Where do the Buffalo Bills rank among experts in Week 12

On By Littum

If you beat the best – a team that hadn’t lost to anyone else in 2024 – wouldn’t that make you the best team in the league?

Well, if you’re the Buffalo Bills and you just beat the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, that’s not the case. At least that’s the way it’s going so far according to the power rankings.

Of course, the Bills and Chiefs have been here before. Buffalo has now won four consecutive regular season games against Kansas City. It’s a different story in the playoffs, where Allen has gone 0-3 against Mahomes.

While most NFL power rankings don’t come out until after Monday night’s game, none of the biggest ones that came out so far have the Bills in first place.

Be sure to check back later as more power rankings are released around the NFL.

Ultimately, the issue likely won’t be settled until the Bills face the 9-1 Detroit Lions on Sunday, Dec. 15.

Bills average ranking this week: 2.27 (last week: 3.45)

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49ers standings: 17 ( six places)

Bills: The Chiefs are no longer the clear best team in the AFC. The Buffalo Bills have now won six games in a row and shut out the Chiefs in Week 11. Josh Allen made almost every significant play in the game, and the defense managed to create several turnovers and big stops against Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid.

In a year where many expected the Bills to regress, they have a chance to win the AFC East by Thanksgiving. But they still have much bigger targets on their radar.

49ers: The San Francisco 49ers haven’t played a complete game this season and it’s costing them time and time again in the NFC West. They have held leads against the Seahawks, Cardinals and Rams late in the fourth quarter, but lost all three games in dramatic fashion.

They sit in last place in the NFC West, and with a tough schedule coming up, it’s fair to wonder if they’ll even make the playoffs this season. It’s been that kind of year in San Francisco.

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49ers standings: 12 ( one place)

Bills: We know they can beat the Chiefs in the regular season. Can they do it in the postseason?

49ers: At some point, we just have to accept that something is missing — and that it won’t come back this year.

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49ers standings: 15 ( four places)

Bills: They face some tough games, but they have a chance at the top seed. Defense is often overlooked and shouldn’t be.

49ers: This team is a shell of what we thought we would see before the season. The injuries have affected them, but it’s more than that.

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49ers standings: 13 ( three places)

Bills: Josh Allen’s 26-yard touchdown run on fourth down changed the course of the Bills’ season and could have been his MVP moment. Kudos to head coach Sean McDermott for going after it after watching so many other teams play it safe and lose to Patrick Mahomes as a result.

49ers: At some point, it doesn’t matter that four of the 49ers’ losses are by a combined 13 points. They are a .500 team as we approach the end of November. The 49ers are in real danger of missing the playoffs, which would make them the NFL’s biggest disappointment.

This week looked at the head coach’s hot-seat rating for each team:

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49ers standings: 16 ( four places)

Bills’ hot seat temperature control: Cold.

Bills: Sean McDermott won’t be fully embraced in Buffalo until he at least gets the Bills to the Super Bowl, but ending the Chiefs’ perfect season is good for morale. McDermott, who is 82-43 since taking the job in 2017, has gone to just one conference title game, and Kansas City ended the Bills’ season there. Sunday established the Bills as a real contender this season, but they’ll have to prove it again and likely against the same old foe.

49ers’ hot seat temperature control: Room temperature.

49ers: Kyle Shanahan should be absolutely safe. Somehow he isn’t. The 49ers are in the top half of the league in scoring (25 ppg) and scoring defense (22.2 ppg allowed), but something isn’t clicking. San Francisco has at least advanced to the NFC Championship Game the last three years and has been to two Super Bowls under Shanahan, but fans are starting to get restless. Hopefully ownership isn’t. There is a greater chance that the 49ers will get worse and not better if they make a coaching change.

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49ers standings: 12 ( one place)

Bills: Sean McDermott’s big fourth-and-2 decision was a massive pick in both the macro and micro senses; a big, confidence-building call for Joe Brady; and an even bigger confidence-building call for Sean McDermott. Josh Allen said it best after the game: McDermott put his faith in his players. They’re going to remember that much later in the season.

49ers: It’s still hard for me to fathom that the 49ers are 5-5. If I told you a team had the eighth-leading scoring team in the league, a defense that is top-10 in passing yards, touchdowns and interceptions allowed, and a system that ranks top three in time of possession, yards per carry. drive and play driving per driving, you’d guess they were pretty good, right? Green Bay, Buffalo, Rams, Arizona and Detroit still lurk on this schedule.

This week, the staff looked back at which person (general manager, coach or player) was on the preseason hot seat for each team. How do they rate the hot seat now (burnt, boiling, hot, cold or freezing)?

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49ers ranking: 13 ( one spot)

Who was on the Bills’ preseason hot seat: Sean McDermott

Current temperature on hot seat: Freezer

Bills: This was never about job security, but instead about the challenge McDermott faces due to the many changes on the Bills’ roster. He has accomplished the task and put himself in the conversation for NFL Coach of the Year. Buffalo is off to its best start since 1992 and enters the bye week after beating the defending Super Bowl champions and holding the No. 1 seed in play. Despite injuries and new faces, McDermott has impressively coached the Bills to a 9-2 start. — Alaina Getzenberg

Who was on the 49ers’ preseason hot seat: WR Deebo Samuel Sr.

Current temperature on hot seat: Hot.

49ers: The 49ers restructured Samuel’s contract in September, saving them more than $16 million against this year’s salary cap and more than $8 million in 2025. The deal doesn’t guarantee Samuel will remain a Niner beyond this season, though it’s still possible. This season, he’s dealing with a myriad of nagging injuries and has been less efficient against the run (2.9 yards per carry, down from a career average of 6.3). With Brandon Aiyuk coming off a significant knee injuryThe 49ers could need Samuel after 2024. – Nick Wagoner

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49ers standings: 18 ( seven places)

Bills: Their regular-season dominance of the Chiefs continued Sunday, for what it’s worth — and the Bills will tell you, not so much. But Buffalo is getting healthier and hotter, now winners of six straight while scoring at least 30 points in the last five games. The AFC East is basically in the bag — again — but the goal is to host the first AFC Championship Game in 31 years … and much, much more.

49ers: TE George Kittle is injured. DE Nick Bosa is hurt. Their pride is hurt after a collapse in Seattle in the fourth quarter. And heading to Green Bay and Buffalo, it could inflict further pain on their already fading playoff prospects.

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49ers standings: 14 ( four places)

Bills: The Bills made a fearless statement ahead of the playoffs by letting Josh Allen take over the Chiefs game late and not letting Patrick Mahomes break hearts in the fourth quarter again. Now they get a bye before trying to build on that momentum.

49ers: The 49ers lost another key division home game with George Kittle (hamstring) out and their defense collapsing late, big time without Nick Bosa (oblique). San Francisco is desperately fighting a Super Bowl hangover in a tight division that won’t be decided until late in the second half.

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49ers ranking: 16 ( two spots)

Bills: Yes, the Bills are 9-2 and the Chiefs are 9-1, but head-to-head wins have to count for something, and Buffalo has won six straight after beating Kansas City at Highmark Stadium, where the Bills are 5 -0 this season.

49ers: We thought the NFC West ran through San Francisco this season, but right now the 5-5 49ers are tied with the Rams and Seahawks in the division, one game behind the 6-4 Arizona Cardinals.

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49ers ranking: 14 ( four spots)

Bills: Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills did it again and took down Kansas City Chiefs in the regular season. It came because, at the biggest moment, Josh Allen drove the dagger into the Chiefs’ heart, ending their undefeated season with a touchdown run that will be on NFL highlights for years to come. Just remember that Buffalo beat Kansas City in their regular season game last season and we saw what happened when the rivals had a rematch in the playoffs.

49ers: The San Francisco 49ers can’t close out games. Much of the blame will be placed on the shoulders of the defense that made the game-winning drive possible for Seattle. We’re going to put more of that on a 49ers offense that mustered just 2 touchdowns and 277 total yards against a bottom-10 defense since Week 4. The NFC West is a mess right now, so there’s still hope for the 49ers, but with Packers and Bills looming, this hole may be too deep to dig out of.

Bill Wolcott is a producer who helps cover the film Buffalo Billshigh school and Rochester sports in general. The lifelong New Yorker has been a journalist for 30 years.