The Buffalo Bills could clinch a playoff spot as soon as next Sunday if things fall their way over the next ten days. After beating the Dallas Cowboys to move to 9-3, the Bills put the pressure on the rest of the AFC Wild Card contenders.
(No, they can’t clinch until next Sunday.)
With a win in Week 14, Buffalo would move to 10-3 with a 7-2 record in the AFC. Even if they lost out after that, they would be 10-6 and 7-5 in the AFC so that’s the metric we’re going to use for comparison.
Let’s start here: Buffalo has already clinched a playoff spot over the Cincinnati Bengals, Miami Dolphins, and Denver Broncos on record alone. A win next week would put them ahead of the New York Jets, Los Angeles Chargers, and Jacksonville Jaguars regardless of what they do in Weeks 13 or 14.
The Cleveland Browns (5-6) would have to lose this week against the Pittsburgh Steelers or next week against the Cincinnati Bengals to drop to seven losses. Buffalo can’t clinch over a 7-6 Browns team ten days from now.
It gets way more convoluted with the 6-5 teams since the Tennessee Titans play the Indianapolis Colts and the Oakland Raiders over the next two weeks and the Pittsburgh Steelers play the previously mentioned Browns.
All-in-all, Buffalo will need some help this week and next in order to clinch a playoff spot in addition to the rather large task of beating the Baltimore Ravens, but they could have a playoff spot clinched by the time the night games kick off on December 8th.