Buffalo can clinch a playoff berth as early as this weekend, if a few things go their way. There are four ways the Bills could lock up a postseason spot in Week 16.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Yes, the Buffalo Bills would be a wild card if the season ended today. Yes, the AFC East race remains undecided as they continue to chase the New England Patriots.
But Buffalo can clinch a playoff berth as early as this weekend, if a number of things go their way. In fact, there are four ways the Bills could clinch an AFC postseason berth in Week. 16.
The simplest path is a Bills win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon, combined with help elsewhere. In that scenario, they would clinch if the Indianapolis Colts either lose or tie against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday, or if the Houston Texans lose or tie against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
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The Bills also have a path to the playoffs without a victory — albeit unlikely. If Buffalo ties the Browns, it would still secure a spot with either a Colts loss to the 49ers or a Texans loss to the Raiders.
If any one of those outcomes occurs, Buffalo would secure their spot before the final two weeks of the season.
The odds are already strongly in the Bills’ favor: Buffalo currently has a 99 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to The Athletic heading into this week.
If the Bills don’t clinch a playoff spot this week, they do finish the regular season with two home games: a 4:25 p.m. start on Dec. 28 against the Philadelphia Eagles, then a Week 18 game against the New York Jets, with a date and time yet to be determined.