SI's Midseason NFL Report Card Misses Mark By Grading Bills Third in AFC

The Buffalo Bills are alone atop the AFC standings with nine weeks down and nine weeks to go.

Although the Bills (7-1) would be the No. 1 seed if the playoffs began today, their first-half performance was not enough to earn the highest grade amongst their AFC peers on Sports Illustrated's midseason report cards.

In fact, there are two AFC teams who earned higher letter grades than the conference-leading Bills.

SI staff writer Matthew Vederame graded the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Cincinnati Bengals above Buffalo. The former earned an A+ while the latter recorded an A. The Bills settled for an A- along with the Denver Broncos.

Verderame went as far to proclaim, "the Jaguars are the AFC’s best team so far."

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) scrambles during the second quarter in an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

"Buffalo has to be considered an elite team, and one of the few with a real chance of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy come February," said Verderame commenting on the Bills' A- mark.

"The Bills have the league’s biggest weapon in football with Josh Allen, the reigning rushing champion in James Cook and a top offensive line. The big concern is the defense, which ranks at or near the bottom in a litany of important categories. Still, Buffalo is a virtual lock to win the AFC East and should make a deep playoff run once again."

Why Bills are better than Jaguars

First, the Bills, who are off to the franchise's best start since 1993, are presumably better than the 2025 team that went into Duval County and posted a 27-24 playoff win over Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars.

Even with their flurry of trade deadline additions, the Jaguars aren't necessarily any better of a team that lost to Buffalo last January.

Buffalo Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid (86) scores a touchdown during the fourth quarter in an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Furthermore, the Bills have multiple signature wins this season while the Jaguars lost to the Broncos in their most difficult test to date.

Meanwhile, Buffalo posted road wins over the preseason Super Bowl favorite Los Angeles Rams and the 7-1 Minnesota Vikings.

"You've seen that they've shown that they can go on the road in two Monday night games, and hostile environments, and be able to perform and stick together and find different ways to win football games. I think that that's important," said Bills' head coach Joe Brady.

Buffalo, which is the NFL's lone team averaging more than 30.0 points per game, boasts the No. 1 ranked offense on the circuit (386.4).

“No game ever feels like we're ever out of it. We're going to continue to fight," said Allen. "At the end of the day, if there's time on the clock, we still feel like we have a chance no matter the situation."

Nov 9, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) looks to pass as Minnesota Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (43) attempts to tackle | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Tight end Dalton Kincaid predicted that the best is yet to come for the Bills' offense.

As for the defense, which Verderame points to as a major concern, the unit is showing signs of life. It's also certainly possible that Verderame is overreacting to a slow start in a new system under coordinator Jim Leonhard.

Albeit against lesser quarterbacks, the Bills have enjoyed an historic two-game clip on defense. They held both the Baltimore Ravens and Vikings without a passing touchdown in back-to-back weeks.

Additionally, more help is on the way with the trade for veteran safety Amani Hooker.

In closing, the Bills are what their record says they are, and right now, that's the No. 1 team in the AFC. That deserves an A+ in my book.

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