The Buffalo Bills clinched the five seed or better with their win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night. They play the New England Patriots in Week 16 in a bid to get themselves closer to the AFC East division lead, but it won’t be enough.
If the Bills want to clinch the AFC East, they are going to need some help. In Week 17, the Miami Dolphins (with nothing to play for) will need to top the Patriots even if Buffalo beats them in Week 16.
The Bills can still end up anywhere between the two seed and the five seed depending on the outcome of multiple games coming down the stretch.
Here are the playoff standings as of Sunday night/Monday morning at midnight, but they won’t change relative to the Bills until next week:
Full AFC Standings
1. Baltimore Ravens (12-2) [Clinched AFC North]
2. New England Patriots (11-3) [Clinched playoff spot]
3. Kansas City Chiefs (10-4, 8-3 AFC) [Clinched AFC West]
4 . Buffalo Bills (10-4, 7-3 AFC) [Clinched five seed or better]
5. Houston Texans (9-5)
6 . Pittsburgh Steelers (8-6, 6-4 AFC)
7 . Tennessee Titans (8-6, 6-5 AFC)
8. Indianapolis Colts (6-7, 5-6 AFC, head-to-head loss to OAK) [To play on Monday night]
9. Cleveland Browns (6-8, 6-4 AFC)
10. Oakland Raiders (6-8, 4-6 AFC)
11. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-9, 5-6 AFC)*
12. Denver Broncos (5-9, head-to-head wins over LAC, 4-6 AFC)*
13. Los Angeles Chargers (5-9, head-to-head losses to DEN, 3-7 AFC)*
14. New York Jets (5-9, 1-8 AFC)*
15. Miami Dolphins (3-11)*
16. Cincinnati Bengals (1-13)*
Full AFC Playoff Standings
1. Baltimore Ravens (12-2) [Clinched AFC North]
2. New England Patriots (11-3) [Clinched playoff spot]
3. Kansas City Chiefs (10-4, 8-3 AFC) [Clinched AFC West]
4. Houston Texans (9-5)
5 . Buffalo Bills (10-4, 7-3 AFC) [Clinched five seed or better]
6 . Pittsburgh Steelers (8-6, 6-4 AFC)
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7 . Tennessee Titans (8-6, 6-5 AFC)
8. Indianapolis Colts (6-7, 5-6 AFC, head-to-head loss to OAK) [To play on Monday night]
9. Cleveland Browns (6-8, 6-4 AFC)
10. Oakland Raiders (6-8, 4-6 AFC)