The Buffalo Bills lost to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, cooling a hot streak that has lasted for the entire season. They had always found a way to win games, but on Sunday couldn’t string together enough scoring drives in the second half.
Even with their loss, Buffalo is in great position in the AFC playoff race with a favorable schedule down the stretch. In fact, they are exactly where they were heading into Week 8. The Bills have the second-best record in the AFC and hold the five seed in the playoff race all by themselves.
Full AFC Standings
1. New England Patriots (8-0)
2. Buffalo Bills (5-2, 4-1 AFC)
3. Indianapolis Colts (5-2, 4-2 AFC)
4. Baltimore Ravens (5-2, 3-2 AFC)
5. Houston Texans (5-3, head-to-head win over KC)
6. Kansas City Chiefs (5-3, head-to-head loss to HOU)
7. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-4, head-to-head win over TEN)
8. Tennessee Titans (4-4, head-to-head loss to JAX)
9. Oakland Raiders (3-4)
10. Los Angeles Chargers (3-5)
11. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-4) *Still to play on Monday Night Football
12. Cleveland Browns (2-5)
12. Denver Broncos (2-6)
14. New York Jets (1-6)
15. Miami Dolphins (0-6) *Still to play on Monday Night Football
16. Cincinnati Bengals (0-8)
A big shake up in the middle of the standings, as the Chiefs fall all the way from third in the AFC to sixth with their loss and the Indianapolis Colts jump up to third.
The playoff race shakes out a bit differently as Buffalo and New England are in the same division. That pushes Buffalo down to the fifth seed.
Full AFC Playoff Standings
1. New England Patriots (8-0)
2. Indianapolis Colts (5-2, 4-2 AFC)
3. Baltimore Ravens (5-2, 3-2 AFC)
4. Kansas City Chiefs (5-3)
5. Buffalo Bills (5-2)
6. Houston Texans (5-3)
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7. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-4, head-to-head win over TEN)
8. Tennessee Titans (4-4, head-to-head loss to JAX)
9. Oakland Raiders (3-4)
While the Bills are now 2.5 games out of first in the AFC East thanks to a dominant Patriots team, they are in control of their Wild Card destiny. They are a half-game clear of the Texans for the fifth spot. Buffalo has a 1.5-game lead over the Jaguars and Titans for the sixth and final playoff spot with a tiebreaker over Tennessee.
In short, the loss to an NFC opponent didn’t hurt them badly in the playoff race. They have a chance to get right against a bad Washington team next week.