We probably shouldn’t be surprised that the Cincinnati Bengals‘ path to the NFL playoffs goes through Orchard Park, New York, and the Buffalo Bills‘ Highmark Stadium.
Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow and Buffalo’s Josh Allen, two of the NFL’s preeminent quarterbacks of this era, will battle at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Dec. 7 as both teams fight to keep pace in their respective races for the NFL playoffs.
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The Bengals (4-8) are in a much different kind of race than the Bills (8-4), but both teams have the playoffs in sight.
Here’s what needs to happen for both teams this weekend and going forward:
Bengals have slim-to-no margin for error
Cincinnati’s playoff race is more than likely confined to the the AFC North, which appears to be down in 2025 and underperforming as there is no runaway team.
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The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for the North lead with 6-6 records, and the Bengals trail both teams by two games in standings.
The best hope to make the playoffs for head coach Zac Taylor’s Bengals is to win the AFC North division, where they trail both the Ravens and Steelers by two games entering Week 14.
The Bengals have a 6% chance to win the division with five games to play, according to The Athletic’s playoff predictor. That percentage chance rises to 80% if they win out and finish 9-8 for the third consecutive year. In the short term, a win in Buffalo raises the chance to 15%.
Suffice it to say every game is a must-win for Cincinnati the rest of the way. Winning out would mean also defeating Baltimore (6-6), Miami (5-7), Arizona (3-9) and Cleveland (3-9), none of whom currently have winning records. Those four are a combined 17-31 going into Dec. 7.
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Part of the recipe for any team to reach the playoffs is staying healthy, and losing Burrow in Week 2 was damaging to Cincinnati’s playoff hopes. Still, there’s pressure on the Bengals to make a run at the postseason this year with Burrow back from injury and considered to be in the prime of his career.
Burrow’s successful return from the injury on Thanksgiving Night against the Baltimore Ravens certainly created the appearance of another possible late-season run. The Bengals won five games in a row to finish 9-8 in 2024 but did not make the playoffs.
Buffalo looking to solidify AFC wild-card position
Buffalo is currently the top wild-card team in the AFC, and the AFC East division might be out of reach with the New England Patriots (11-2) leading the Bills by two games.
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Right now, the Bills hold a 92% chance to reach the playoffs, according to The Athletic’s prediction tool. That percentage chance rises to 96% with a victory over Cincinnati.
A loss to Cincinnati would, of course, be damaging for the Bills, but they’d still be a 79% bet to make the postseason.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: The playoff implications are high for Bengals-Bills matchup at Buffalo