The Buffalo Bills are one of the hottest teams in the NFL.
After dropping their first two games of the season, the Bills have rattled off four straight wins, tied for the third-longest active win streak in the NFL behind the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings (both five games).
The four-game winning streak is tied for Buffalo’s longest since it won six in a row near the end of the 2004 season.
The Bills come in at No. 8 in this week’s power rankings. That’s 22 spots higher than they were ranked just four weeks ago.
Buffalo’s top-ranked rushing attack has played a big part in their quick turnaround in the power rankings and in the standings.
Dominant run game
The Bills enter their Week 7 game against the Miami Dolphins with a league-high 998 rushing yards. Buffalo is averaging 5.6 yards per rush on the year, seven-tenths of a yard per rush more than anyone else.
They are averaging 4.3 yards before contact per rush. If they didn’t gain a single yard after contact this season, that average would rank 13th in the NFL in total yards per rush. Along the same lines, the Bills’ 762 yards before contact on the ground would be good for fourth in the NFL in total rushing yards.
The top three games in the NFL this season in terms of yards before contact per rush all belong to the Bills. They averaged 5.6 yards before contact per rush against the Los Angeles Rams, 5.5 against the Arizona Cardinals and 5.4 against the San Francisco 49ers.
Since the team fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman and replaced him with Anthony Lynn heading into Week 3, the Bills have averaged 212 yards per game on the ground (76 yards per game in Weeks 1 and 2). Tyrod Taylor (7.4 yards per rush) and LeSean McCoy (6.4) rank first and second, respectively, in the NFL in yards per rush during that span.
On top of the great ground game, Taylor has become one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL under pressure. He leads the league with a Total QBR of 81 when pressured this season.
Taylor has three touchdowns and no interceptions when throwing under pressure this season, including two with Rams defenders in his face in a Week 5 win.
Looking ahead
ESPN’s football power index (FPI) sees the Bills as having the No. 10 offense, No. 5 defense and No. 7 special teams unit moving forward. They are the only team in the NFL that ranks in the top 10 in all three categories. In fact, no other team ranks in the top 10 on just offense and defense.
Overall, Buffalo ranks fourth in FPI, behind the New England Patriots, Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals.
The Bills are FPI favorites in all but one of their remaining games. That game is a road matchup with the Seattle Seahawks in Week 9 (41 percent chance to win).
Their 78 percent chance to make the playoffs ranks third in the AFC.