NFL Power Rankings: Bills Top 5?
The Buffalo Bills enter another season with high expectations.
The team has now reached the playoffs in four consecutive seasons and has won a postseason game in each of the last three years ... and there's a very good chance that pattern will continue.
With Josh Allen under center, the Bills boast one of the best quarterbacks in the league. However, they have always been a bridesmaid to either Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow.
The Bills remain behind both the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals, along with the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles in Sports Illustrated's power rankings ... clocking at No. 5.
"I think No. 5 is O.K., preferable even, for a Bills team and fan base that was utterly exhausted by the weight of its own expectations last year. In certain locales, a winning franchise means just a little bit more. Sean McVay having success in Los Angeles is not going to change the daily lives of the cashiers at House of Bijan on Rodeo Drive selling $880 yellow alligator wallets (a real thing)," Sports Illustrated writes.
"Consider this a season in which the Bills are met with their realities: a QB who thrives because he takes on a lot, a wide receiver core in transition, a defense evolving. This takes time. Buffalo can still be good, but perhaps just the fifth-best team for now."
While the Bills are seen as one of the top teams in the conference, they face even more challenges within the AFC East as the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets both improved their rosters in the offseason.
The Bills face a revamped Jets team with Aaron Rodgers on Monday night at MetLife Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:15 p.m.
