Buffalo Bills
Bills NFL Power Rankings From Across the Country
After their loss to the Bengals Sunday night, here’s where different publications have the Bills in their power rankings, along with a quick blurb for each.
USA Today Bills Rank: 9
They’ve only got one more road game (at Philadelphia) before December 10 – a good time to right the ship given the advantage Buffalo enjoys at Orchard Park … and maybe to try and evolve this offense beyond QB Josh Allen running or throwing to WR Stefon Diggs.
ESPN Bills Rank: 11
For all the inconsistencies that have plagued the Bills’ offense this season, it’s hard to imagine where the unit would be without Diggs. He is consistently making splash plays, such as a 34-yard gain on the opening drive against the Bengals that got the Bills moving downfield, and is arguably the most reliable performer on an offense that is dealing with its share of issues. Diggs leads the team in almost every receiving category (70 receptions for 834 yards and seven touchdowns), and getting Diggs the ball is a recipe for success.—Alaina Getzenberg
NFL.com Bills Rank: 11
You can convince yourself that Sunday’s loss was just a Bengals problem; it was clear last season Cincinnati had an edge against this Bills team, and perhaps that edge just carried over. But Buffalo is now 5-4, and the offense has arguably had as many issues as the defense, at least relative to expectation. The Bills put together an impressive 85-yard TD drive on their first possession, then gained just 108 yards in their next six drives. The offensive line wasn’t really an issue. The offensive personnel appears to be in decent shape. But the up-tempo pace and some of the four-wide formations they seemingly flourished with against Tampa were nowhere to be found against the Bengals. Can they secure five more victories somewhere against a really tough remaining schedule?
Fox News Bills Rank: 12
What is wrong with the Bills? Josh Allen is tied for the NFL lead in interceptions with nine, as the offense looks out of sorts. The Bills have not scored 30 or more points since their win over the Dolphins. With the injuries on defense, the offense has to get back. That could begin with the Broncos on Sunday.
Bleacher Report Bills Rank: 9
There could be trouble brewing in Buffalo.
After surprisingly dropping the season opener to the New York Jets, the Bills peeled off three straight wins, including a blowout victory over the Miami Dolphins. But over the last month, the Bills have looked—average. The Bills are 2-3 over the past five, and even the wins weren’t all that impressive—single-digit victories over the Buccaneers and Giants.
Now, after falling in Cincinnati Sunday night, the Bills are just a game above .500, and while talking to the media after the game, quarterback Josh Allen said the offense has been far too inconsistent of late.
“Just finding a way to get into a rhythm,” Allen said. “Come out on an opening drive, had some success moving the ball and obviously hit a lull there and didn’t score until late in the fourth. We had our opportunities, [but] didn’t score before the half, didn’t get six on the first drive of the second half. That’s not complementary football.”
Add in a defense that continues to be beset by injuries (leading tackler Terrel Bernard went down with a head injury against the Bengals) and one of the NFL’s most difficult schedules the rest of the way, and there’s cause for some concern in Western New York at the season’s halfway point.
Yahoo Sports Bills Rank: 11
Von Miller’s whiff on Joe Mixon in the backfield, when the Bills needed a tackle on third down to get the ball back, sums up where the Bills are at. The power is there, but Buffalo is a step behind. Buffalo is about a coinflip to make the playoffs at this point. It seems like a decent bet that the Bills will make the postseason, but it’s surprising this conversation is taking place after 9 weeks.
CBS Bills Rank: 10
They have offensive issues in large part because of the play-calling. They need to let Josh Allen play fast because the defense has lost too many players.
For the first time in Josh Allen’s seven-year career, the Buffalo Bills will be returning four primary offensive line starters from the previous season. The only missing lineman from 2023 is Mitch Morse, who the Bills released this past March.
Primary starting offensive linemen returning to the Bills in 2024 are:
Left Tackle, Dion Dawkins
Left Guard, Connor McGovern
Right Guard, O’Cyrus Torrence
Right Tackle, Spencer Brown
There is a good chance that Connor McGovern moves to center, opening the door for David Edwards to take over the starting left guard position.
In four seasons with the Rams, David Edwards started in 45 out of 53 games active and is lauded by Bills coaching staff.
The other possibility is for the center position to go to rookie, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, who the Bills drafted in the 5th round this past April.
The Bills starting offensive line will look to continue to improve on an already solid 2023 performance. The ’23 front five allowed their quarterback to only be sacked 4% of his drop backs in 2023, the lowest mark in the league.
Much of the 2023 Bills offensive line success can be attributed to health. All five starting offensive linemen started all 17 games in 2023—a trend that the Bills coaching staff would like to continue in 2024.
With six seasons under his belt, Josh Allen’s stock has risen to a point that many consider him the greatest Bills quarterback of all time, challenging the formerly undisputed top QB, Jim Kelly.
But how does one assess greatness amongst two quarterbacks from two different eras? And how would one decipher what attributes make one quarterback better than another.
Recently, I took a deep-dive into both Jim Kelly and Josh Allen’s career. Through looking at both quarterbacks’ statistics, teammates and clutch performances; I hope to settle the debate once and for all.
Many base their opinions on their “eye test”—Josh Allen has a stronger arm, bigger frame, can run faster and do things that Jim Kelly never dreamed of.
There is no doubt that Josh Allen’s skillset is far superior to Jim Kelly’s.
However, Jim Kelly retired from the Bills in 1996 and Josh Allen’s Bills rookie campaign was 2018. In those 22 years there have been advances in technology, training and nutrition that all current NFL quarterbacks have enjoyed the fruits of.
Josh Allen is on pace to shatter Jim Kelly’s Bills passing yards (35,467) and passing touchdowns (237) marks. Allen needs only 12,764 passing yards and 70 passing touchdowns to surpass Kelly and this could very well happen in three to four seasons.
However, Jim Kelly had an atypical NFL career. He missed the 1983, 1984 and 1985 seasons—the first three of his career due to playing in the USFL so his career numbers are skewed. Kelly could have easily had an additional 10,000 yards and 75 touchdown passes had he played these seasons with the Bills.
Another big factor that one needs to consider in the Bills QB GOAT conversation is the weapons and protection that each quarterback was given.
It’s no coincidence that Josh Allen’s career took a giant step forward in 2020 when the Bills traded for All-Pro wide receiver Stefon Diggs. But other than Diggs, the Bills have had mediocre at best talent for Josh Allen. And except for the 2023 season, the Bills offensive line has been average at best.
Jim Kelly already had Hall of Fame wide receiver, Andre Reed when he came into the league in 1986. Two years later, he was given another HOF’er, Thurman Thomas and then HOF’er, James Lofton in 1989. Kelly also played behind one the most consistent offensive lines in NFL history with the likes of Kent Hull, Howard Ballard, Jim Ritcher and Will Wolford.
Yes, the NFL was different in the 1980’s and 1990’s than it is today. The quarterbacks are much more protected now and pass catchers are given more liberties as well.
Keeping this in mind, the most objective way to compare Jim Kelly and Josh Allen statistically is to assess where they rank amongst their quarterback peers in the era that they played—not merely comparing statistics straight up.
This graphic shows Jim Kelly’s and Josh Allen’s rankings year by year in Yards Per Game, Touchdown Percentage, Interception Percentage and QB Rating.
Neither quarterback’s rankings amongst their peers stand out as being superior to the other.
In the Super Bowl years, Jim Kelly was among the best quarterbacks in the NFL. He finished second in MVP voting and was First-Team All-Pro in 1991. Kelly went to five Pro Bowls in six seasons from 1987-1992—back when a Pro Bowl nod meant something.
Josh Allen’s first two seasons were nothing spectacular, but starting in 2020, he turned a corner and is now regarded as one of the elite quarterbacks in the league. Like Jim Kelly, Josh Allen finished second in MVP voting in 2020 and was selected to the Pro Bowl twice.
One negative similarity between Josh Allen and Jim Kelly is their knack for throwing interceptions. Allen finished in the bottom half of the league in interception percentage in five of his six seasons. Kelly finished in the bottom half of the league in interception percentage in eight of his eleven seasons in the league.
There are two major differences between Josh Allen and Jim Kelly that likely gives Allen the Bills QB GOAT nod over Kelly.
First is Josh Allen’s rushing ability.
In five of his six seasons in the league, Josh Allen finished top-50 in the league in rushing yards per game and he’s been top-25 in the league in rushing touchdowns every season of his career (he was top 10 twice). Allen has carried his team on his back year after year.
Jim Kelly was your typical immobile ‘80’s and ‘90’s quarterback. He rushed for seven career touchdowns. Josh Allen doubled that LAST SEASON.
The second major difference that pushes Josh Allen past Jim Kelly is Allen’s clutch playoff performances.
In 17 career playoff games, Jim Kelly had a QB Rating of 72.3, had 21 combined touchdowns and 28 interceptions. You might be saying to yourself, “Yes, but Jim Kelly led his team to four Super Bowls.” Well, as mentioned earlier—Kelly had a lot of help, especially from a guy named Thurman Thomas who averaged 74 rush yards per game with 20 touchdowns in 18 career playoff games with Jim Kelly under center.
Josh Allen has played in 10 career playoff games. His QB Rating is 100.0 with 26 combined touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Have the Bills gotten to a Super Bowl? No—but don’t put that on Josh Allen. Except for one game where Gabe Davis shined against the Chiefs with four receiving touchdowns, Josh Allen put his Bills team on his back and willed them to victory with no other stand-out performances from any other offensive player.
Jim Kelly is in the Hall of Fame and he 100% deserves it. He’s known for his toughness and resiliency. Kelly had some incredible seasons with the Bills and they would not have made the Super Bowl runs that they made without him. However, if you look at all the factors—factors that make a quarterback great, Josh Allen has to get the nod for the Bills GOAT.
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