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AFC Playoff Picture: Buffalo Bills staring up a mountain

The Bills are two games out of a playoff spot, but a whole bunch of teams stand in their way.

Matt Warren is Associate Director of NFL coverage for SB Nation and previously covered the Bills for Buffalo Rumblings for more than a decade.

The Buffalo Bills have won two straight games to inch their way onto the “In The Hunt” graphics talking heads will use on NFL-themed sets this week. At 4-7, they are only two games out of the sixth and final Wild Card spot and as we’ve seen before, anything can happen.

The four division leaders haven’t changed in a while: Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Houston Texans. The Los Angeles Chargers have taken a commanding lead in the Wild Card race at 8-3, two full games better than the rest of the pack in the AFC. That leaves just one spot for a glut of teams between 6-5 and 4-7.

Unfortunately for Buffalo, both 6-5 teams have beaten Buffalo this year; the Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts. Four 5-6 teams and a 4-6-1 squad also stand in Buffalo’s way, increasing the level of difficulty.

Here are the updated standings following the Monday Night Football game between the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans. No team has been eliminated.

  1. Kansas City Chiefs (9-2)
  2. New England Patriots (8-3, head-to-head win over HOU)
  3. Houston Texans (8-3, head-to-head loss to NE)
  4. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-3-1)
  5. Los Angeles Chargers (8-3)
  6. Baltimore Ravens (6-5, 6-3 AFC)
  7. Indianapolis Colts (6-5, 5-4 AFC)
  8. Miami Dolphins (5-6, 4-4 AFC)
  9. Cincinnati Bengals (5-6, 3-4 AFC)
  10. Denver Broncos (5-6, 3-5 AFC)
  11. Tennessee Titans (5-6, 3-6 AFC)
  12. Cleveland Browns (4-6-1)
  13. Buffalo Bills (4-7)
  14. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-8, head-to-head win over NYJ)
  15. New York Jets (3-8, head-to-head loss to JAX)
  16. Oakland Raiders (2-9)