where this is headed.
It absolutely wasn’t what the Bills were hoping for in their biggest test to date this season, especially with the Kansas City Chiefs headed to Orchard Park in Week 6.
The AFC is confusing right now. Like Advil-inducing confusing.
ESPN
5. Buffalo Bills (4-0)
Week 5 ranking: 5
Biggest Weakness: Pass defense
Death, taxes and an elite Bills pass defense. Those are the absolute truths we have become accustomed to over the past two seasons, when Buffalo finished fourth and first, respectively, in passing yards allowed. In typical 2020 fashion, the Bills are polar opposites from their previous selves in that regard, allowing the fourth-most passing yards per game through four games this season. They have battled injuries in both the secondary and at linebacker, neither of which have helped their case; fortunately for Leslie Frazier’s unit, Buffalo’s offense has proved more than capable of winning a shootout.
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