The playoff picture is starting to take shape, and if the postseason started today, the Buffalo Bills would be hitting the road for a wild card game.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Thanksgiving games have come and gone, and the NFL is rolling into its first December weekend. That means the playoff picture is starting to take form in both the AFC and NFC.
In other words, it’s not too early to look ahead and see how the opening postseason weekend would take shape. Where would the Buffalo Bills play in the wild card round? Who gets the first-round bye? Who has already been eliminated from contention?
The top four seeds go to division winners, and the next three seeds are wild cards. If the postseason were to start today, here are what the matchups would look like in the AFC:
No. 1 New England Patriots (11-2), byeNo. 7 Buffalo Bills (8-4) at No. 2 Denver Broncos (10-2)No. 6 Indianapolis Colts (8-4) at Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4)No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers (8-4) at Baltimore Ravens (6-6)
That brings us to teams who are on the outside looking in, at least for the moment. They are, in order:
Houston Texans (7-5)Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6)Kansas City Chiefs (6-6)Miami Dolphins (5-7)Cincinnati Bengals (4-8)New York Jets (3-9)Cleveland Browns (3-9)Las Vegas Raiders (2-10), eliminatedTennessee Titans (1-11), eliminated
Tiebreakers between and among teams are decided by a number of factors, including head-to-head outcomes, records against division opponents, records against AFC opponents, best win percentage in common games, and more.
Here’s the remainder of the Bills’ schedule:
Week 14, Sunday, Dec. 7, vs. Cincinnati Bengals, 1 p.m.Week 15, Sunday, Dec. 14, at New England Patriots, 1 p.m.Week 16, Sunday, Dec. 21, at Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m.Week 17, Sunday. Dec. 28, vs. Philadelphia Eagles, 4:25 p.m.Week 18, TBD (flex option), vs. New York Jets
Where we stand following Week 13‼️ pic.twitter.com/eZMSSAUJ8T
— NFL (@NFL) December 2, 2025