Bills QB Josh Allen Gets Shaded During Bye Week
Getty
Even Josh Allen is slipping in the power rankings after two consecutive losses. So, where do the Buffalo Bills and Allen stand?
The Buffalo Bills are still licking their wounds from falling to the Atlanta Falcons on October 13 for Monday Night Football, and did so with a surprisingly wide 24-14 spread. Leading up to this game, the Buffalo Bills were considered one of the most dangerous teams in the NFL, and they’re still one of the best, but after two consecutive losses, they’re falling a bit in the rankings.
So, it’s time for the Buffalo Bills to do some soul-searching and come out of this bye week ready to prevent something like what happened on Monday from happening again. The team, of course, has MVP-winning quarterback Josh Allen heading up their roster, so that’s a strong positive. He’s not only talented on the field but a solid personality off the field, and Allen has simply proven to be a reliable quarterback.
But, even Allen is slipping in the power rankings after two consecutive losses. So, where do the Bills and Allen stand?
Buffalo Bills Quarterback Josh Allen in NFL Quarterback Tallies
Allen has taken a hit in the NFL quarterback rankings for Week 8. The NFL Spin Zone has him at No. 12, which seems pretty low, to be real.
“Josh Allen threw six interceptions all of last year and already has four interceptions through his first six games,” Lou Scataglia notes in the feature. “The Buffalo Bills are 4-2 on the season and were on their bye in Week 7, but this two-game losing streak does tell us a good bit about Buffalo.”
He adds that the Bills feel “like one of many ‘good not great’ teams in the AFC, and that goes for Allen, as well. He simply hasn’t been that special this year, as there are 11 quarterbacks in our current power rankings who have played better than him this year.” Ouch. That hurts.
He also points out that Allen has already been sacked 12 times this year, and he was only sacked 14 times in the full 2024 regular season, “so this QB is definitely regressing from his MVP season in 2024. Josh Allen comes in at No. 12 in our power rankings.”
Rankings for the Buffalo Bills in Week 8
In a Monday, October 20 piece for For the Win, Robert Zeglinski and Christian D’Andrea rank the Bills at No. 8, down from No. 5 last week.
“What looked like an early bye came exactly when Buffalo needed it following a two-game losing streak,” D’Andrea notes. “The schedule is a roller coaster over the next month, which includes showdowns against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chiefs, but also the Panthers and Dolphins. Will that be enough to fix a broken secondary? Probably not. Did it give Josh Allen enough rest to line up a bunch of four-touchdown performances? We’ll see!”
They were still going between the Buccaneers and Lions for the No. 1 team in the NFL at press time, but considering the Lions won, we know how that will play out. No. 2 was the Colts, with For the Win noting, “You can’t argue with results. Indiana Jones is far superior to Danny Dimes, not only in using his legs as a boost but in lobbing deep balls to Alec Pierce and generally looking like the quarterback the Colts hoped Anthony Richardson would be.”a
Tennessee Titans’ dysfunction makes head coaching job a tough sell
After a dismal 23 game tenure in which the Tennessee Titans won just four games, Brian Callahan was relieved of his duties as head coach after their Week 6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. Everyone seems to be in agreement that dismissing Callahan was the right move, but it’s becoming increasingly obvious that the Titans are one of the most directionless franchises in the NFL.
The team now begins their searching for a new leader, but that task has been made more difficult due to how poorly run the organization has been in recent years. Despite citing a desire for more organizational unity as the primary reason for firing Mike Vrabel, they continue to replace one person at a time, rather than hitting the reset button and bringing in a whole new regime with a common vision.
When an organization operates that way, they have their choice of every possible candidate, and can pick the one who best fits the direction they want to go. In their current situation, the team must find a head coach who fits an incredibly specific set of requirements: Most importantly, they must believes in Cam Ward as a future franchise quarterback, as well as create an offensive environment that will allow Ward to flourish. Given the state of the team, they'll need to be the type of coach who is capable of building a strong culture from the wreckage of a broken one.
Titans are doing everything they can to make their head coaching job undesirable
The next head coach must share a common vision for the future of the team with GM Mike Borgonzi, and be willing to accept the current power structure that's in place. It's previously been reported by The Athletic that owner Amy Adams Strunk strongly believes the head coach should not control the roster. That belief, right or wrong, could exclude some of the most sought after candidates on the market.
So how many head coaching candidates fit that description? It’s impossible to know without understanding their preferences, but it can’t be many. Based on Ian Rapaport’s report that Arthur Smith and Matt Nagy are two names to watch, the team could be prioritizing candidates with previous head coaching experience.
With that in mind, Kliff Kingsbury sticks out as fitting the criteria. He doesn’t exactly scream “culture setter”, but he’s seemingly learned from the mistakes he made in Arizona, and the RPO-heavy offense he’s built around Jayden Daniels in Washington would be a great fit for Ward’s skillset. However, Kingsbury might have his choice of a few different jobs this offseason, and who knows how high the Titans would be on his list based on the organization's league-wide reputation.
