The Buffalo Bills moved to 5-2 on the season with their win over the New York Jets Sunday. They also got some help around the league and are sitting pretty in the AFC East race. But how are they setting up in the AFC playoff picture? Let’s dive in.
Here are the overall standings:
1. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-0)
2. Kansas City Chiefs (6-1)
3. Tennessee Titans (5-1, 4-1 AFC)
4. Baltimore Ravens (5-1, 3-1 AFC)
5. Buffalo Bills (5-2, 4-2 AFC)
6. Cleveland Browns (5-2, 3-2 AFC)
7. Indianapolis Colts (4-2)
8. Miami Dolphins (3-3, 2-2 AFC)
9. Las Vegas Raiders (3-3, 1-2 AFC)
10. Los Angeles Chargers (2-4, 2-1 AFC)
11. Denver Broncos (2-4, 2-3 AFC, win over NE)
12. New England Patriots (2-4, 2-2 AFC, loss to DEN)
13. Cincinnati Bengals (1-5-1)
14. Houston Texans (1-6, win over JAX)
15. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-6, loss to HOU)
16. New York Jets (0-7)
Here is the playoff picture:
1. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-0)
2. Kansas City Chiefs (6-1)
3. Tennessee Titans (5-1)
4. Buffalo Bills (5-2)
5. Baltimore Ravens (5-1)
6. Cleveland Browns (5-2)
7. Indianapolis Colts (4-2)
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8. Miami Dolphins (3-3, 2-2 AFC)
9. Las Vegas Raiders (3-3, 1-2 AFC)
10. Los Angeles Chargers (2-4, 2-1 AFC)
11. Denver Broncos (2-4, 2-3 AFC, win over NE)
12. New England Patriots (2-4, 2-2 AFC, loss to DEN)
If the playoffs started today, these are the matchups:
Pittsburgh Steelers bye
Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs
Cleveland Browns at Tennessee Titans
Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills
With a win this week over the New England Patriots, the Bills can virtually wrap up the division tiebreakers (not a division title, just the tiebreakers). They’ll be 6-2 with a 4-0 record in the AFC East. Miami at 3-3 now already has two division losses, so the best they could do is get to 4-2. The Patriots would be 2-5 with a 1-1 record in the division, and 3.5 games behind Buffalo plus a head-to-head tiebreaker so they’d need to run the table in the division from there out.
To move up in the AFC, they’ll need Tennessee to keep losing or the Chiefs to start. The Titans have the Bengals, Bears, and Colts coming up before a row against the Ravens Colts and Browns. Kansas City has the Jets, Panthers, and Raiders before a big game against the Tampa Bay Bucs. Buffalo has the Patriots, Seahawks, Cardinals, Chargers, 49ers and Steelers on tap. Not an easy road for Buffalo.