The Buffalo Bills offensive line watches the end of the punt return before taking the field during first half action at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Oct. 20, 2024. Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Dominant run game boosts Bills' offense in NFL rankings

Originally posted on Buffalo Bills on SI
By Colin Richey | Last updated Jun 22, 2025 10:35 AM ET

Not one, but two national analysts are bullish on the Buffalo Bills' offense.

ESPN analysts Mina Kimes and Ben Solak ranked their Top 10 offenses on The Mina Kimes Show, with both NFL experts ranking the Bills as the No. 2 offense on the circuit.

Solak listed several key metrics Buffalo was near the top in, including, "second in EPA per play, second in points per drive, second in down set conversion rate," to set the tone for his analysis, before shouting out two of Buffalo's coordinators. “The Bills’ offensive growth over the last couple of years, really the Joe Brady era, the thing that you keep coming back to is Aaron Kromer and this offensive line [and] their ability to just hand off the football.”

While reigning MVP Josh Allen is the driving force behind this ranking, both analysts heavily praised Buffalo's run game, unlocking the complimentary football that Head Coach Sean McDermott has been preaching about since he first came to Buffalo in 2017.

“It’s so easy to forget in the Brian Daboll era…this team had a problem. They wanted to be four-wide all the time, and they couldn’t just run the dadgum ball when they got light boxes and when they needed to control game script,” Solak explained.

He praised Buffalo's offensive line, shouting out Dion Dawkins, David Edwards, Connor McGovern, O'Cyrus Torrence, Spencer Brown, and Alec Anderson. “Now they have a five-across offensive line who is not just good talent across the board…but last year they played 800 snaps together. This was the second-most continuous offensive line in the league. They’re all back this year, and presumably James Cook [is] back. You’re gonna be able to just keep on chugging with this running game. They do the sixth offensive linemen stuff. That ability to stay ahead of the sticks…is a really important new facet of this Bills offense."

Kimes followed up with more advanced metrics, as well as simplifying the argument to a pure numbers game. “Fourth in rush DVOA, top four in a lot of advanced metrics when you’re looking at the run game…If you have a dual-threat quarterback who is special in other ways…and a dominant run game, and a good offensive line, the math is just a nightmare.”

Both Kimes and Solak had Buffalo right behind the Baltimore Ravens, and ahead of the Chiefs, Bengals, and Lions to round out their Top 5 lists.