The Buffalo Bills have the second-best record in the entire AFC as they head into their Week 7 game against the winless Miami Dolphins. It’s not a “must-win” game in the traditional sense, but it’s a game the Bills will need to win if they want to make a serious push for a solid playoff spot or (dare I say) the AFC East title.
Here are the game outcomes Bills fans should root for this week. (We don’t usually include ties.) They go in the order of most important to least important. Before we get to the games, here are the current standings.
Full AFC Standings
1. New England Patriots (6-0)
2. Buffalo Bills (4-1)
3. Houston Texans (4-2, 3-0 AFC)
4. Kansas City Chiefs (4-2, 3-2 AFC, head-to-head win over BAL)
5. Baltimore Ravens (4-2, 3-2 AFC, head-to-head loss to KC)
6. Oakland Raiders (3-2, head-to-head win over IND)
7. Indianapolis Colts (3-2, head-to-head loss to OAK)
8. Cleveland Browns (2-4, 2-1 AFC)
9t. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-4, 2-2 AFC)
9t. Denver Broncos (2-4, 2-2 AFC
9t. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-4, 2-2 AFC)
12. Los Angeles Chargers (2-4, 2-3 AFC)
13. Tennessee Titans (2-4, 1-4 AFC)
14. New York Jets (1-4)
15. Miami Dolphins (0-5)
16. Cincinnati Bengals (0-6)
Rooting Interests
Buffalo Bills (4-1) over Miami Dolphins (0-5)
Sunday October 20, 1:00 PM Eastern
If the Bills want to call themselves a good team, they need to beat up on bad teams with ease. This is their chance to prove they are a good team and keep pace with the Patriots.
New York Jets (1-4) over New England Patriots (6-0)
Monday October 21, 8:15 PM Eastern
There’s a reason to stay up on Monday night and if the Jets can pull off a win, there will be much rejoicing. New England gets a mini-bye after not playing since last Thursday, but wouldn’t it be nice if they could stumble for once?
Green Bay Packers over Oakland Raiders (3-2)
Sunday October 20, 1:00 PM Eastern
The Raiders have quietly played themselves into playoff position at 3-2. A loss to the NFC North team would help the Bills in their Wild Card positioning while not helping a different AFC team, so it’s wins all around.
Seattle Seahawks over Baltimore Ravens (4-2)
Sunday October 20, 4:25 PM Eastern
Right now, the Ravens are running away from the AFC North. If they fall back to the pack or if the Bills can win the AFC East, there is no down side for rooting against Baltimore this week when they’re playing an NFC team.
Tennessee Titans (2-4) over Los Angeles Chargers (2-4)
Sunday October 20, 4:05 PM Eastern
Buffalo holds a tiebreaker over the Titans, so this is an easy call when rooting between teams with an even record. The Chargers are always a team that seems to be in it until the end of the year, so knocking them out early will be beneficial.
Cincinnati Bengals (0-6) over Jacksonville Jaguars (2-4)
Sunday October 20, 1:00 PM Eastern
An AFC bottom-dweller Buffalo already has a win against beating a Wild Card contender is pretty straightforward, even if we aren’t worried about the Jags.
Denver Broncos (2-4) over Kansas City Chiefs (4-2)
Thursday October 17, 8:20 PM Eastern
Even if you think the Chiefs are going to run away with the division, Buffalo can still win their division, too. Denver is 2.5 games behind the Bills right now and they play IN BUFFALO in a few weeks. Buffalo controls their own destiny against Denver but won’t get to play Kansas City. Knocking down a team that could be facing them for AFC playoff positioning without doing much damage to Buffalo’s Wild Card chances is fine by me, but you could root for KC to further hinder Denver’s Wild Card chances if you think they are dangerous.
Indianapolis Colts (3-2) over Houston Texans (4-2)
Sunday October 20, 1:00 PM Eastern
Just like KC vs Denver, you could root either side of this. Personally, I want the AFC South winner at 8-8. If they all beat up on each other it hurts their Wild Card chances and would help the winner of the AFC East maintain a higher seed. If you think Houston is head-and-shoulders better than the rest of their division AND you think Buffalo can’t win the division, it’s okay to root for Houston to beat Indy here.
Washington over San Francisco 49ers
New York Giants over Arizona Cardinals
Root for the NFC East to beat the NFC West, since it will enhance Buffalo’s strength of victory and strength of schedule.
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys
The only way this game will matter is if Buffalo eventually beats one of them but not the other. Then strength of victory would come into play. As for now, it’s a zero-sum game.
Minnesota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions
Los Angeles Rams vs. Atlanta Falcons
New Orleans Saints vs. Chicago Bears
None of these games directly affect the Bills.
If everything goes Buffalo’s way, they’ll still be a half-game back in the AFC East standings because of their bye.
In the Wild Card race, the Bills would have a 1.5-game lead over the Texans for the fifth spot and a two-game lead over Oakland for the sixth spot:
1. New England Patriots (6-1)
2. Buffalo Bills (5-1)
3. Indianapolis Colts (4-2)
4. Houston Texans (4-3, 3-1 AFC)
5. Kansas City Chiefs (4-3, 3-3 AFC, head-to-head win over BAL)
6. Baltimore Ravens (4-3, 3-2 AFC, head-to-head loss to KC)
7. Oakland Raiders (3-3)
8. Denver Broncos (3-4, head-to-head win over TEN)
9. Tennessee Titans (3-4, head-to-head loss to DEN)
10. Cleveland Browns (2-4, 2-1 AFC)
11. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-4, 2-2 AFC)
12. New York Jets (2-4, 1-3 AFC)
13. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-5, 2-3 AFC)
14. Los Angeles Chargers (2-5, 2-4 AFC)
15. Cincinnati Bengals (1-6)
16. Miami Dolphins (0-6)