The Buffalo Bills (5-3) blew their shot at further solidifying their playoff position when they had their doors blown off by the New York Jets on Thursday night. Even with that said, they sit in fifth place in the AFC and in control of a playoff spot.
As they, and you, sit around and watch more NFL games take place this weekend, here are rooting interests that will help the Bills make the playoffs listed in order of importance based on the New York Times playoff simulator.
Oakland Raiders (3-5) over Miami Dolphins (4-3)
Sunday, November 5th, 8:30 p.m.
Miami can tie Buffalo at 5-3 with a win. Buffalo is two games and a tiebreaker ahead of the Raiders so it’s a real no-brainer here.
Cincinnati Bengals (3-4) over Jacksonville Jaguars (4-3)
Sunday, November 5th, 1:00 p.m.
This one is worth less to the Bills in terms of playoff position because of the two teams involved. If the Jaguars win, they tie Buffalo at 5-3. If the Bengals win, they are a game behind Buffalo but hold a tiebreaker on them.
Indianapolis Colts (2-6) over Houston Texans (3-4)
Sunday, November 5th, 1:00 p.m.
Believe it or not, this is one of the more important matchups for Buffalo this week. With New England off, the Jets already in the books for the week, and several teams on byes, the NYT simulator essentially is saying keep the Texans out of the playoff race altogether. Both the Colts and Texans are without their starting QBs after Andrew Luck and Desaun Watson were placed on injured reserve this week. Who knows what’s going to happen.
Philadelphia Eagles over Denver Broncos (3-4)
Sunday, November 5th, 1:00 p.m.
Similarly, keep the Broncos out of the playoff race, though they seem to be doing that themselves.
Tennessee Titans (4-3) over Baltimore Ravens (4-4)
Sunday, November 5th, 1:00 p.m.
The inclination would be to root for the Ravens, since they have a worse record and it would keep the two teams further clumped to the middle of the pack in the Wild Card race. The playoff simulator seems to disagree, perhaps because of Tennessee’s claim as the top team in the AFC South.
Dallas Cowboys over Kansas City Chiefs (6-2)
Sunday, November 5th, 4:25 p.m.
Interestingly, this game doesn’t figure into Buffalo’s playoff chances according to the simulator. The Chiefs are running away with the AFC West right now, so they aren’t likely to figure into the Wild Card race. We can still root for the Cowboys.
Atlanta Falcons over Carolina Panthers
Sunday, November 5th, 1:00 p.m.
Strength of victory ends up being a tiebreaker down the line. It probably won’t matter but this one is pretty clear-cut.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers over New Orleans Saints
Sunday November 5th, 1:00 p.m.
Same thing; Buffalo has a victory over the Buccaneers but not the Saints (yet).
Los Angeles Rams at New York Giants
Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers
Washington Redskins at Seattle Seahawks
Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers
These NFC-on-NFC games don’t matter to the Bills.