Buffalo Rumblings
The one where James Cook III ran away with the football
The Buffalo Bills survived a potential letdown in Week 13, laying waste to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second half of last Sunday’s game. It might just be that it took a bit longer than usual for the tryptophan to wear off for the Bills. That, or someone finally woke up offensive coordinator Joe Brady to remind him about the very special talent lining up with quarterback Josh Allen in the offensive backfield.
Running back James Cook III is a bona fide stud, and he should be an NFL MVP candidate — though his chances of that are null and void after running back Saquon Barkley failed to claim the title over Allen in 2024. Still, in 2025 Buffalo tends to go as James Cook goes.
It’s not that Allen has fallen off a cliff, but he has had to hunt too often for reliable pass catchers. That can only be sustainable for so long before something detrimental enters the frame. At least the Bills have the NFL’s best rushing attack to “lean on” in moments where the passing attack fails to matriculate the ball down the field.
These Bills are a bit of a time capsule on offense, more similar to those teams that dominated in the 1970s than the ones that lay waste to passing records in the 2020s. That’s okay, because it’s clear that even when a team knows Buffalo’s going to run (and to do so using the same play over and over again), they very well may struggle to stop it.
How do the Bills make a triumphant run toward the playoffs? By letting Cook lead the way, and allowing Allen to leverage his magic when the moment dictates. The New England Patriots are a problem, but everyone dismissing Buffalo’s chances in the postseason at this point in time may eventually ask for a side of salt with their shoe.
What does any of this mean for the glamorous world of NFL power rankings — and how does it impact the Bills’ standing in those eyes of the beholder? Let’s dive in to the latest batch, those rankings preceding Buffalo’s Week 14 home tilt against the Cincinnati Bengals.
To those of you new to Buffalo Rumblings’ power rankings roundup, I provide you, the reader, with a convenient one-stop shop to catch up with the Bills’ weekly rankings from a wide variety of outlets and writers covering the NFL. There’s no need to click away to find out more about what each analyst says, but the links are provided in case you want to dive deeper into rankings for other teams.
Before we get to the latest rankings, let’s catch up with the latest ESPN playoff odds for the Bills in four key metrics. A positive development here, Buffalo moves back up the ladder, now at three. People may have panned the Bills’ win against a seemingly hapless Steelers group, but the win was...
