The Buffalo Bills currently hold a two-game lead on the sixth-place teams in the AFC Wild Card hunt. Including the division-leading Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans, there are now seven teams within one game of the final spot in the playoff picture.
What do all the Wild Card team schedules look like heading into the home stretch? We’re here to help.
Buffalo Bills (8-3, current 5 seed)
Buffalo has a hard slate of games coming up starting on Thanksgiving Day and CBS said they have the toughest schedule remaining over the last six weeks. The Cowboys are kind of a mess right now and they haven’t yet beaten a team with a winning record.
at Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving (6-5)
vs. Baltimore Ravens (8-2)* Still to play Monday
at Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5)
at New England Patriots (10-1)
vs. New York Jets (4-7)
Houston Texans (7-4, current 3 seed via tiebreaker)
The Texans won on Thursday night, vaulting themselves from the 6 seed all the way up to the 3 seed thanks to a previous win over the AFC West-leading Chiefs. A tall task looms this weekend in the New England Patriots and they play the Tennessee Titans twice in the last three weeks in games that could decide the AFC South crown.
vs. New England (10-1)
vs. Denver Broncos (3-8)
at Tennessee (6-5)
at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-7)
vs. Tennessee (6-5)
Kansas City Chiefs (7-4, current 4 seed via tiebreaker)
The Chiefs got to sit at home with a late bye this week and make fun of the Oakland Raiders, who had a chance to tie them atop the AFC West. Instead, Kansas City holds a one-game lead in the division with Oakland coming into Arrowhead.
vs. Oakland Raiders (6-5)
at New England (10-1)
vs. Denver (3-8)
at Chicago Bears (5-6)
vs. Los Angeles Chargers (4-7)
Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5, current 6 seed via tiebreaker)
The Steelers rebounded from their controversy-filled game against the Cleveland Browns to win despite having to bench Mason Rudolph at QB. It was against the 0-for-the-season Cincinnati Bengals, though. This week they face the same motivated Cleveland team who would pass Pittsburgh in the standings with a win.
vs. Cleveland Browns (5-6)
at Arizona Cardinals (3-7-1)
vs. Buffalo (8-3)
at New York Jets (4-7)
at Baltimore Ravens (8-2)* Still to play Monday
Oakland Raiders (6-5, currently tied for 6 seed)
The Raiders could have been in a tie with Kansas City atop the AFC West but they couldn’t beat the struggling Jets on Sunday. Now they have consecutive games against AFC playoff contenders to deal with.
at Kansas City (7-4)
vs. Tennessee (6-5)
vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-7)
at Los Angeles Chargers (4-7)
at Denver (3-8)
Indianapolis Colts (6-5, currently tied for 6 seed)
Indianapolis fell from third to eighth with their loss on Thursday night, which shows the fine line most teams have in the playoff chase. They have three NFC South games remaining on their schedule and two AFC South opponents. They are going to need some help.
vs. Tennessee Titans (6-5)
at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-7)
at New Orleans Saints (9-2)
vs. Carolina Panthers (5-6)
at Jacksonville Jaguars (4-7)
Tennessee Titans (6-5, currently tied for 6 seed)
A string of bad tiebreaker outcomes has them at the bottom of the 6-5 heap. They’ll need AFC wins and pronto if they’re going to make a run, but the good news for them is they’ll have that chance against teams in the playoff hunt. If they win their four AFC contests, they’ll likely take home a playoff spot.
at Indianapolis (6-5)
at Oakland (6-5)
vs. Houston (7-4)
vs. New Orleans (9-2)
at Houston (7-4)
Cleveland Browns (5-6, one game from 6 seed)
The Browns have made their way back to the playoff picture after three straight wins in the conference. With their remaining schedule, they have an outside shot of nabbing the final Wild Card spot.
at Pittsburgh (6-5)
vs. Cincinnati (0-10)
at Arizona (3-7-1)
vs. Baltimore (8-2)* Still to play Monday
at Cincinnati (0-10)
That’s eight teams within one game of the two Wild Card spots. Half the conference is still in this.