History — hopefully — has taught the Buffalo Bills to never take Joe Burrow lightly. But if they take care of business against Burrow’s Cincinnati Bengals Sunday afternoon at Highmark Stadium and get a little help around the league, the Bills could be sitting pretty entering the Week 15 showdown against the New England Patriots.
With the 11-2 Pats on their bye week, this is the Bills first chance to make up any ground on them in the standings since the teams played two months ago. Since that game, New England is 8-0 while Buffalo has meandered to a 4-3 record.
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The game against the Bengals carries the added significance of being within the AFC. Conference records are used in multi-team tiebreakers for the playoffs, so every win within the AFC is precious. Buffalo, currently seeded 7th as the last Wild Card, is 5-3 within the conference.
A win over the always-dangerous Burrow would improve the Bills to 9-4 overall and 6-3 in the AFC. They would likely strengthen their Wild Card position while pulling within two games of the Pats.
There is reason to focus on the Bengals, but also keep one eye on the weekend’s AFC scoreboard. A look at results that could help the Bills:
Colts over Jags
One will win the AFC South and the other will likely wind up fighting the Bills for a Wild Card. Since that tiebreaker could come down to conference record, better for Buffalo to have the Jags (5-2 in AFC) pick up another conference loss. The Colts are 6-3 in AFC.
Josh Allen-Joe Burrow | Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
Steelers over Ravens
The winner takes the lead in the AFC North while the loser will plunge to 6-7 and likely three games behind the Wild Card leaders with four weeks to play. As we saw last week, Buffalo would much rather face Aaron Rodgers in the postseason than Lamar Jackson.
Raiders over Broncos
This one is big stretch, but since we’re watching let’s be greedy. 10-2 Denver could be caught in the AFC West by the 8-4 Chargers. If the Broncos become a Wild Card team, another AFC loss (they are 6-2) would serve Buffalo’s interests.
Texans over Chiefs
Rooting for a team that is currently breathing down Buffalo’s neck for the last Wild Card spot seems wacky, but any result that keeps Patrick Mahomes out of the playoffs is a win for the Bills. Kansas City would be 6-7 with a loss.
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Eagles over Chargers
At 8-4, the Chargers head into the weekend as the AFC’s No. 1 Wild Card. With a Bills win and a loss by L.A. to Philly, Buffalo could leap-frog them.
James Cook | Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
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