The Bills boosted their playoff chances this week, but they’re still a wild card for now. See what’s at stake and how the playoff picture looks right now.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills did what they needed to do Sunday afternoon in Foxborough, Mass. They beat New England and made sure that the Patriots did not clinch the AFC East division title.
Obviously, there’s still work to be done, but the Bills did boost their postseason chances this week.
As a wild card at the moment, the Bills would start on the playoffs on the road. But if they can wrestle away the AFC East crown with a late-season surge, there would be at least one more game at Highmark Stadium beyond the regular season.
Leaving out Monday night’s game between the Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers — which wouldn’t impact the Bills or their potential opponent — here are what the AFC matchups would look like in the postseason were to start today:
No. 1 Denver Broncos (12-2), byeNo. 7 Houston Texans (9-5) at No. 2 New England Patriots (11-3)No. 6 Buffalo Bills (10-4) at No. 3 Jacksonville Jaguars (10-4)No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers (10-4) at Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6)
That brings us to teams who are on the outside looking in, at least for the moment. They are, in order:
Indianapolis Colts (8-6) Baltimore Ravens (7-7)Miami Dolphins (6-7)Kansas City Chiefs (6-8), eliminatedCincinnati Bengals (4-10), eliminatedNew York Jets (3-11), eliminatedCleveland Browns (3-11), eliminatedLas Vegas Raiders (2-12), eliminatedTennessee Titans (2-12), 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 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