NFL Power Rankings, Week 8: Biggest risers and fallers after Week 7
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Buccaneers play Monday vs. Ravens
We obviously don’t know how the Buccaneers will fare in their highly-anticipated Week 7 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens at the time of this writing, but this Bucs team just dropped 51 points against the New Orleans Saints last week and they have looked like one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL all season long.
Baker Mayfield has continued to play exceptionally well, and as the Bucs continue to get healthy defensively, this team should continue to establish itself as one of the powerhouse teams in the NFC.
The issue facing the Bucs this week has nothing to do with what kind of quality team this is. It has everything to do with playing against the Baltimore Ravens, where all bets are off. The Ravens are an absolute buzz-saw, one of the most well-oiled machines in the NFL. You can’t speak doom and gloom over a season if you lose to the Ravens, but you can certainly hang your hat on a win against them. We’ll see what the Bucs do.
5. Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills have had their share of slip-ups already this season, but I think I’ve seen enough from this team to really buy them as a threat in the AFC come January. But to be a threat in January, the Bills have to get there. After their dominating win against the Tennessee Titans, let’s take a gander at the Bills’ upcoming opponents…
Their next three games are on the road against the Seahawks, at home against the Dolphins, and on the road against the Colts. After that, they face off against the Chiefs and 49ers at home. Needless to say, these next three games are going to be crucial for the Bills taking care of business and building themselves a little bit of a cushion in the AFC East. They are 5-2 after that win against the Titans, and they should be no worse than 7-3 after this next stretch of three games.
Josh Allen has plenty of weapons offensively despite the departure of Stefon Diggs this offseason, including apparently a dynamic two-headed monster at running back with James Cook and Ray Davis.