If you take away the two teams that just faced off in the Super Bowl, the Buffalo Bills are the top-ranked team in USA TODAY’s latest power rankings.
Unfortunately we can’t do that, but a top-three slot for Buffalo behind the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals, respectively, following free agency, is still high praise.
When the market opened, few teams in the NFL made more noise than the Bills. Landing All-Pro pass rusher Von Miller is clearly going to get some attention, but Buffalo’s deeper work in free agency was also touted.
Here’s how NFL analyst Nate Davis breaks down the Bills at No. 3 overall:
The shocking coup to land former Super Bowl MVP Miller was their offseason headline grabber. However several nice pickups with G Rodger Saffold and slot WR Jamison Crowder plus the return of CB Tre’Davious White from his ACL tear. This lineup looks decidedly superior to the one that barely came up short at Arrowhead Stadium two months ago.
Potentially the lone thing keeping the Bills behind the Rams and Bengals currently is their defensive secondary.
While Buffalo did have the NFL’s top-ranked pass defense last season, they have a big hole there now.
The Bills lost Levi Wallace via free agency to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Losing a starter is never a good thing, but Buffalo will look to upgrade there and hope that will be another move that pushes them closer toward a Super Bowl berth.
Overall from USA TODAY’s last power rankings, the Bills did jump up one spot from fourth.
Regarding the AFC East, Buffalo edge out the entire division. The closest divisional foe was the New England Patriots (8), followed by the Miami Dolphins (21) and New York Jets (27).
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