The Buffalo Bills sit at 5-1 and second place in the AFC. While fans may not be thrilled with how they earned their fifth win (or any of their wins, really), you are what your record says you are. And looking at the records of Buffalo’s upcoming opponents, the Bills have a good shot at making a legitimate run to the playoffs in 2019.
After hosting the 3-4 Philadelphia Eagles and a currently 1-6 Washington squad, the Bills travel on the road to play the 2-4 Cleveland Browns and the 0-6 Miami Dolphins. A return home for a game against the 2-5 Denver Broncos is their seventh game in a row against a team with a losing record, dating back to their game against the Tennessee Titans.
A Thanksgiving date in Dallas against the Cowboys is the next game Buffalo is likely to see a team above .500 (and that’s no guarantee, with Dallas coming off a three-game skid).
Facing the 5-2 Baltimore Ravens at home the following week will almost assuredly be against a team with a winning record, but they get a couple extra days to prepare for the big AFC showdown.
After a trip to the 2-4 Pittsburgh Steelers, they travel to the New England Patriots for another game against a formidable opponent before heading home to finish the season against the struggling New York Jets.
In all, Buffalo has a relatively easy path to the playoffs. The Patriots, by contrast face the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs plus the Cowboys and Ravens in a five-week stretch. The Bills face the Ravens, Cowboys, and Patriots in a four-week span.